Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri was born around 1265 Florence. He is best known for his book Commedia Divina or the divine comedy. It is considered to be one of the greatest literary works from Italy. Apart from being a poet he was a literary theorist, a moral philosopher and a political thinker. To this day he is known as the father of the Italian language and is often called “the supreme poet”. Dante During Dante’s life there was a major political division going on between the pope and the holy roman emperor. This is known and the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict. Dante and his family were loyal to the Guelphs. In 1289 Dante Fought in the battle of Campaldino. The Ghibellines were defeated however the Guelphs split into two factions, the white …show more content…
It follows Dante through purgatory, hell, and paradise. The Inferno, Dante’s journey through hell is still widely read in modern times however Purgatorio and Paradiso require more patience and knowledge about the time. Something very unique about this book is that it is written in first person. It is an allegorical story that follows Dante himself through this journey and through his own salvation. This book is written to include his contemporaries in an attempt to comment on current political affairs. A lot of the people who Dante sees in hell were modern popes and people who held a high office in the church, however there are still a handful of historical figures in the books. Dante is led by the roman poet Virgil through hell and purgatory. He must change guides when he explored Paradiso because Virgil, as a pagan, is not allowed to enter the gates of heaven. Before Dante was exiled he married to a woman from a very influential family, Gemma de Manetto Donati. Dante however was in love with another woman he had met when he was very young this was Beatrice Portinari. Although he never had a relationship with this woman or really knew her he was enamored with her and wrote several poems about her. She becomes his guide through Paradiso and also symbolized salvation in the