Why Virgil?

[elizmoore]

Hi, I'm doing a research paper on The Inferno. My promt is "Why did Dante choose Virgil as his guid through Hell and Not Homor, or any other of the poets that he mitions?" I would love it if anypne could give some insight to this. It help he so much.
*I would like if you could give me sources but if not that would be fine.

[stlukesguild]

You really should do your own homework. Just a few clues. Look at what Virgil's Aeneid attempts to do for the Roman Empire... look especially at the 4th book in which Aeneas crosses over into Hades. Think about what Virgil might have meant to Dante in his time and place. As for Homer...? Dante would never have read Homer except in translation into Latin. Homer was coming to him second hand, where he could read Virgil in the original. He was more than well versed in Latin and would have known Virgil almost certainly better than any other ancient poet. Who else could he have chosen considering his limited access to works in Latin, Italian, and probably French?

[JCamilo]

yeah, pretty much it. Virgil had the status of the most perfect poet during Dante (and a little afterwards) life and not Homer.
To add about the clues about Virgil's intentions with Aeneid, you have to look to Dante own political dream. The basically mirror each other.

[Virgil]

One other thing not mentioned. Virgil was a pagan who was considered pre-Christian. Dante is after a universal experience and absorbing the pre-christian world. Virgil was the perfect predecessor for it. Also in The Aeneid, Virgil lays out a vision of the after life that Dante ultimately uses, though modified for a Christian orientation.

[JBI]

And, a very important reason that seems left out, Virgil was Italian (geographically), which from what I understand, formed a closeness, especially with the political parallels between Virgil's time's climate (which are believed by many scholars to be heavily alluded to at the end of the Aeneid, especially with the infamous killing of Turnus at the end), and the ones surrounding Dante. The political connection between them then, is close, and the role of poet brings them closer than any other poet, even Homer.

[Virgil]

Originally Posted by JBI

And, a very important reason that seems left out, Virgil was Italian (geographically), which from what I understand, formed a closeness, especially with the political parallels between Virgil's time's climate (which are believed by many scholars to be heavily alluded to at the end of the Aeneid, especially with the infamous killing of Turnus at the end), and the ones surrounding Dante. The political connection between them then, is close, and the role of poet brings them closer than any other poet, even Homer.

Very good point JBI. Yes, the geographical and political are very important in Dante.

[JCamilo]

about the paganism, Virgil was special, because the catholic reading found a way to accept him and credit him with a prophecy of the upcoming Jesus, so even by this light he is a proper guide for Dante.

[JBI]

Originally Posted by JCamilo

about the paganism, Virgil was special, because the catholic reading found a way to accept him and credit him with a prophecy of the upcoming Jesus, so even by this light he is a proper guide for Dante.

And we can have even more fun with this one, by just throwing a bit of pragmatism. Ovid was more lyric and romantic than epic, so he could not do. Lucan less grand, and less well preserved or culturally significant. The Greek lyric poets, well, they wouldn't have done anyway, given the fact that Dante couldn't have known all that much about them. Cavalcanti was stuck in Inferno, so he wouldn't do, most of the other contemporaries in Purgatorio, like Arnaut Daniel. The only poet left then, other than Virgil, would have to be Homer, and simply enough, Homer, being blind, wouldn't really be much of a guide, would he?

[Wilde woman]

Originally Posted by elizmoore

My promt is "Why did Dante choose Virgil as his guid through Hell and Not Homor, or any other of the poets that he mitions?"

Dante wouldn't have had direct access to Homer's texts, nor do I think he read Greek. Virgil's Latin, on the other hand, was something Dante was very familiar with. And as JBI pointed out, both Virgil and Dante are Italians. In the Aeneid, Virgil recounted the mythical founding of Italy (via Rome) to legitimize his Roman patrons. And since the Aeneid featured a descent into the Underworld, where Aeneas learns important information vital to continuing his quest, you could read Dante's descent into the Christian Hell as a similar quest...one where he must learn everything Hell has to offer before moving on.

Here's a little more on Virgil in the Inferno: http://www.shmoop.com/character/lite...no/virgil.html

[JCamilo]

Like everything else with Dante and his Comedy, everything seems to be exactly the better possible option...