The Divine Comedy is about Dante's journey towards hell, purgatory and paradise, to atone for his sins and find the meaning of his life, hand in hand with divine intervention.
It is a work written by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri in the early 14th century. Initially it was called only "Comedy", since it had a happy ending, unlike the tragedies.
Later, the Italian writer Giovanni Bocaccio added the adjective "Divine", and it was in this way that the work became known worldwide.
Parts of the Divine Comedy
Rich in symbolism and classical medieval expressions, the Divine Comedy is a work framed in the religious sphere.
The composition and correction of this poem took more than thirteen years, and it is recognized as a transitional book between medieval and Renaissance thought.
The main character of the play begins the poem disoriented by the personal context that concerns him. This emotional state is represented as a dark jungle, and that is where the journey begins.
Dante meets the Roman poet Virgil, whose work was widely admired by Dante. Virgilio will act as a guide during the protagonist's journey of purification, to help clarify his ideas.
Thus, the work is divided into three important sections, which are detailed below:
Hell
This sector is made up of nine circles, which retain sinners according to the severity of their faults.
In each circle there is a guardian, and a punishment is given proportional to the nature of the sin.
The punishment is repeated like an infinite cycle. The first circle corresponds to limbo, and there are the lost souls who died quickly, before receiving baptism.
The next four circles of hell sanction sinners for incontinence; that is, those who incur the sins of lust, gluttony, greed and anger.
Finally, the last four circles punish pure evil: heretics, violent (against the neighbor, against themselves and against God), the fraudulent and the traitors.
In the ninth circle, Dante looks directly at Lucifer. After that vision, Virgilio points out a mountain that stands out from the sea and directs him towards it, that is, towards purgatory.
Purgatory
This section is made up of two parts: the pre-purgatory and the purgatory.
In the antepurgatory are those souls who must wait a while to have the opportunity to atone for their sins.
There are the excommunicated, the lazy, the irresponsible princes and those who died violently, without repenting of their faults.
After overcoming this phase, Dante enters purgatory, divided into seven circles, related to the capital sins: pride, envy, anger, laziness, greed, gluttony and lust.
Paradise
In this phase, there is a change in the tour guide, and Virgilio gives the honor to Beatriz, a beautiful and shining woman who will have the task of directing Dante's path through paradise.
Paradise is represented as a solar system, made up of 9 planets that revolve around a tenth celestial body where God is, under the representation of the Holy Trinity.
References
- Dante Alighieri (nd). Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com
- The Divine Comedy (nd). University of Valencia, Spain Recovered from: uv.es
- Parra, R. (2016). Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, review of a literary classic. Recovered from: aboutespanol.com
- Summary of the Divine Comedy (2016). Bogota Colombia. Recovered from: educacion.elpensante.com
- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2017). Divine Comedy. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org