The Divine ComedyDante Alighieri

The Divine Comedy Written between 1308 and 1321 Central epic poem of Italian literature Divided into three parts

Inferno (Hell) Purgatorio (Purgatory) Paradiso (Paradise)

Represents the journey of the soul toward God

Inferno Divided into 9 circles of suffering First Circle – Limbo

Unbaptized and virtuous pagans Not bad people, but no hope for reconciliation

Second Circle – Lust Souls blown about by violent storm

Inferno (cont.) Third Circle – Gluttons

Those who loved food

Fourth Circle – Avaricious and Prodigal Avaricious – hoarded possessions Prodigal – squandered possessions

The Fifth Circle – Wrathful Don’t fight!

Inferno (cont.) Sixth Circle – Heretics

Rejection of beliefs of a religious body

Seventh Circle – Violent Broken into three rings

Outer Ring – violent against people and property Middle Ring – Suicides Inner Ring – violent against God, violent against

nature, violent against order

Inferno (cont.) Eighth Circle – Fraudulent

Guilty of a deliberate evil

Ninth Circle – Traitors Those who betray someone in a special

relationship

Purgatorio Tells of a climb

up a mountain where there is much spiritual growth

Paradiso Heaven! Tells of Dante’s vision of heaven