Dante's Inferno Group

Question:

mijeejo
mijeejo
Student
College - Freshman

Why does Dante use the number "3" mutiple times in "Dante's Inferno"?

For example the 3 heads, 33 cantos, satan's 3 faces... etc

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Posted by mijeejo on Tuesday October 28, 2008 at 5:38 PM and tagged with dante's inferno, theme, three.

Answers:


  1. gbeatty Teacher
    College - Freshman

    eNotes Editor

    Think in terms of the trinity, and you've got one reason. One of the major mysteries of the Christian faith is how the divinity can be three in one: father, son, and holy spirit. In Satan's three faces, Dante gives us an inverted trinity. Other trios also come from Christian theology. It is not Dante who invented purgatory, which gives a tri-part afterlife, but the larger Christian tradition. Likewise, when he finds himself in the middle of the forest and his life at the start of the poem, he is given a natural triad: the present, the past, and the future.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/inferno/themes

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    Posted by gbeatty on Tuesday October 28, 2008 at 5:46 PM

  2. tintj
    tintj Student
    Community / Jr. College

    three is an important number. dante expresses a lot of religious beliefs and 3 stands for the holy trinity! 3 books with 33 cantos plus the 1 canto as a preface equals 100.

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    Posted by tintj on Thursday December 11, 2008 at 7:12 PM