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Dante Alighieri (–1321)

Author of The Inferno

534+ Works 66,040 Members 592 Reviews 198 Favorited
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About the Author

Born Dante Alighieri in the spring of 1265 in Florence, Italy, he was known familiarly as Dante. His family was noble, but not wealthy, and Dante received the education accorded to gentlemen, studying poetry, philosophy, and theology. His first major work was Il Vita Nuova, The New Life. This brief show more collection of 31 poems, held together by a narrative sequence, celebrates the virtue and honor of Beatrice, Dante's ideal of beauty and purity. Beatrice was modeled after Bice di Folco Portinari, a beautiful woman Dante had met when he was nine years old and had worshipped from afar in spite of his own arranged marriage to Gemma Donati. Il Vita Nuova has a secure place in literary history: its vernacular language and mix of poetry with prose were new; and it serves as an introduction to Dante's masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, in which Beatrice figures prominently. The Divine Comedy is Dante's vision of the afterlife, broken into a trilogy of the Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante is given a guided tour of hell and purgatory by Virgil, the pagan Roman poet whom Dante greatly admired and imitated, and of heaven by Beatrice. The Inferno shows the souls who have been condemned to eternal torment, and included here are not only mythical and historical evil-doers, but Dante's enemies. The Purgatory reveals how souls who are not irreversibly sinful learn to be good through a spiritual purification. And The Paradise depicts further development of the just as they approach God. The Divine Comedy has been influential from Dante's day into modern times. The poem has endured not just because of its beauty and significance, but also because of its richness and piety as well as its occasionally humorous and vulgar treatment of the afterlife. In addition to his writing, Dante was active in politics. In 1302, after two years as a priore, or governor of Florence, he was exiled because of his support for the white guelfi, a moderate political party of which he was a member. After extensive travels, he stayed in Ravenna in 1319, completing The Divine Comedy there, until his death in 1321. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:

Since there are other authors called Dante, the works of Dante Alighieri on that author page are now aliased here, instead of the pages being combined.

Image credit: Painting by Sandro Botticelli (c. 1495)

Series

Works by Dante Alighieri

The Inferno (1314) — Author — 23,724 copies
The Divine Comedy (1308) 21,615 copies
Purgatorio (-0001) 7,197 copies
La Vita Nuova (1292) — Author — 2,203 copies
The Portable Dante (1321) 1,336 copies
Monarchy (1957) 376 copies
Dante's Divine Comedy: A Graphic Adaptation (2010) — Original work — 278 copies
Circles of Hell (1600) 211 copies
Complete Works (1950) 210 copies
Convivio (1304) 191 copies
De vulgari eloquentia (1968) 152 copies
Rime (1946) — Autore in relazione — 146 copies
The First Three Circles of Hell (1996) — Author — 129 copies
100 Eternal Masterpieces of Literature - volume 1 (2017) — Contributor — 56 copies
Vita Nuova Rime (1965) 34 copies
Dante Alighieri (1993) 23 copies
Epistole (1966) 20 copies
Opere minori (1984) 15 copies
Dante and Giovanni del Virgilio (1970) — Author — 14 copies
Il fiore e il detto d'amore (1995) 14 copies
Strumenti (1999) 8 copies
Rime giovanili e della Vita nuova (2009) — Author — 7 copies
Divina comedia V. II (1995) 6 copies
La Consolation (1996) 6 copies
The Inferno 6 copies
Love poems (2014) 6 copies
The Medieval Mind (2017) 6 copies
Epistole ; Egloge ; Questio de aqua et terra (2016) — Author — 5 copies
Boska komedia : (wybór) (1986) 5 copies
Epistola a Cangrande (1995) — Author — 4 copies
The Inferno: 2 4 copies
Fiore (2010) 4 copies
Vingt poèmes (1997) 3 copies
The Indispensable Dante (1949) — Author — 3 copies
Divina Comedia. tomo II (2014) 3 copies
Macht der Toten (2007) 3 copies
Herderszangen (2021) 3 copies
Dama kamenog srca (1997) 3 copies
Opere 1 — Author — 3 copies
Commedia multimediale (2011) 3 copies
Dante. Tutte le opere (2021) 2 copies
Commedia / Giorgio Inglese (2021) — Author — 2 copies
De la monarquia (2005) 2 copies
Detto d' amore 2 copies
Satira. Da Aristofane a Corrado Guzzanti (2013) — Author — 2 copies
Le terze rime 2 copies
Yeni Hayat (2000) 2 copies
Purgatorio. Canti scelti (1997) 2 copies
La falsa tenzone di Dante con Forese Donati (1995) — Author — 2 copies
Lírica 2 copies
Le opere latine (2005) 2 copies
The selected works (1972) 2 copies
Pokol (2012) 1 copy
Boska komedia. T. 1-2 (1984) 1 copy
Ziyafet;(Convivio) (2022) 1 copy
Dante's Poems (1883) 1 copy
Divina comèdia. (T.2) (1901) 1 copy
Dante's Rime (2016) 1 copy
Poesía 1 copy
Bozanstvena komedija (2016) 1 copy
PARAJSA 1 copy
FERRI 1 copy
12 sonnetti 1 copy
Rimes (2021) 1 copy
Opere minori. 6 voll. (1980) 1 copy
Vita Nuova 1 copy
la vita Nuova (2016) 1 copy
Vita Nuova 1 copy
Impyerno (2017) 1 copy
Brev (2022) 1 copy
Vida Nova (2021) 1 copy
Vida Nova | Rimas (2020) 1 copy
Le Banquet (2019) 1 copy
Dantes Verse (2021) 1 copy
Pekel 1 copy
Opere Scelte 1 copy
La Cumégia 1 copy

Associated Works

The Doré Illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy (1900) — Contributor — 552 copies
Critical Theory Since Plato (1971) — Contributor, some editions — 398 copies
The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart: A Poetry Anthology (1992) — Contributor — 388 copies
The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse (1983) — Contributor — 236 copies
Criticism: Major Statements (1964) — Contributor — 220 copies
The Penguin Book of Hell (2018) — Contributor — 182 copies
The Faber Book of Beasts (1997) — Contributor — 140 copies
The Norton Book of Friendship (1991) — Contributor — 95 copies
The Young Inferno (2009) — Contributor — 42 copies
Poems and Translations (1912) — Contributor — 30 copies
The Best of the World's Classics: Volume VIII Continental Europe II (1909) — Contributor, some editions — 26 copies
The Middle Ages to the 17th Century: Literature of the Western World (1961) — Contributor, some editions — 23 copies
Art Young's Inferno (2020) — Author — 17 copies
Lost Souls Short Stories (Gothic Fantasy) (2018) — Contributor — 16 copies
Dante per immagini: dalle miniature trecentesche ai giorni nostri (2018) — Autore in relazione — 5 copies
New World Writing : 15 (1959) — Contributor — 4 copies
American Aphrodite (Volume Five, Number Eighteen) (1955) — Contributor — 4 copies
Rajna 7-t3 - Codice diplomatico dantesco (2016) — Autore in relazione — 4 copies
To Shiver the Sky (2020) — Composer — 4 copies
American Aphrodite (Volume Two, Number Five) (1952) — Contributor — 2 copies
American Aphrodite (Volume Five, Number Twenty) (1955) — Contributor — 2 copies
American Aphrodite (Volume One, Number Two) (1951) — Contributor — 2 copies
Agrā renesanse (1981) 1 copy

Tagged

(220) 13th century (163) 14th century (753) allegory (262) anthology (193) Christianity (643) classic (1,531) classic literature (318) classics (2,312) Dante Alighieri (2,020) Divine Comedy (485) ebook (164) epic (588) epic poetry (466) fantasy (183) fiction (2,883) heaven (212) hell (597) history (153) Italian (1,736) Italian literature (2,096) Italian poetry (406) Italy (971) literature (2,502) medieval (1,190) medieval literature (599) Middle Ages (353) non-fiction (185) own (233) philosophy (423) poetry (7,823) Purgatory (282) read (408) religion (1,251) Renaissance (322) Theology (273) to-read (1,856) translated (205) translation (603) unread (339)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Alighieri, Dante
Legal name
Alighieri, Durante degli
Other names
Dante
Birthdate
n. 1265-05
Date of death
1321-09-14
Burial location
Piazza San Francesco, Ravenna, Italia
Gender
male
Nationality
Florence
Country (for map)
Italy
Birthplace
Florence, Italy
Place of death
Ravenna, Italy
Places of residence
Verona, Italy
Occupations
poet
soldier (cavalry)
apothecary
politician
Relationships
Pietro di Dante Alighieri (zoon)
Organizations
Guelphs
Short biography
Dante Alighieri, (May 14/June 13, 1265 – September 13/14[1], 1321), was a Florentine Italian poet. Like many in the Florence of his day, he became involved in the conflict between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions. He fought in the Battle of Campaldino (1289) and held several political offices over the years. His central work, the Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy, originally called "Comedìa"), is composed of three parts: the Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante was exiled from the city he loved, and addressed the pain of his loss in his work.
Disambiguation notice
Since there are other authors called Dante, the works of Dante Alighieri on that author page are now aliased here, instead of the pages being combined.

Members

Discussions

LE: Dante's The Divine Comedy in Folio Society Devotees (July 2023)
La Vita Nuova in Fine Press Forum (May 2023)
Divine Comedy in Folio Society Devotees (September 2021)
Paris Review Challenge : The Divine Comedy, Season 1 in Dante's Sitting Room (October 2013)
Crambo's word rhymes with "vice" in Crambo! (June 2012)
Best Translation of The Divine Comedy? in Geeks who love the Classics (December 2010)
Dante's Divine Comedy in 1001 Books to read before you die (November 2008)

Reviews

Can I pick out a favorite canto? How about canto 14, the division of the blasphemers in circle 7. Some surprises here even as the reader has been growing accustomed to Dante's blending of Classical culture and Christianity. Capaneus, one of the seven mythological heroes who attacked the city of Thebes in support of Polynices, son of Oedipus, as told by Aeschylus in [b:The Seven Against Thebes|752713|The Seven Against Thebes (Dover Thrift Editions)|Aeschylus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328866074l/752713._SY75_.jpg|2474147] and Statius in [b:The Thebaid: Seven Against Thebes|677893|The Thebaid Seven Against Thebes|Publius Papinius Statius|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348522460l/677893._SY75_.jpg|663891], is here for his blasphemy against Jupiter/Zeus. Dante thus treats blasphemy against a pagan god in mythology as equal to blasphemy against his Christian God! One might think that theologically you can't end up in the Christian Hell for defying a pagan god, but here you can, as Dante incorporates the Classical period into his Christian universe that takes in all of human history.

The idea that Hell is really a hell of one's own making is presented here as well. Capaneus continues to lash out at Jupiter: "let him hurl his bolts at me, no joy of satisfaction would I give him!" He is still the same person, unchanged, as he was in life, which is a condition of the shades in Hell: they will not ever change, their pride will never allow them to repent. Virgil speaks back to him that "no torment other than your rage itself could punish your gnawing pride more perfectly." This psychologically astute envisioning of Hell is not one I was expecting to encounter; I had been underestimating Dante.

In the second half of the canto we get a fascinatingly allegorical and resonant description of the Man of Crete. This is a colossus representing humankind that lies underneath Mt. Ida and whose tears, representing humanity's tears, are the source of Hell's rivers. Dante takes the idea of such a figure from the Book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and combines it with Ovid's description of the fall of man from the Golden Age down through silver and bronze and finally to the Iron Age that he presents in [b:Metamorphoses|1715|Metamorphoses|Ovid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1622739150l/1715._SY75_.jpg|2870411]; the colossus is fashioned of gold at the head, silver at the chest, brass to his legs, and then iron - except for a right foot made of terra cotta that he places more weight on, which represents the modern Roman Church. Only the gold portion is unbroken, as the tears carve a fissure down the rest of him.

The idea of Hell's rivers being fed by human tears symbolically falling down a figure representing the fall and decay of man is a powerful poetic image. Also very interesting in that it shows how people in every age and every generation think that theirs is a uniquely bad time in history, going all the way back to Ovid! This is nothing new at all; likely in a thousand years people will think that their time is a uniquely bad time, as humanity continues on its way.

And then on a lighter note, we have the pilgrim, perhaps unconsciously, getting a little jab in at Virgil, who could not get them past the gates of the infernal city of Dis separating Upper from Lower Hell that was guarded by devils - Virgil can handle Classical monsters, but Christian devils are beyond his powers and they had to wait on an angel from Heaven to continue their journey. Here Dante most unnecessarily reminds Virgil of his past failure in introducing a question about their current position: "My master, you who overcome all opposition (except for those tough demons who came to meet us at the gate of Dis), who is that mighty one that seems unbothered...". Petty!
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Finally found a translation, Mark Musa’s, that I really get on with. Also watched and read the lectures and notes from Columbia University’s course on the Commedia alongside reading each canto, which are available for free at digitaldante.columbia.edu, an amazing gift. I would have understood a mere fraction of the context, richness, and literary techniques of this work without those.
… (more)
 
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lelandleslie | 211 other reviews | Feb 24, 2024 |
Libre de todo pecado, Dante puede ascender al Paraíso, lo que hace junto a Beatriz en condiciones que desafían las leyes físicas, encadenando milagros, lo cual es más bien natural dado el lugar en el cual se desarrolla el poema. Dentro del recorrido será de hecho de gran importancia que el nombre de Beatriz signifique "dadora de felicidad" y "beatificadora", pues en esta sección de la Comedia ella releva a Virgilio en la función de guía. En efecto, a través de este personaje, el autor expresa en los treinta y tres cantos de la sección varios razonamientos teológicos y filosóficos de gran sutileza.… (more)
 
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AmicanaLibrary | 186 other reviews | Feb 1, 2024 |
La primera parte describe cómo Dante se halla perdido en un bosque oscuro en su mediana edad y entra en una cueva al pie del monte Sion, cerca de Jerusalén. Tres animales alegóricos le salen al paso: una pantera, una loba y un león.
En la segunda parte, Dante y Virgilio atraviesan el Purgatorio, una montaña de cumbre plana y laderas escalonadas y redondas, simétricamente al infierno. En cada repisa o escalón se redime un pecado, pero los que allí habitan están contentos porque poseen esperanza y saben que su pena es finita y acabará. Dante se va purificando de sus pecados en cada nivel porque un ángel en cada uno le va borrando una letra de una escritura que le han puesto encima. Allí encuentra a famosos poetas, entre ellos a Publio Papinio Estacio, autor de la Tebaida.… (more)
 
Flagged
AmicanaLibrary | Feb 1, 2024 |

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Europe (1)
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Awards

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Emily Brontë Contributor
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Edgar Allan Poe Contributor
Joseph Conrad Contributor
Victor Hugo Contributor
Oscar Wilde Contributor
Gustave Flaubert Contributor
Alexandre Dumas Contributor
Aldous Huxley Contributor
D. H. Lawrence Contributor
Jack London Contributor
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Charlotte Brontë Contributor
Henry Fielding Contributor
Louisa May Alcott Contributor
Lewis Carroll Contributor
Leo Tolstoy Contributor
Homer Contributor
Herman Melville Contributor
Jonathan Swift Contributor
Gianfranco Contini Editor, Introduction
William Blake Illustrator
Franz Joseph Bayer Introduction
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Translator, Translator.
Laurence Binyon Translator
Giorgio Petrocchi Editor, Introduction
Enrico Malato Editor, Introduction
Anna Amari-Parker Editor, Editor and Introduction
Ike Cialona Translator
Karl Witte Translator
Manuele Gragnolati Contributor
Francesco Mazzoni Contributor
Aristophanes Contributor
Rosanna Bettarini Contributor
Anna Mazzarello Contributor
Allen Mandelbaum Translator, Preface
Marc Scialom Translator
John D. Sinclair Translator
Sandro Botticelli Illustrator
John Ciardi Translator
H. J. Boeken Translator
Robin Kirkpatrick Translator, Editor & Translator
Mark Musa Translator, Preface
Gustave Dore Illustrator
Rob Brouwer Translator
Barry Moser Illustrator
Jean Hollander Translator
Robert Hollander Translator
Frederica Bremer Translator
Miquel Barceló Illustrator
Anthony Esolen Translator
Wilhelmina Kuenen Introduction
Aline Pipping Translator
Eino Leino Translator
Christinus Kops Translator
John Freccero Foreword, Introduction
Thomas Okey Translator
H. Oelsner Editor
John Flaxman Illustrator
Edmund G. Gardner Introduction, Editor
Philip H. Wicksteed Translator, Editor
Gustave Doré Illustrator
Jaco Rutgers Beeldredactie
Santiago Caruso Cover artist
Harrie Bego Register
Steve Ellis Translator
Ronald de Rooy Introduction
S. Fowler Wright Translator
Ángel Crespo Foreword
J.K. Rensburg Translator
Robert Pinsky Translator
Jacques Janssen Translator
Ciaran Carson Translator
Michael Mazur Illustrator
L. Polacco Contributor
Carla Poma Editor
Arthur Livingston Introduction
Cristoforo Landino Contributor
Neil Packer Illustrator
Eugenio Montale Introduction
Burton Raffel Translator
Karl Streckfuß Translator
Wolf D. Zimmermann Cover designer
A. de Beer Editor
Alessandra Perriccioli Commentaar verzorgt door
Clive James Translator
Jhumpa Lahiri Introduction
Franz Scheck Graphische Bearbeitung
Ernest H. Wilkins Bibliography
Elina Vaara Translator
Carlos Alvar Foreword
David H. Higgins Introduction
George Grosz Illustrator
Miquel Barceló Illustrator
Eric Drooker Cover artist
Hans Weigel Introduction
Gérard Luciani Translator
Giancarlo Savino Commentaar verzorgt door
C. H. Sisson Translator
Kurt Flasch Translator
Peter Verstegen Translator
Ángel Crespo Translator
Melinda Corey Introduction
Philalethes Translator
H.R. Huse Translator
Frans van Dooren Translator
Jonathan Galassi Translator (Introduction)
Barbara Reynolds Translator
Nico van Suchtelen Translator, Introduction
Rein Raud Translator, Foreword
W. S. Merwin Translator
A.H.J. van Delft Contributor
Edoardo Sanguineti Introduction
Kees Nieuwenhuijzen Cover designer
H.W.J.M. Keuls Translator
Tyyni Tuulio Translator
Joseph Tusiani Translator
François Livi Translator
Roberto Barbone Translator
Antonio Stäuble Translator
Pru Shaw Editor
André Pézard Translator
Steven Botterill Translator
Lodi Nauta Translator
Pio Rajna Editor
Richard Zoozmann Translator
Julia Hillman Cover artist
Andrea Mazzucchi Introduction
E. Morpurgo Foreword

Statistics

Works
534
Also by
36
Members
66,040
Popularity
#209
Rating
4.1
Reviews
592
ISBNs
2,496
Languages
35
Favorited
198

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