"Divine Comedy" is the greatest work of the Middle Ages on the threshold of the Renaissance. Dante created a guide to the afterlife in such detail (especially in the first part) that his contemporaries were afraid of the poet: they were sure that he really was in the next world. Exactly one hundred chapters tell of an unusual journey to God. The work contains many references to antiquity, so without a basic knowledge of myths, reading this book will not be easy. We offer you to read a brief retelling of the "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri, and also recommend reading book analysis, to certainly understand and comprehend everything.
Hell
The narration is conducted in the first person. Dante Alighieri got lost in the forest half his life. The poet is in danger from predatory animals personifying vices: a she-wolf, a lion and a lynx (in some translations of the panther). He is saved by the ghost of the ancient Roman poet Virgil, whom Dante revered as his teacher. Virgil suggests going on a trip to Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Dante is afraid, but the ancient poet says that he does this at the request of Beatrice, deceased beloved Alighieri, in order to save his soul. They hit the road. Above the doors of Hell, words are written that if the soul gets here, then hope will no longer help it, since there is no way out of Hell. Here the souls of the “insignificant” languish, who have not done either good or evil in life. They cannot go to Hell or Paradise. Acheron River carries the heroes of the mythical guardian Charon. Dante loses consciousness, as after each transition to the next round.
- Hell is represented in the poem in the form of a funnel leading to the center of the earth, near Jerusalem. In the first round Hell, called the "Limb", Dante meets the souls of the righteous who died before Christ. These people were pagans and cannot be saved. Also in Limba are the souls of unborn babies. Here, in a darkness similar to the kingdom of Hades, the soul of Virgil rests. Dante speaks with Homer, Sophocles, Euripides and other ancient poets.
- Second circle represents the place of judgment of sinners at the head of the demon Minos. Like Charon, Minos is outraged that a living person is in Hell, but Virgil explains everything to him. In the second round, driven by the hellish wind of passions, souls tormented in the sin of voluptuousness (Cleopatra, Elena Troyanskaya, Achilles and others) are tormented.
- Third Circle Sin - gluttony. The giant three-headed dog Cerberus many times tears sinners lying in the mud. Among them is the hero of one of the Decameron short stories, the glutton Chacco. He asks Dante to talk about himself alive.
- Sentinel fourth round - the demon Plutos (in mythology - the god of wealth). The merchants and the squanders roll stones at each other and scold. Among the first, Dante notices many clergymen.
- Fifth circle - The Stygian swamp into which Acheron flows. Angry drown in it. Phlegius, the son of Ares, who destroyed the Delphic Temple, smuggles poets through it. A boat approaches the tower of Diet. In it sinners are tormented, who have committed sins no longer by weakness, but of their own free will. Poets are not allowed in for a long time by demons; the admonitions of Virgil do not help.
- The gates are opened by the heavenly messenger, who came to the aid of the heroes by water. Sixth circle Ada is a cemetery with burning graves around which furies and hydras fly. Heretics are on fire, among which Dante notices the tombs of popes who have departed from the Catholic Church. He also recognizes the political enemy of his ancestors. The dead do not know about the present, but they can see the future.
- Seventh circle dedicated to violence, he is guarded by the demon Minotaur. Poets see ruins from an earthquake during the death of Jesus Christ. This place is divided into 3 moats: violence against one's neighbor, against oneself and against God. In the first, a bloody river flows in which sinners drown, and centaurs prey on everyone who tries to get out. Chiron, whose blood killed Hercules, melts the heroes further. The second belt is filled with trees in which the souls of suicides live. Harpies circling around, constantly attacking plants. When Dante breaks off a branch, a groan is heard and instead of tar, blood flows. Suicide souls abandoned their own bodies and will not return to them after the Last Judgment. In the third moat, Dante and Virgil pass through a deserted field on which, in the rain of fire, relaxed God-haters lie. Virgil explains to Dante that the Acheron and Styx rivers flowing into Lake Kotsit are the tears of humanity mired in vices. To descend to the eighth circle, the heroes sit on the flying monster of Gerion, personifying deception.
- Eighth circle liars and thieves burn in the fire. Kala rivers flow, some sinners are deprived of limbs, one of them moves, holding his head instead of a lantern, the other changes bodies with a serpent in terrible agony. Demons scare poets and (in order to entrap) show them the wrong path, but Virgil manages to save Dante. Ulysses, the soothsayer of Tiresias, as well as contemporaries of Dante, are tormented here. Heroes get to the well of giants - Nemvrod, Efialt and Antey, who transport the poets to the ninth circle.
- The Last Circle of Hell It is an ice cave in which traitors tormented to the throat are frozen in ice. Among them, Cain, who killed his brother. They are angry at their fate, not ashamed to blame God for everything. In the center of the earth from the ice you can see the three-headed monster Lucifer. In the three jaws, he endlessly chews Brutus and Cassius (the traitors of Caesar), as well as Judah. Poets crawl down the wool of Lucifer, but Dante is soon surprised that they are moving up, as this is already the opposite hemisphere. Poets are selected on the surface of the Earth to the island on which Purgatory is located - a high mountain with a truncated peak.
Purgatory
An angel smuggles Paradise-honored souls to the shore. At the bottom crowds of negligent, that is, those who repented, but at the same time too lazy to do it. Dante and Virgil pass through the valley of earthly rulers to the gates of Purgatory, to which there are three steps: mirror, rough and fiery red. An angel seals on the forehead of Alighieri 7 letters “P” (sins). You can climb the mountain only during the day, while you cannot turn around.
The first ledge of Purgatory is occupied by the proud, carrying heavy stones on their backs. Under his feet, Dante sees images with examples of humility (for example, the Annunciation of the Virgin) and punished pride (the fall of rebellious angels). Each ledge is guarded by angels. During the ascent to the second ledge, the first “P” disappears, and the rest become less clear.
Poets rise higher. Here along the cliff are envious people who are blind. After each ascent to the next ledge, Dante dreams, personifying his quest and spiritual ascent.
The third ledge is inhabited by the angry. Souls wander in the fog that has enveloped the mountain in this part: this is how anger hid their eyes in life. It is not the first time that Dante has heard the solemn exclamations of angels.
The first three ledges were dedicated to the sins associated with the love of evil. Fourth - with insufficient love for God. The rest - with love for false goods. The fourth ledge is filled with dull, who are forced to endlessly run around the mountain.
On the fifth ledge are relaxed merchants and wasters. Dante kneels before the soul of the pope, but she asks not to interfere with her prayer. Everyone begins to praise God when they feel an earthquake: this happens when the soul receives healing. This time the poet Stacius is saved. He joins Dante and Virgil.
Hungry gluttony on the sixth ledge, starving from hunger, crowd around a tree with appetizing-looking fruits that are impossible to reach. This is a descendant of the tree of knowledge. Dante recognizes his friend Forese and communicates with him.
The last ledge is filled with fire, through which crowds of sodomites and those who felt cattle love run. Dante and Virgil pass through the flame. The last letter “P” disappears. Dante again faints and sees a dream as one girl picks flowers for another.
The poet wakes up on Earth Paradise, the place where Adam and Eve lived. Here Leta (river of oblivion of sin) and Evnoy (river of memory of good) flow. Dante senses strong winds: The prime mover sets the heavens in motion. The poet witnesses a procession going to the repentant sinner. Among them are unprecedented animals, people personifying virtues, as well as the griffin - half-half-eagle, symbol of Christ. With the advent of Beatrice, accompanied by a hundred angels, Virgil disappears. Dante repents of the infidelity of her beloved, after which the girl Matelda dips him into oblivion. In the eyes of Beatrice Dante sees the reflection of a griffin, constantly changing shape. The griffin connects a cross from the branches of the tree of knowledge, and it is covered with fruits. Dante watches the visions symbolizing the fate of the Catholic Church: an eagle flies on a chariot, a fox sneaks up to it, a dragon crawls out from under the ground, after which the chariot turns into a monster. Dante plunges into Evnoy.
Paradise
Dante and Beatrice rise into the sky through a sphere of fire. She looks up, he is at her. They reach the first sky - the Moon, penetrating the Earth's satellite. Here are the souls of the violators of the vows, which the poet takes for reflection.
Heroes rise to Mercury, where ambitious figures live. Many luminous souls fly out to meet them, one of them - Emperor Justinian - reflects on the history of Rome. An explanation of the need for crucifixion follows.
On Venus, in the third heaven, live loving, solemnly circling in the air with angels.
The sun, like all the planets in the poem, revolves around the Earth. The brightest star is inhabited by the sages. Dances of souls sing that their light will remain after the Resurrection, but will shine within the body. Among them, Dante notices Thomas Aquinas.
The fifth heaven is Mars, the habitat of warriors for faith. Inside the planet, a cross gathers from the rays along which souls fly and sing. If Dante's father walks among the proud in Purgatory, then his great-great-grandfather deserved to stay here on Mars. The soul of the ancestor predicts Dante's exile.
Dante and Beatrice ascend to Jupiter, where just rulers are blissful. Souls, among whom are David, Constantine and other rulers, line up in instructive phrases, and then in a huge eagle. Those of them who lived before Christ still expected him and have the right to go to heaven.
In the seventh heaven - Saturn - contemplators live, that is, monks and theologians. Beatrice asks Dante to distract from her, and the poet notices a ladder along which angels and luminous souls descending to him descend to him like lights.
From the starry sky, where triumphant souls live, Dante sees the Earth. From a bright light, he faints, feeling that his vision is dimming. Heroes are met by the Archangel Gabriel. The apostle Peter asks Alighieri for faith, the apostle James for hope, and the apostle John for love. Dante answers each in the affirmative: he believes, hopes and loves. Beatrice removes dust from Dante's eyes. Alighieri speaks with Adam, after which he sees how Peter turns crimson: this is a sign that the acting pope is not worthy of his title.
Dante and Beatrice reach the Prime Mover, a small point of light from which angels are seen moving the heavens. This place seems to be the smallest sky, while with the ascension of heroes each sky should be larger than the previous one. Dante learns that the main task of the angels is the movement of heaven.
Finally, Dante enters the Empireus or Wind Rose and sees a river of light passing into the lake inside a giant rose, which turns into an amphitheater. Saint Bernard of Cleves becomes the third conductor of Dante, as Beatrice seated on the throne. On the crowded steps sit the souls of the righteous. On the female side are Maria, Lucia, Eve, Rachel and Beatrice. Opposite them, men are led by John the Baptist. Bernard of Clever points up, and Dante, gradually losing consciousness from strong light, sees God: three colorful circles reflecting each other, in one of which the poet begins to distinguish a human face. Dante Alighieri stops seeing and wakes up.
