Dante Alighieri incorporated corrupt Popes into his work The Inferno in a political ploy to represent the corruption of his time period. There are four different popes that are used in The Inferno; Pope St. Gregory II, Pope Nicholas III, Pope Boniface VIII, and Pope Clement V. Dante had a problem with each of these political figures in some way or another. Some became his enemy while others just made him upset for a particular reason and that is the motive Dante had to use them as characters in The Inferno, which is evident now that it is not just a piece of religious literature but a very political piece as well.
All of his life Dante was involved in politics, from his birth in May or June of 1265 into the political hot spot at the time: Florence, to when he was one of the six priors ().
Svenska: Bonifatius VIII proklamerar Jubelåret 13...
High resolution scan of engraving by Gustave Doré...
Deutsch: Papst Bonifatius VIII.He was born into a family of little wealth, with loyalties to the GuelphÃÂs, a political party in support to the papacy, and were enemies with the Ghibellines and the Holy Roman Emperor. Dante and the GuelphÃÂs were against the change of the Renaissance but were very involved in the politics during their time period, except for Dante towards later in his life when he decided to change his views and become more neutral.
Although many believed Dante was against the church, that is not the case. There were disagreements between him and several Popes, though nothing to make him completely change his views on the church. He agreed with the system of the church and how it functioned, and he believed that it could be a very healthy part of society if it worked together as one with the Pope. He did have problems with the church and there...
Dante's Popes
First, some comments on specific points in the writing. In the second sentence, why repeat the word "pope"? The context makes it clear that these men are pontiffs. The final sentence of the paragraph rambles. Can you tighten it up?
The same thing could be said of the entire second paragraph. It feels unfocused. Also, was Dante truly politically active as an infant?
In the third paragraph, one sentence shows the need for cleaning up: "There were disagreements between him and several Popes, . . ." Why not "He disagreed with several popes." It avoids the vague, soft passive voice. Or consider the clause with which you end the next paragraph, "the Black Guelph's were still supporting of it." What were the Black Guelphs supporting? The Church? (When you refer to the Roman Catholic Church, as opposed to a church building, a particular congregation, or a particular denomination, it is traditional to capitalize the "C.")
The biographical information leads you into Dante's life, but you fail to show how this has to do with the popes. Does it have anything to do with that subject? Would Dante have categorically forgiven the popes if his mother has survived?
With the break between Dante's fondness for Beatrice and his mission to Rome, you go through a leap that is hard to follow. In one paragraph you are describing a very young, love-struck kid, and in the next, without even giving a date, you throw Dante into papal politics. More transition help would improve things.
Is the Divine Comedy merely a way to bash the popes who had contributed to Dante's political disappointment? I think it is so much more than that.
In the final paragraph you suggest that the popes should have been the leaders o the Holy Roman Empire. This is incorrect. The popes never held the imperial throne. I think what you mean is that they should have been rulers of the Church, free from the simony, corruption, decadence, and greed that marked this period.
In short, your essay could use focus. Weigh each sentence and each paragraph. Is it clear? Does it move your argument forward? If so, good. If not, revise.
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