The Divine Comedy

Abstract

The Divine Comedy in which Dante Alighieri describes his imaginary journey that begins in Hell continues in Purgatory, the place of in-between, and ends in Paradise, where the sinless find peace, continues to be the source of inspiration for all Western culture. In the 1300s, despite the pressure of the Catholic Church, Dante Alighieri, who defended secular and secular thought and used Italian instead of Latin, formed today’s European Union idea, laid the foundations of the Italian Union and its flag, and advocated for free thought. In the establishment of the sanctuary of humanity, not only did the Renaissance begin in Europe, but he also helped the thought systems to escape from the darkness of the Middle Ages. For these reasons, Dante is known as the most famous poet of all ages. He was never able to return to his beloved Florence, where he had received a death sentence from Papal envoys. He gave his last breath in Ravenna with love for Florence. The Divine Comedy was distributed with 600 handwritten copies before the invention of printing. It has been translated into more than 300 languages. It has countless paintings and descriptions. Dante’s fame was not unique to Italy but spread all over the world and gained international importance (Tolay, 2015). The Divine Comedy is among the most valuable classics. This work had become an example of the Italian language and had led to the genius of Dante in the period when the influence of Catholicism in the Middle Ages was strong. In this period, Gothic art and architecture were advancing, large Gothic churches were being built, and the influence of universities giving education in law and other sciences was increasing (Tolay, 2015). In the Middle Ages, “comedy” was a word used to mean “stories with a good ending” in order to express the opposite of “tragedy.” Therefore, the name of the work was chosen to indicate the story that ends well. The Divine Comedy is one of the longest poems in the history of poetry, with a total number of strings reaching 14233. Dante’s trip, which started on the night of Thursday, April 7, 1300, lasted a week when Dante was 35 years old. One day he disappears into a forest, and his journey begins with the poet Virgil guiding him. On top of Purgatory, Virgil gives way to Beatrice, who then guides Dante in Paradise. Beatrice has been an inspiration for him during his life. Dante makes three journeys in The Divine Comedy. His first journey is to Hell, full of great obstacles. The second journey, the Purgatory travel, is easier and more hopeful. The third journey, Paradise, is a journey accompanied by music, dance, and light. During these travels, Dante is guided by Virgil (Wisdom), Beatrice (Beauty) and Saint Bernard (Power). Undoubtedly, the most striking and most discussed part of the comedy is Hell. Hell, which constitutes the first part of The Divine Comedy, is the work with 4720 verses consisting of 34 cantos. In this long poem, Dante sees Hell as a wide circular abyss that reaches the centre of the earth with terraces contracting into long and narrow protrusions or circles divided into descents. Just as a person is punished according to his/her sins, the torments increase as s/he goes down. All the terrible stages of Hell are shown in nine floors or circles. Purgatory is 4755 lines consisting of 33 cantos. This poem depicts the anxious moments between Hell and Paradise. Here, Virgil whispers that Beatrice awaits him behind the wall of fire. Dante is also thrown into the fire immediately. The chapter is described by dividing it into eight circles (Tolay, 2015). Heaven is 4758 lines of 33 cantos. Beatrice is seen in divine purity. He descends to the ninth heaven to guide the poet in heaven. Holding it by the hand, it blows it from star to star together. Just as Vergilius took her across the floors of hell, this time, Beatrice takes him around the nine floors of heaven. She shows him all the high bliss of the otherworldly life. She makes him look at the earth from there. The sky, here is pure light, pure love, pure happiness. Here, Dante’s eyes are dazzled, shivering with his excitement.