Example research essay topic: Dante Alighieri Italian Poet Biography - 1,034 words

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The Italian poet Dante Alighieri is known worldwide as one of the greatest poets of all time. His works, including La Vita Nuova and La Commedia Divina or The Divine Comedy, have been translated into several different languages and have inspired great artists both of the past and of modern times to create works of their own concerning the Divine Comedy. However, there is much more to be known about Dante. Not only was he a talented poet, he was also a politician, a statesman, a philosopher, a noble, an exile, and a theologian. Dante was a sort of Renaissance man, even before the idea came into being.

There are many aspects about Dantes character, personality, and his life that are worthy of further knowledge and exploration. Dante Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy in 1265. He states in the Paradise that he was born when the sun was in Gemini, fixing his birthday between May 18 and June 17 (Gardner 1). When he was just nine years old, an event happened in his life that would forever be the driving force of his existence (Howell 9 - 10). It was at this time that he met Beatrice, whose name is found in both La Vita Nuova and in The Divine Comedy.

She too was only nine years old. They did not have an intimate relationship since for the first nine years he loved her, she never spoke to him. Only when he was nearly eighteen did Beatrice, now grown up into a marvelous lady, even bow to him (Walsh 102). Although the two married other people, Beatrice's death in 1290 at the age of 24 had a profound affect on Dante. As he once said, The things of the present, with their false pleasure turned my steps aside as soon as your face was hidden. (Howell 13).

However, he later goes on to say that whatever delinquencies he charged himself were bitterly repented of and nobly atoned for. By 1294, Dante had already completed his La Vita Nuova, a medley of lyric verse and poetic prose, that tells of his love for Beatrice. In it, Dante describes his love for Beatrice as purely spiritual and mystical, showing his philosophical and religious ideals, as well as his thoughts on Divine Love. In the Divine Comedy Beatrice holds a very high spiritual position. She is seen as the blessed soul who serves under the banner of the Queen of Glory (Walsh 109). She is a symbol of purity, truth, grace, and eternal wisdom.

In portraying Beatrice in this manner, Dante reveals that his love for her, and his ideas on religion and spirituality have in many aspects been fused. It was not simply an earthly love, condemned to pass on as any other living thing; his love for Beatrice was, in his mind, eternal and highly spiritual. Dante was born into the ancient but decadent Guelph family, and he grew up amidst the triumphs of the Florentine democracy, in which he took some share of fighting. He fought in the front rank of the Guelph cavalry at the battle of Campaldino (June 11, 1289), when the Tuscan Ghibrellines were defeated by the forces of the Guelph league, of which Florence was the head (Gardner 1). This victory brought forth a reformation of the Florentine constitution. To take any part in public life, one had to be enrolled in one of the arts.

So Dante entered the guild of physicians and apothecaries. In following years, his name is frequently found recorded as speaking or voting in the various councils of the republic. Around the year 1300, Dantes political life began to experience some of the turmoil that would plague him for the rest of his life. The ruling Guelph party, to which Dante was a member, had split into two factions, known as the Bianchi and the Neri, or Whites and Blacks respectively.

Roughly speaking, the Bianchi were the constitutional party, supporting the burgher government and the Ordinances of Justice; the Neri relied on the support of the populace, and were strengthened by the favor of the Pope, who disliked and mistrusted the recent developments of the democratic policy of the republic (Gardner 1 - 2). Dante was sent on a diplomatic mission to San Gimignano in 1300 and later the same year was elected one of the six priors, or magistrates, of Florence, a post in which he served for only two months. During Dantes leave the rivalry between the two factions intensified. The Blacks saw in the pope an ally against imperial power, but the Whites were determined to remain independent of both the Pope and the holy Roman Emperor. Dante aligned himself with the Whites in part because of his strong belief in the separation of church and state. In his works Monarchia and the Convivio, Dante accepts what the church says and he respects and holds high the Popes power and authority (Gilbert 110).

He also states that the activity of the monarch is necessary to the world. He maintains that the church and the Pope do hold power, but this should be limited to spiritual matters and that the separation of church and state is a necessity. At Dantes urging, the leaders of both factions were exiled in order to preserve peace in the city. The leaders of the Blacks, however, through the influence of Pope Boniface VIII, returned to Florence in 1301 and seized power. In 1302, after refusing to pay extensive fines, Dante was condemned to death should he ever return to Florence.

Dantes exile was spent partly in Verona, as well as other cities in northern Italy. It is even believed that he spent some time in France. During his exile, his political beliefs underwent a drastic change, in that he began to embrace the cause of the Ghibellines, and he hoped for the unification of Europe under the reign of an enlightened emperor. His hopes were aroused when in 1310, Henry VIII, King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor arrived in Italy. In a sense, Dante returned to the political arena, sending numerous letters to the princes and peoples of Italy, and to the Florentine Government, den...

Research essay sample on Dante Alighieri Italian Poet Biography