Commedia: The Spiritual and Political Visions of Dante

Dante's Commedia is religiopolitical opus; the two disciplines are inextricably bound to one another and coessential to Dante's literary vision. Considering that Dante's two primary pursuits in life were the intricate machinations of Florentine politics and the emancipatory art of the poetic word, it follows that the two would be of commensurate value to each other; his spiritual vision informed his political vision, and vise versa.

Subsequent to Dante's incomplete Il Convito, his poetry was defined by a marked attention to and cultivation of religious imagery and themes. Nowhere is this trend more evident than in his famed Commedia, a perfect trinity of spiritual self-discovery and a personal Drama of Redemption. This work encapsulates Dante's spiritual vision and offers a cohesive portrayal of his personal understanding of religion. However, the Commedia is not solely a spiritual text; if it were, it would not be considered the all-encompassing masterwork that it is today -- artful and valuable, to be sure, but not genre-breaking and of ageless value.

It is the work's seamless incorporation of both spiritual and political elements that makes it the immortal work of genius that it is. Not only is the Commedia a fictional account of a journey through the afterlife and the invaluable lessons attained thereby, but it is a simultaneous exposition of the state of the contemporary political scene from Dante's own perspective. The work's value is in the perfect alloy of these religious and secular elements.

This relationship between the political and the spiritual is evident throughout the three canticles of the Commedia. However, a contrast between the pilgrim's understanding of the secular and spiritual worlds (and their degree of overlap) at the outset of his journey and from further along the path may prove most valuable in exposing said relationship. For an early example of the pilgrim's perspective on politics, we turn to his encounter with onetime political rival, Farinata. In response to Farinata's query "And who would your ancestors be?" (Inf. X 42), Dante answers him proudly. In retort to Farinata's boast over having scattered Dante's ancestors from Florence twice, Dante replies:

"They were expelled, but only to return
from everywhere, "I said, "not once but twice --
an art your men, however, never mastered!" (Inf. X, 49-51).

Dante's words are indicative of his familial and political loyalty; he has not yet abandoned the ties that bound him to sin and human weakness on earth. To boast of returning from exile as an 'art' worth mastering is to reveal that he is not yet enlightened as to the iniquity and pettiness of his involvement in the intrigue that gripped Florentine politics during his lifetime.

However, the future is not entirely bleak for Dante the pilgrim, and by his tutelage under Virgil (Reason) and the intercession of numerous biblical figures, he comes to realize the folly of his ways. The reform of his political vision is evident in Dante's treatment of the abduction and murder of Pope Boniface VIII in Purgatorio XX:

"I see the gall and vinegar renewed;
I see Him being mocked a second time,
killed once again between the living thieves" (Purg. XX, 88-90).

Dante's comparison of Boniface VIII, the corrupt pope who brought about Dante's the author's exile, and whose appearance in the bolgia of the Simoniacs has already been forecast, seems inconsistent with Dante's spiritual and political visions. However, when the Commedia is viewed as a spiritual pilgrimage, one can see how Dante's enlightenment in ideals such as forgiveness come to inform his political vision. In Purgatory, Dante praises Boniface VIII for his institution of the Jubilee, and castigates his unjust murder. In light of this transformation, and in contrast to the pilgrim's political bent in Inferno, it is easy to see that Dante's spiritual and political lives are mutually dependent and beneficial.