The meaning of the poem “Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri


The meaning of the poem is a person’s comprehension of his sinfulness and an ascension to the moral life, to the spirit, to God.

Only then can you find peace of mind when you realize all your sins, repent, renounce earthly goods, and redeem what you have done with suffering; about this says “Divine Comedy.” And how to realize all this to a proud person who, because of his disobedience, was banished from the Garden of Eden? Dante is convinced that this can be done only after passing all the circles of Hell: to become a witness of torment, torment, to feel the heat of hell. The next stage is Purgatory as a ray of light in darkness for Dante the traveler. These are inhabited by those who deserve to be delivered from Hell, but were not completely sinless in earthly life. Hence, after temporary torments, you can first get to the Earth, and then to the Heavenly Paradise, where angels live.

“Look and strive for the highest good,” – as if the author admonishes. Of course, Dante wants to show people the true path. But why does he constantly argue, compare the afterlife with earthly life, why is he not sinless and so passionately in love? Because he is the same person.

Humanist and thinker Dante is able to understand such sins as suicide and paganism, and even question the justice of punishment.

It should be noted that the author does not consider the church an intermediary between God and man. This is confirmed by his words that the popes of Rome – a place in Hell. And it was a very bold idea for Italy at that time. But still Dante converges with the church in the notion of the path of the righteous, which consists in the man’s comprehension of his sinfulness and his ascent to the moral life, to the spirit, to God. In these words the meaning of the whole “Comedy” is concluded.


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The meaning of the poem “Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri