Dante's Inferno
Dante Alighieri, one of the greatest poets of the Middle Ages,
was born in Florence, Italy on June 5, 1265. He was born to a
middle-class Florentine family. At an early age he began to write poetry
and became fascinated with lyrics. During his adolescence, Dante fell in
love with a beautiful girl named Beatrice Portinari. He saw her only
twice but she provided much inspiration for his literary masterpieces.
Her death at a young age left him grief-stricken. His first book, La
Vita Nuova, was written about her. Sometime before 1294, Dante married
Gemma Donati. They had four children.
Dante was active in the political and military life of Florence.
He entered the army as a youth and held several important positions in
the Florence government during the 1290's. During his life, Florence was
divided politically between Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Guelphs
supported the church and liked to keep things as they were, unlike the
Ghibellines. The......
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Approximate Word Count: 1793
Approximate Pages: 7 (260 words per double-spaced page) |