Dante Alighieri

Damian Hupka

Beginning

• Born in 1265 into a family of politics• Mother died soon after birth

Early Life

• When he was 12 he was arranged to marry Gemma di Manetto Donati; however, he had already fallen in love with Beatrice Portinari, who was constantly referenced to in his writings.

Studies

• During Dante’s youth he studied Tuscan poetry, painting and music. Learned both of Occitan poetry and of classic antiquity or Latin Poetry. He met numerous extremely influential poets during his studies.

• Slightly focused on Philosophy, pharmaceuticals, and local public affairs throughout his 20s-30s.

Guelph-Ghilbeline Conflict• A political division of loyalty between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Papacy.• Fought alongside the Guelphs, in order to bring a reformation of the Florentine Constitution.• After the defeat of the Ghilbeline, the Guelphs split into two factions, white and black. Initially, the

Blacks were to be exiled from Rome, but due to a military occupation of Florence under the demand of Pope Boniface VIII, during this time the Black Guelphs destroyed much of Florence. Eventually Dante was permanently exiled from Flornece

• Although he was driven out of Florence, this was the beginning of his greatly influential artistic works.

Exile

• While in exile Dante wandered Italy for several years, eventually beginning his outline to La Commedia, leading to the Divine Comedy.

• The military officer controlling Florence in 1315, granted amnesty to Florentines in exile; however, they were required to pay a large fine and do public penance.

• Dante refused, thus remaining in Exile• Died six years later on September 13, 1321 of Malaria

Fever.

Divine Comedy

• A description of human life through the Christian afterlife, written primarily to guide society to the path of righteousness.

• Written in first person.• Follows Dante through Hell, Purgatory, and eventually

Heaven.

Other Works

• Convivio• Le Rime• La Vita Nuova• De Vulgari Eloquentia

Overall Influence

• Dante was considered to be one of the greatest artists of all time, primarily due to how influential the Divine Comedy was, and how it created terza Rima or tercets woven into a rhyme scheme.

• “Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them, there is no third.”

Sources:

• Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/dante-9265912>.

• Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2015. <http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/dante-alighieri>.