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The Divine Comedy

Idolization

Upon reading Faust there is an almost certain idolization infatuation with Beatrice. Dante in the second part of The Comedies even selects her as the "angelic" guide for his spiritual journey through Purgatorio and into the heavenly spheres. Dante reveres this woman almost to the point of idolization. Beatrice takes him through the heavenly spheres and to God where he would not be able to be in the presence of God without burning into infinite ash.

The importance of punishment

The Divine Comedy

Faust

The more severe your sins the deeper you sink in the circles of hell.

Religious aspect?

Religious aspect

In other words the punishment fits the crime.

In the divine comedy the punishment exemplifies the crime of the sinner.

The Nine Circles of Hell

The inferno is broken up into circles or levels of punishment based on the severity of your sins.

Such as the worst betrayers in history Judas, Cassius and Brutus who betrayed Jesus and Caesar suffer at the hands of Lucifer for all time.

In Dante's Divine Comedy the journey through the "Circles of Hell" and the journey to "Paradiso" is the focal point. Our protagonist is lost in a dark forest alone and afraid and must continue on his path or be forsaken to the void. The Comedy's were written to follow the tale of Dante and Vergil through the circles of hell to paradise or so it seemed. Though the comedies do have some reference of people and a connection to sins it does not connect to the Bible. The Bible never refers to a divine punishment such as brimstone and fire or a land of punishment compared to your sins, or have any reference to "levels" of Purgatory. Part one deals with the levels of hell and contains people who exiled him showing Dante's bias against these individuals for his exile.

Goethe's Faust shares a relationship to Christianity and the Bible connecting the story to God and faith. Faust handles the "deal" with the devil or Mephistopheles in this legend and centers on the grace of God and the underhandedness and cunning of the evil Mephistopheles. Goethe's retelling shows the connection of Faust and his separation from the Christian and moral world wherein Gretchen turns to religion and morality although she has lost her way. The book also alludes to the "blood ban" that Cain received for killing Abel and his eternal loss of favor from God. Goethe connects his reformation of Faust to religion and God unlike The Divine Comedy which focuses on the monument of Beatrice not Christianity and God.

This visualization of purgatory is not a true connection to Christianity or the Bible and can be merely seen as Dante's views on the punishment of sinners.

Faust

Religious aspects

Goethe adds his Romantic views to the legend of Faust in God's grace and forgiveness in saving Faust's soul from Mephistopheles. This shows the ideals in Christianity of God and Jesus as our savior from our shortcomings.

Faust

Faust and The Divine Comedy both share a religious view or do they???

The people of the day

Goethe's Faust has many religious views that are of a biblical distinction and many of the people are devout Christians. The story itself begins with the angels praise of God's works then the debate of Mephistopheles, God and the archangels over the devoutness of Faust. Gretchen although ignorant is innocent and has faith in God and questions Faust's faith in religion.

Faust and The Divine Comedy can both generally be considered as having a religious connection, but this connection is only partially true for The Divine Comedy. It contains elements of religious symbols and people but is more Dante's envisioning of the journey through hell and enlightenment in heaven.

The Divine Comedy

The people of the day

During the creation of the divine comedy the church and Italian society in general was in upheaval. The people still believed in the Catholic church and the Pope but some were more supportive of the holy roman emperor.

The struggle for power caused the exile of Alighieri and during this exile he began The Inferno part of The Divine Comedy. This work is in no real definition a biblical work and does not contain any real pertinent information from the Bible. This work is more or less propaganda written against those who exiled Alighieri.

More on Faust

Faust's thirst for knowledge

Dante's journey

The different time periods

The Divine Comedy

Faust's pure desire to know more and experience everything is his redeeming feature. This pure desire for life's experience and fulfillment is the reasoning behind Goethe's romantic view on Faust's fate seeing it as a boon of human nature not a curse. But only in its purest form of pursuit is this a redeeming feature.

These videos just give more information on Faust and help give an understanding in lecture form. The second video adds a little bit more to the history and adds a musical theme that pertains to major tones of the play.

The divine comedy was written during the 1320's by Italian Dante Alighieri during a time of his exile from Florence. This work was revolutionary in that it was written in Italian when other works published in its time were in Latin.

The Divine Comedy is broken into three parts Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Inferno begins with the nine levels of hell plus the pit, making what Dante saw as the perfect number 10. The poem continues into Purgatorio in which Beatrice leads Dante through the seven levels of suffering and spiritual growth. After maturing spiritually Dante is lead to Paradise in part three Paradiso. Here Dante is lead through the nine spherical heavenly bodies before reaching the empyrean where God resides. Dante comes face to face with God in the conclusion of his journey.

In comparing the views of Goethe's Faust and Alighieri's Divine Comedy you have to view the setting and time frame of their creation.

Faust has many origins some dating back to the new testament Acts 8: 9-24 based on the magician Simon Magnus, but Goethe's Faust is based off the medieval legend of Faust and takes place in medieval times.

The Authors

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Authors

To show a major difference between the views of Faust and The Divine Comedy you can investigate the authors lives and the influence from outside sources.

Bibliography

Born 1749 in Frankfurt am Main Germany Goethe was born during an age of Romanticism. Being a romantic writer during a different age than Dante, Goethe's views of religion and literature are much more of a biblical reference and romantic hero. Goethe bases the play Faust off of the legend of Dr. Faustus and adds a romantic literature ending to the legend giving it Goethe's own ideals of his time.

Dante Alighieri

The Authors

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/237027/Johann-Wolfgang-von-Goethe

http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/goethe/goethe-faust.pdf

http://historylists.org/art/9-circles-of-hell-dantes-inferno.html

http://www.biblestudytools.com/classics/strong-philosophy-religion/dante-and-the-divine-comedy.html

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/d/the-divine-comedy-inferno/about-the-divine-comedy-inferno

http://www.gradesaver.com/goethes-faust/study-guide/summary-marthas-garden-ii-at-the-well-by-the-ramparts-night-cathedral

http://www.biography.com/people/dante-9265912#synopsis

http://www.gradesaver.com/divine-comedyi-inferno/study-guide/about

Dante Alighieri was born in Florence 1265 to a family involved in the Florentine political structure. He married at 20 to Gemma Donati but was in love with another woman named Beatrice Portinari whom played a major part in The Divine Comedy. Alighieri was a political figure who held many important positions until falling from favor in 1302 and being exiled. Upon exile Dante began his work on the first part of the comedies using it as a form of propaganda more than a religious work. Dante continues the comedies as he went from city to city in his exile completing them before his death in 1320.

Religion in The Divine Comedy vs.

Faustian religious views

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