The Divine Comedy- Dante Alighieri

Review

The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by the Italian poet Dante which is made up of three different parts; Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise. This epic takes us on Dante's adventure through the circles of hell, the terraces of purgatory and the different levels of paradise where he meets a number of well-known figures from the time. 

The inferno looks at Dante's view of hell which he explores with his main guide Virgil who was also a Christian poet who published some well-recognised poems and it is Virgil who teaches Dante about the different levels of hell. Dante also meets many souls in hell to learn about their lives and why they are now in hell rather than paradise.

Purgatory takes Dante and Virgil up a mountain ascending towards heaven where Dante then again meets and learns about a number of different people known in his day. This is teaching Dante about his own life and the world he is living in. It is at the end of this Cantica where Dante loses Virgil, renews and cleanses his soul and meets his childhood sweetheart Beatrice before ascending into heaven.

Paradise takes Dante and Beatrice to the stars meeting a number of religious figures and saints along the way including Thomas Aquinas where we learn different theory about the creation of the universe. Dante sees the virgin Mary amongst others and finishes his comedy by ascending to the highest level of heaven where he sees the trinity and god.

This epic poem is based largely on Florence where Dante is from and the conflict that Dante lived through and he explores a number of these issues and the corruption of the catholic church throughout the poem and talks to the noticeable figures about the key themes who reassure Dante throughout the poem. There is also lots of symbolism which is important in this poem and the one symbol which is mentioned in all three Canticas is the stars.

Dante provides a real insight into what we can expect after death if there is indeed an afterlife and not only encourages individuals to change their ways but also encourages organisations to also change their ways too. This epic is very hard to read and understand and so does need to be read slowly to allow the reader to absorb the information. I would also say that it would help if you were education about religion and that you had good self-discipline so that you do not give up on reading this epic poem. Finally, I read this epic for the first time at the age of 15 and I would not suggest anyone of a younger age reading it as it is a very hard read and you will possibly need help understanding each canto of the comedy. 

Altogether, the divine comedy is defiantly worth a read and it offers you a good insight on the afterlife and challenges your reading. It also puts your knowledge of religion in play and introduces you to loads of unique theories. 

Charlie Medcalf