Resons For Dante's Divine Comedy

To truly comprehend Dante's Divine Comedy, although complete comprehension is not necessary to enjoy this literary masterpiece, there are several skills one might need to acquire. For instance, one helpful piece of knowledge would be the ability to fluently speak Italian, since the many translations differ being able to have read Dante's actual written words and understand them would make reading the Divine Comedy a bit more personal and therefore easier to understand. To catch and understand the plethora of references and allusions made by Dante it would aid any reader with their findings to be accompanying their reading of the Divine Comedy with a reading of Dante's autobiography Vita Nuova. Vita Nuova or New Life would give the reader a comprehension of all the political references in addition to all of the political references throughout the Divine Comedy. Whether it is Dante's un avenged ancestor Geri del Bello or the political leader Boniface the Divine Comedy is made up of many aspects of Dante's life thus making it difficult for any scholar to pinpoint the true motive behind the writings of the Divine Comedy.

However, if one was seeking more then just a ruff understanding of this piece, perhaps the reader is seeking the true reasoning behind the madness that is his unforgettable journey through the afterlife, it may take a more in depth view into the who Dante was. There are several purposes thought of as to why Dante wrote the Divine Comedy to begin with. Perhaps it is all about his dead "love" Beatrice the divine angel. Or maybe, this is a political tirade. Since Dante was heavily involved in politices perhaps he wanted to promote change, after he was exiled. He had of course been known for writing many epistles in hopes of changing the way things were. And there exists even a third option, the third option could easily be the most obvious. It is said the Dante merely wanted an Italian epic tale, one to match Virgil's (Aeniad) or Homer's (Odyssey) . Regardless of the reasoning behind the Divine Comedy the outcome could easily be seen as any of the outcomes Dante originally intended, and perhaps that is what makes this a timeless piece of literary genius.

Love, an often overused motive for, basically anything could easily be the reasoning behind Dante's Divine Comedy. The obvious object of Dante's affection is his angelic figure of Beatrice. Who is Beatrice though? What made her special enough to have a 967 page poem about her? Where did she belong in the vast life of Dante? Why has Dante chosen to paint this truly heavenly picture of her? How did she react to this? "The historical Beatrice was very probably Bice, daughter of Falco Portinari," (Madelbaum [IN] 320) so in reality "Beatrice" or Bice was really just a childhood neighbor of the Alighieri, who Dante says he, "immediately felt the foce of love for her upon first glance." (Alighieri [VN] 37) However love at first sight is hardly the case here. They first laid eyes on each other at age nine, Dante being several months older then Bice, however the twist comes when it isn't until almost nine years after this event the first words are finally spoken between the two. Soon after this event the heavenly Bice married, not Dante, but Simone di' Bardi and then, sadly, died at a very young age.

What is it exactly that would make Dante write such an epic piece about someone who he never really knew too well? It is said that, "After the death of Beatrice, Dante entered, belatedly but voraciously, a period of philosophical study. His motives were both the need for consolation and the restless, urban, unecclesiastical curiosity that characterized one who was becoming the most complete intellectual of his time." (Mandelbaum [IN] 321) So it is easily noticeable that there is some kind of connection between Dante and Bice. Yet, is it possible that this affection was a one- sided affair? The answer to that question may never truly be known for the only ideas that exist about the relationship between Dante and Bice (Beatrice) are based on the poetic words of Dante.

Although Beatrice does not appear physically in the Divine Comedy until Canto XXX of Purgatorio as she stands atop the mountain of purgatory on the brink of Paradise references and allusions of Beatrice exist throughout the entire Comedy, even as early as Canto II when Virgil reveals that he is a mere messenger to the heavenly lady Beatrice and she has sent him to Dante to salvage his life.

Dante uses Beatrice as a symbol of life, happiness, love, and everything good about being alive. For Dante found himself straying of the correct path of life and lost in an "infernal" forest filled with darkness, and it is the glorious Beatrice who attempts to save her "beloved" and place him back on the path of righteousness. Beatrice appears to be Dante's whole reason foe being, for without her he was a lost soul. "Beatrice who's name means she-who-blesses, became the essential presence in Dante's mythologizing and theologizing of love." (Madelbaum [PaO] 320) Furthermore adding to the idea that Beatrice stood for everything good to Dante. Why did she appear to have this angelic presence to Dante? This question must arise once again because it is hard to imagine what happened between the two to give Dante this rose-colored view of her.

On another issue around 1285 Dante married Gemme Donati, five years prior to Bice's death. "...he married Gemme Donati, to whom he had been betrothed, in accord with the customs of the time as early as 1277." Perhaps it was not love that bought these two to wed, however one must wonder if his feelings changed after Bice's death in 1290, seeing is how Dante did not have his three children with Gemme until after Bice died.

As important as Beatrice was to Dante, the theory that the Divine Comedy was written as a extended way to share with the world the perfection of mankind that is Bice holds little water when compared to other ideas. It is true that it seems to many, that "Beatrice is an ever present underlying them in the Divine Comedy," (Merwin [PuO] xvii) however it comes down to the fact that the bulk of the story and a large amount of the allusions made by Dante in the Divine Comedy do not really refer to Beatrice in any way.

In Canto I of the Inferno Virgil refers to Beatrice as, "A soul more worthy then I am," when Virgil is explaining to Dante the way that the night through hell, morning through purgatory, and afternoon through paradise will occur. He says he will be able to take Dante through the Inferno that is the underworld and also up Mount Purgatorio but his soul is not pure enough to get into even the scenic view of Paradise. This is possibly the greatest compliment