Dante Alighieri Research Paper

639 Words3 Pages

Dante Alighieri was a famous poet. He was born in Florence, Italy, to parents Bella and Alighiero Alighieri; in 1265. His mother died when he was very young, and his father remarried, which gave him two half brothers. His family was allied with the Guelphs in the Guelph family vs Ghibelline family war, and when the Ghibellines took power in Florence, he had to watch his back. He raised his son, and Dante grew to love Florence.

When Dante grew to a grown man, he proceeded to go into politics. Politics was dominated by a confusing guild system, and only through a guild could one run in political races. Therefore Dante joined the guild of apothecaries and physicians even though he had no interest in either of these professions. From 1295-1301 he took different political jobs such as emissary and ambassador. This happened for several years …show more content…

Dante however, was kept alive. They forced him into 2 years of exile and a large fine, which he could not pay because they took all of his assets. He was therefore forced into permanent exile, and if he came back without paying the fine, he would be burned at the stake. He was later given a better deal, that if he paid a smaller fine and admitted his guilt, he could come back without any repercussions. He refused this offer, and did so while keeping his innocence.

Dante wandered Italy as an exile. First he traveled to fellow exiles in Tuscany. When he got there however, he found them plotting varied attacks on Florence. However being the good man that he was, Dante left. He became sick of Guelph politics and decided to become a party of one. He then started work on La Divinia Comida which featured the most popular part of the trio, The Inferno. In his book, his love Beatrice Portinari, whom he could not marry, guided him through heaven, where as the Latin poet Virgil guided him through Purgatory and Hell. The book reflected the emotional pain that he