The Great Structure of
The Divine Comedy

The structure of Dante's Divine Comedy can be divided into 10 parts: 3 sections for each portion of the after life with an additional one for paradise:

 

Inferno

Purgatory

Paradise

Vestibule

1) The Negligent

  • Limbo

Ante-Purgatory

  1. Excommunicated
  • Negligent

Shadow of the Moon

  1. Moon - Inconstant
  2. Mercury - Ambitious

Upper Hell

2) Lustful
3) Gluttony
4) Avarice and Prodigality
5) Anger
6) Heresy

  • [Great Barrier/ Waterfall]

Purgatory Proper

  1. The Proud
  2. The Envious
  3. The Wrathful
  4. The Slothful
  5. The Covetous
  6. The Gluttonous
  7. The Lustful

No Shadow

3)Venus -- Lovers
4) Sun -- Teachers
5) Mars -- Warriors
6) Jupiter -- Rulers
7) Saturn -- Contemplatives

Lower Hell

7). Violence

  • against Neighbors
  • against Self
  • against Nature
  • against God

8) Malebolge
[The Giants]

9) The Lowest Level

Eden

9) Earthly Paradise

Fixed Star

8) Prime Mobile

 

 

Empyrean/ Eternal Realm
9/10) The Celestial Rose