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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 8 page paper discusses these two Cantos from Dante's Paradiso, one of the trilogy contained in the Divine Comedy. In these Cantos, Dante brings St. Thomas Aquinas into the dialog to discuss St. Francis of Assisi and St. Bonaventure to discuss St. Dominic. These verses find the same kinds of imagery, metaphors and opposites that are found frequently in the poem. General comments about Paradiso as well as specific comments regarding these two Cantos are presented. Why Dante had third parties discuss Francis and Dominic is explained. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
8 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MM12_PGpards.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
in the Divine Comedy, and in many ways, it is the most difficult to read and understand. It is filled with images and metaphors. Dante calls on the
reader to imagine and to think symbolically as he describes the macrocosm and the microcosm, inside and outside of them. We move through the spheres, the circles on his journey
with him as he talks about planets and other spheres in terms of music, light, color, dance and concrete images. Dante speaks of spheres and rings that circle. But, his
images are to create a sense of life in heaven, not the daily life sort of image, but the spiritual condition in that life (Prayer Book Society of Canada, nd).
Dante presents us with images of planetary and starry spheres, each of which reflects grace, harmony, balance, virtue, reciprocity (Prayer Book Society of Canada, nd). The fourth sphere, for
example, is the Sun. In this discussion, Dante brings in other speakers - St. Thomas, Bonaventure, St. Thomas again, and Solomon, in Canto 13. In Cantos 11 and 12,
Dante describes the rivalry between the Franciscan and the Dominican orders of monks. These two also reflect different theological perspectives that, no doubt, people during that time would have recognized.
The twelve person circles are led by each St. Thomas, the Franciscan, and St. Bonaventure, the Dominican. It is another in the line of paradoxes or oppositions that Dante presents
in Paradiso. He consistently points out the differences, the two opposing sides at times. He also illustrates similarities. For instance, both St. Francis and St. Dominic were great thinkers who
had significant influence on the formation of the church. But, one can also bring in the fact that there were two major powers in the land at the time -
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