Dante Alighieri was one of the most renowned writers in world literature. His great masterpieces have influenced the world immensely. He was not only a great writer and poet but he also was a man that overcame great odds to write awe inspiring works of art. Dante Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy either in late May or early June, 1265. His childhood was somewhat troubling because of the early death of his mother and then his father when he was 18. He managed to get through these bad occurrences and fell in love with a Florentine noblewoman named Beatrice Portinari in 1274 but she also died not long afterwards. He once said that the most significant occurrence of his childhood was his meeting with his love, Beatrice. She was glorified in “La vita nuova'; (“The New Life';) and again later in “La divina commedia'; (“The Divine Comedy';).
Although his great literary works prove that he had a great education, little is known about where he studied. It is known that he was in Bolonga in about 1285 and it is possible that he studied at the university there. He supported the Guelphs against the Ghibellines; two political parties of the time, and fought with them victoriously in 1289. Around this same time he married a member of a prominent Guelph family, Gemma Donati. During the following few years, Dante was active in Florence’s disord...
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: Inferno. Trans. Allen Mandelbaum. Notes Allen Mandelbaum and Gabriel Marruzzo. New York: Bantam Books, 1980
...laces as they sin such as the Purgatory. This is where he learned that without God, there will be no faith and purity in life. This made him realize that the universe is in shape and in order. He found out that the universe is made of matter that God has created. His writings provided different situations that lead to great imagination of the connection between God and man. Dante found out that the way to God is found in human life.
To many outsiders, America is known as the Land of Opportunity. Many believe that by coming to this country that they will suddenly gain a new life. The American Dream is one that many philosophers have studied, and seems to this day very real, yet rare. However, the reason it isn’t very common isn’t strictly due to the economy, but the laziness that is acquainted with the term “freedom.” Dante Alighieri’s famous text The Inferno outlines many moral ideas. In this tale, a man named Dante the Pilgrim takes a voyage into Hell with Virgil. They go through many different levels and circles of Hell that each represents an important sin or crime. Though it is a highly controversial book, there is one specific passage that is important to finding success. In this quote, Virgil is speaking to Dante who has tired along his path through the seventh circle of Hell: “‘Up on your feet! This is no time to tire!’ my Master cried. ‘The man who lies asleep will never waken fame, and his desire and all his life drift past him like a dream, and the traces of his memory fade from time like smoke in the air, or ripples on a stream. Now, therefore rise. Control your breath, and call upon the strength of soul that wins all battles unless it sink in the gross body’s fall. There is a longer ladder yet to climb: this much is not enough. If you understand me, show that you mean to profit from your time.’” (Pg. 207, lines 46-57) By careful analysis and critique, we can pick apart this passage and see the important themes portrayed in Dante’s famous book The Inferno and how they can relate to success.
Leonardo Da Vinci was born April 15, 1452 in the village of Vinci. He had a very normal life as a kid. He got very little education, but he still got good grades in school. As a kid he liked to doodle in class when he went to school, and he used to join fairs and put in his work.
Leonardo Da Vinci could be argued as one of the most famous persons in the Renaissance Era and one of the greatest painters to ever live. Leonardo is talented and has made many contribution throught his life. He did so many things such as painting, anatomy , mechanics, and architecture. And he is one of the reasons why the Renaissance era could be regarded at one of the greatest time periods in history.
Most people do not realize that a parachute and the Mona Lisa have one common factor—Leonardo da Vinci. His techniques of self-teaching are very impressive and unique from anyone else’s during the Renaissance era. This Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, generously impacted the art and science world by creating new-world inventions, perfecting newly found art techniques, and creating the most famous pieces of art in history.
“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.” This maxim applies to the poet Dante Alighieri, writer of The Inferno in the 1300s, because it asserts the need to establish oneself as a contributor to society. Indeed, Dante’s work contributes much to Renaissance Italy as his work is the first of its scope and size to be written in the vernacular. Due to its readability and availability, The Inferno is a nationalistic symbol. With this widespread availability also comes a certain social responsibility; even though Dante’s audience would have been familiar with the religious dogma, he assumes the didactic role of illustrating his own version of Christian justice and emphasizes the need for a personal understanding of divine wisdom and contrapasso, the idea of the perfect punishment for the crime. Dante acts as both author and narrator, completing a physical and spiritual journey into the underworld with Virgil as his guide and mentor. The journey from darkness into light is an allegory full of symbolism, much like that of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, which shows a philosopher’s journey towards truth. Therefore, Dante would also agree with the maxim, “Wise men learn by others’ harms; fools scarcely by their own,” because on the road to gaining knowledge and spiritual enlightenment, characters who learn valuable lessons from the misfortunes of others strengthen their own paradigms. Nonetheless, the only true way to gain knowledge is to experience it first hand. Dante’s character finds truth by way of his own personal quest.
On March 6, 1475, Michelangelo, the second oldest out of three children, was born in Caprese, Italy, a small town around 100 kilometers away from Florence. His mom was very weak and couldn’t take care of him, so Michelangelo was sent to live with a nurse, or maid. When he was six years old, his frail mom, Francesca Neri, died from a fever. His family soon moved to Florence, where Michelangelo grew up. Luduvico di Leonardo Buonarotto Simoni, his father, hoped for Michelangelo to become a prosperous businessman or wealthy merchant. Instead, when he was 13 years old, Michelangelo angered his dad when he told him he ...
Alghieri, Dante. "The Divine Comedy: Inferno." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces: Expanded Edition In One Volume. Gen. Ed. Maynard Mack. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997. 1032-1036.
Dante Alighieri, Inferno (trans. Allen Mandelbaum), In The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. (New York: W.W. Norton, 1999)
Dante, Alighieri. The Divine Comedy. Trans. Robin Kirkpatrick. New York, USA: Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, 2012. Print.
Alighieri, Dante. "The Inferno." The Divine Comedy. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: First New American Library Printing, 2003.
Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, amidst the hills of Tuscany, Italy.
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy, Inferno. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born on May 12th, 1828 in London England. Rossetti died of blood poisoning on April 9th, 1882 (Authors). Rossetti studied at various academy's and schools. Dante was also a painter and an Italian translator as well as a poet. Rossetti was of British Nationality with Italian roots. “After the death of his wife he became a reclusive drug addict” (Authors).