Born in 1265 in Florence, Italy Dante Alighreri began his life.
Dante was a poet and his mentor was Guido Cavalcanti. Both their general poetry was considered to have a theme of love. In 1293, Dante began to write the Vita Nuova (New Life) in 1293. He finished it a year later in 1294. This work was about his first love, Beatrice, who died at age 25. He became a city ambassador for Florence, but in 1302 he was sent to reconciliation. Reconciliation is "the process of making consistent or compatible" (Define Reconciliation). The reason for reconciling was because Dante disagreed with the Pope on certain demands that had the potential to limit the freedom of Florence. Later on, the Pope hired Charles of Valcis as mediator. Coincidentally Charles did not like Dante or his ideas either.
Eventually Dante’s opposed ideas caught up to him and he was condemned to death if he stepped one foot in Florence again. This meant he had to leave his much loved wife and four children. He did a lot of wandering and wondering in exile. In 1306, Dante began to write “The Comedy of Dante Alighieri.” It wasn’t until centuries later that the “Divine” was added to the title, since it was so well-known and loved by many people.
The Divine Comedy
There are three different sections that The Divine Comedy is made up of; Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. In these sections he describes what Heaven and Hell look like along with the creatures that inhabit both places.
Inferno
In Inferno, Dante is the main character as well as the author. Throughout his journey in Hell, he encounters different levels on his way down. But each level gets worse and worse making Dante’s journey even more challenging. Dante’s old political rivals were also minimal characters in the realm of Hell. They were each tortured by demons and monsters ("Danteworlds").
Purgatorio
After Dante and his companion, Virgil, pass through the realm of Hell they finally reach the mountain of Purgatorio. Then they begin there accent. On their three day journey up the mountain, Dante and Virgil accented seven different levels. Once past The Valley of Rulers, they entered the first level; Pride. The second level is Envy, the third is Wrath, and the fourth is Sloth. In the fifth level they entered the realm of Avarice and Prodigality. The last stages are Gluttony and Lust. Once past these levels, Dante entered Paradise ("Danteworlds").
Paradiso
In Paadiso, Dante is reunited with his first love Beatrice. She accompanies and helps him with his journey through Paradiso. Dante experiences “ten celestial heavens of the ancient cosmos.” They visit each planet and get to meet spirits ("Danteworlds").
