Dante, a famous Italian poet, gained his fame from his most important work The Divine Comedy. He grew up in Florence until he became exiled forever by the leaders of the Black Guelph. During the time he spent outside of Florence, he entered his most successful period as a writer. He writes the trilogy, The Divine Comedy, while he travelled around to many different places. Along with this work, he completes many other stories during his travels taking ideas from the places he went. The Divine Comedy, gained popularity because of his use of references from the time period he wrote from and controversial events and people that were present at that time. Dante even chose to write himself as the main character in these stories. This work shows Dante’s journey through three different spheres of the dead as seen in Christian teachings: Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. His journey helped people to obtain a better understanding of the concepts of afterlife and what actions Christians consider to be sins. This understanding helped influence the way people saw basic Christian teachings. His works also influences the community of Florence and the cinema in several different ways.
Through the Comedy, Dante had a major impact on Christian beliefs and the ideas of the afterlife. In his story, the Inferno, the concept of immortal souls disconnected from their bodies until the time they reunite with them emerges. This idea gave people more of an interest into the Christian religion, and it also influenced the way people think about the severity of some sins. In the Inferno, he explains what souls reside in which layer of hell based on their sins. For example, he gives a harsher punishment to prostitutes than murderers. This view does not seem consistent for every person, but can persuade others to believe it. He put his own views into his work, changing the way some people view these sins. He goes into better detail about how hell looks and feels, giving people a clear visual of the horrific atmosphere repeatedly mentioned in their faith. The descriptions of the sights and smells he encountered in hell shows people a better understanding of a place they have always known, but have not experienced themselves. According to Christian History Magazine #116, “The image he left us not only made an indelible mark upon his readers, but on Western civilization itself” (Janney, 23). Because of this imagery, it can lead to the betterment of others who realize the terrible punishment they could possibly receive if they continue down the wrong path. Dante influenced Christian teachings and the way people saw the different realms of the dead. Found in Florence and Its Church in the Age of Dante, Dante showed through his Comedy that a city of God yields a prosperous Florence. He continues to worry about the wellbeing of Florence even though he got exiled by the Black Guelphs.
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Dante spreads his influence through his community of Florence. Boccaccio, one of the people who helped the poem become an influence in the community, talked to many about the Inferno. David Lummus states in Dante’s Inferno: Critical Reception and Influence, “Convinced that the poem could have a profound practical effect on the Florentine community, the commune of Florence paid Boccaccio to lecture on the poem in the church of Santo Stefano in Badia” (Lummus, 65). Boccaccio’s fascination with Dante’s Inferno gave him the urge to spread Dante’s poem to many people. Dante soon became seen as an essential and important character in the identity of Florence. As seen in Christian History Magazine #116, “In Italy he is still hailed as the nation’s ‘Supreme Poet,’ as well as the ‘Father of the Italian Language’ (Janney, 23). His use of real life events and people relevant to Florence helped the people who lived there relate to the story and spark up conversations between people with different views. He influenced the political opinions of some others by writing in aspects of the current politics and slightly displaying his views in his stories. For example, in the Inferno he puts characters in hell based on where he thinks they belong. He also put references of people without saying their real name, but the Florentines would understand. Dante has a very strong connection to his hometown that even though exiled, he continues to write and review the events occurring there. His connection brings gives the Florentine people with that strong of a connection to their home a sense of trust and relate to his works on a more personal level than others.
Dante’s works have a great impact on the world of cinema. Many films have drawn ideas from his stories for decades. His detailed descriptions and imagery used in his poems give people a good idea of what it would look like to actually be there. Films made using his stories start as far back as the silent film period. One of these films, Dante’s Inferno, “…attempts to stage the entire Dantean Inferno…” (Iannucci, 6). It makes the story pictured in peoples’ minds a real visual that they can see. In later times, he influences many popular films. As seen in Dante, Cinema, and Televison, “Moreover, Tim Burton in Batman (1989) has created a Dantean-like ‘comic’ pastiche of the great battle between good and evil, played out in a Gothsm city that looks precariously like the visions of Hell conjured up by earlier cinematic pioneers” (Iannucci, 11). He also has influenced the mood of films such as David Fincher’s Seven. Iannucci explains “Dante’s classification of sins in the Purgatorio is invoked repeatedly to provide an underlying explanation, and there is a scene near the beginning of the film in which the older detective photocopies a drawing of the Dantean classification of sins and sends it to his young apprentice” (Iannucci, 15). Iannucci also explains that Dante’s explanations of harsh sufferings in Hell become references in this film by the showing of graphic torture and scary scenes of the murder victims. Many films use the very familiar ideas and description of Hell in Dante’s Inferno in different ways. Some make subtle appearances like the movie Seven. More apparent ones, like in the movie Purgatorio, also exist. Dante’s ideas appear in many films because of the interesting details written in them.
Dante’s works influence many different categories such as Christian beliefs, the Florentine community, and the cinematic world. Dante’s Divine Comedy describes and gives people a visual of the afterlife in the three different realms. It also gave people different opinions on the severity of sins based on the punishment they received in Hell. His works influenced the Florentine community by him voicing his views in his poems. Boccaccio, an Italian poet, helped to spread his Inferno to many people in Florence. And Lastly, his stories greatly influenced many films in the cinematic world. Some of these films range from the silent film period to current day films such as the film Seven. Films that use the ideas in his poems range from very subtle to an exact replica of the story. His influence comes up everywhere even if it is not apparent. His ideas from the Inferno disturb some people, but make for good concepts for interesting movie ideas. His work influences many things and people throughout the world and give the world a better understand of basic Christian beliefs.
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