[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here… ”
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Inscribed above the Gate of Hell,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these ominous words warn dark \Ntidings for Dante
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as he begins his descent into inferno.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yet despite the grim tone,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this prophecy sets into motion what is \Nperhaps the greatest love story ever told;
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an epic journey that encompasses both \Nthe human and the divine.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But for Dante to reach \Nbenevolent salvation,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he must first find his way through Hell.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This landscape of torture is the setting \Nfor Inferno,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the first in a three-part narrative poem
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,written by Dante Alighieri \Nin the 14th century.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Casting himself as the protagonist,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dante travels deeper and deeper \Ninto Hell’s abyss,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,witnessing obscene punishments distinct \Nto each of its nine realms.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Beginning in Limbo, he travels through the\Ncircles of Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Heresy, Violence, and Fraud,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the horrific ninth circle of Treachery,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where sinners are trapped under the \Nwatchful eyes of Satan himself.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The following two parts, Purgatorio and \NParadiso, continue Dante’s journey,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as he scales the Mount of Purgatory
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ascends the nine celestial \Nspheres of Heaven.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Written together over 10 years, these\Nthree sections comprise the Divine Comedy–
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an allegorical imagining of the soul’s \Njourney towards God.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Dante’s Divine Comedy is more than \Njust religious allegory.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s also a witty, scathing commentary on \NItalian politics.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A soldier and statesman from Florence, \NDante was staunchly faithful to God,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but often critical of the \NRoman Catholic Church.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He particularly disliked its rampant \Nnepotism and practice of simony,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the buying and selling of religious \Nfavours such as pardons from sin.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many groups took advantage of these \Ncorrupt customs,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but few supported them as much as the \NGuelfi Neri, or Black Guelphs.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was a political and religious faction
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which sought to expand the pope’s \Npolitical influence.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dante was a member of the Guelfi Bianchi, \Nor White Guelphs–
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who believed Florence needed more \Nfreedom from Roman influence.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a public representative for the \NWhite Guelphs,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dante frequently spoke out against \Nthe pope’s power,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until the Black Guelphs leveraged their\Nposition
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to exile him from Florence in 1302.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But rather than silencing him,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this lifelong exile led to Dante’s \Ngreatest critique of all.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dishonored and with little hope of return,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the author freely aired his grievances \Nwith the Church and Italian society.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Writing the Divine Comedy in Italian,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rather than the traditional Latin of the \Neducated elite,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dante ensured the widest possible audience\Nfor his biting political commentary.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the Inferno’s circle of the Wrathful,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dante eagerly witnesses sinners
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tear Black Guelph Filippo \NArgenti limb from limb.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the circle of Fraud,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dante converses with a mysterious sinner \Nburning in the circle’s hottest flames.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He learns that this is Pope Nicholas III,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who tells Dante that his two successors \Nwill take his place when they die—
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all three guilty of simony and corruption.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Despite the bleak and sometimes violent \Nimagery in Inferno,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Divine Comedy is also a love story.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Though Dante had an arranged marriage
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the daughter of a powerful \NFlorentine family,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he had also been unrequitedly in love with\Nanother woman since he was nine years old:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Beatrice Portinari.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Despite allegedly meeting just twice, \Nshe became Dante’s lifelong muse,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,serving as the inspiration and subject for\Nmany of his works.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, it’s Beatrice who launches his \Nintrepid journey into the pits of Hell
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and up the terraces of Mount Purgatory.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Portrayed as a powerful, heavenly figure,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she leads Dante through Paradiso’s \Nconcentric spheres of Heaven
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until he is finally face-to-face with God.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the centuries since its publication,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Divine Comedy’s themes of love, sin, \Nand redemption
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have been embraced by numerous artists–
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Auguste Rodin and Salvador Dali, \Nto Ezra Pound and Neil Gaiman.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the poet himself received his own \Nbelated, earthly redemption in 2008,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when the city of Florence finally revoked \NDante’s antiquated exile.