Belacqua is a minor character in Dante Alighieri's Purgatorio , Canto IV. He is considered the epitome of indolence and laziness, but he is nonetheless saved from the punishment of Hell in Inferno and often viewed as a comic element in the poem for his wit. The relevance of Belacqua is also driven by Samuel Beckett's strong interest in this character.
Belacqua is found by Dante and Virgil in Ante-Purgatory as he sits in a fetal position under a large rock with other souls. They are condemned to wait in Ante-Purgatory as long as they waited in life to repent and turn to God. Dante recognizes Belacqua, his friend, by "his lazy movements and curt speech," which causes Dante to smile, offering a comedic moment during Dante's arduous climb up the mountain of Purgatory. [1] The two then proceed to have a witty exchange.
Belacqua's introduction eases the friction between Virgil and Dante, the former of whom just before firmly dismisses Dante's desire for rest. [2] The encounter with Belacqua also slows down the action in the canto, as Dante pauses his ascent to move horizontally towards his friend. [2]
In life, Belacqua suffered from the vice of sloth, yet Dante shows notable compassion for him in this poem of morality. [3] Furthermore, Belacqua's late "sighs of penance" demonstrate his sloth even in his path towards salvation. [3] However, it is argued that Belacqua surrenders to God's will in his refusal to ascend the mountain since he will not be accepted until he completes his time in Ante-Purgatory. In this respect, he does not indulge in sloth but undergoes a contrapasso for his inattention to God for the majority of his life. [2] Virgil, however, seems unamused by Belacqua and urges Dante to move on, perhaps implying his disapproval of Belacqua's salvation, particularly since Virgil himself is damned. [3]
The interpretation of Belacqua's representation in the Divine Comedy has evolved over the years, as earlier commentators interpreted his salvation as a sign of God's generosity, while modern readers more often appreciate his wit and the irony of his presence. [3]
The name "Belacqua" was identified by early commentators as the nickname of Duccio di Bonavia, a Florentine musician, a maker of musical instruments, and a friend of Dante who had a reputation for extreme laziness. Records state that he was alive in 1299 and dead in 1302. Since Dante's visit to Purgatory is set in 1300, it is assumed that Duccio must have died by that date.
Samuel Beckett, whose favorite reading was Dante, closely identified with Belacqua and his indolence.
Beckett introduced ‘Belacqua Shuah’ as the main character in his first novel Dream of Fair to Middling Women . Unpublishable at the time, Beckett tried again with More Pricks Than Kicks , a collection of ten interrelated short stories on the life and death of Belacqua, and this was published, although a very poor seller. Beckett makes the Dante connection explicit in the first story, ‘Dante and the Lobster’: Belacqua is studying Dante. An eleventh story, ‘Echo's Bones’ was unpublishable at the time. It tells of the indolent afterlife of Belacqua, trying to sit in a fetal position as much as possible and being interrupted by visitors.
In later fiction, Beckett would sometimes refer to Dante's Belacqua. The title character of Murphy has a Belacqua fantasy. The narrator of How It Is describes one of his sleeping postures in terms of Belacqua. Company's narrator refers to the ‘old lutist cause of Dante's first quarter-smile’ and wonders if the old lutist has made it to Paradise by now. At the beginning of Molloy , the narrator, who is doing nothing but watching passers, likens himself to Belacqua or Sordello as he crouches to avoid being detected.
The Divine Comedy is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed in 1320, a year before his death in 1321. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval worldview as it had developed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.
Sloth is one of the seven capital sins in Catholic teachings. It is the most difficult sin to define and credit as sin, since it refers to an assortment of ideas, dating from antiquity and including mental, spiritual, pathological, and physical states. One definition is a habitual disinclination to exertion, or laziness.
Purgatorio is the second part of Dante's Divine Comedy, following the Inferno and preceding the Paradiso. The poem was written in the early 14th century. It is an allegory telling of the climb of Dante up the Mount of Purgatory, guided by the Roman poet Virgil—except for the last four cantos, at which point Beatrice takes over as Dante's guide. Allegorically, Purgatorio represents the penitent Christian life. In describing the climb Dante discusses the nature of sin, examples of vice and virtue, as well as moral issues in politics and in the Church. The poem posits the theory that all sins arise from love – either perverted love directed towards others' harm, or deficient love, or the disordered or excessive love of good things.
How It Is is a novel by Samuel Beckett first published in French as Comment c'est by Les Editions de Minuit in 1961. The Grove Press published Beckett's English translation in 1964. An advance text of his English translation of the third part appeared in the 1962 issue of the Australian literary journal, Arna.
Sordello da Goito or Sordel de Goit was a 13th-century Italian troubadour. His life and work have inspired several authors including Dante Alighieri, Robert Browning, and Samuel Beckett.
More Pricks Than Kicks is a collection of short prose by Samuel Beckett, first published in 1934. It contains extracts from his earlier novel, Dream of Fair to Middling Women, as well as other short stories.
Ugolino Visconti, better known as Nino, was the Giudice of Gallura from 1275 or 1276 to his death. He was a son of Giovanni Visconti and grandson of Ugolino della Gherardesca. He was the first husband of Beatrice d'Este, daughter of Obizzo II d'Este. His symbol was a cock.
Joannaof Gallura, also known as Giovanna Visconti, was the last titular Judge (giudicessa) of Gallura. Joanna claimed her rights in Sardinia to no avail and eventually sold them to her relatives, the Visconti of Milan, who later sold them to the Crown of Aragon. She is mentioned passingly by Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy. Her father, a friend of Dante's, but consigned to Purgatory with the other negligent rulers, asks her to be reminded of him.
Forese Donati was an Italian nobleman born in Florence, associated with the Guelphs. He was the son of Simone di Forese and Tessa, and the brother of Corso and Piccarda Donati. He was married to Nella Donati, and had one daughter, Ghita, with her. He was known as a childhood friend of Dante Alighieri. He died in 1296, in Firenze.
Inferno is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. The Inferno describes Dante's journey through Hell, guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as nine concentric circles of torment located within the Earth; it is the "realm ... of those who have rejected spiritual values by yielding to bestial appetites or violence, or by perverting their human intellect to fraud or malice against their fellowmen".
Casella was an Italian composer and singer, none of whose works have survived.
Pia de' Tolomei was an Italian noblewoman from Siena identified as "la Pia," a minor character in Dante's Divine Comedy who was murdered by her husband. Her brief presence in the poem has inspired many works in art, music, literature, and cinema. Her character in the Divine Comedy is noted for her compassion and serves a greater program among the characters in her canto, as well as the female characters in the entire poem.
Dante in Hell or Dante, led by Virgil, Consoles the Souls of the Envious is an 1835 oil on canvas painting by Hippolyte Flandrin. Contrary to its primary title, it shows a scene from the Circle of the Envious, the second circle of Purgatory in Canto III of Purgatorio. The scene depicts Dante on the mountain of Purgatorio trying to comfort the blind men. It is now in the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon.
Marco Lombardo was a courtier from medieval Lombardy. His date of birth and true identity are unknown, but he is thought to have lived during the second half of the thirteenth century. He is also believed to have served many courts and possibly those of Gherardo III da Camino and Ugolino della Gherardesca. He was widely known in medieval Italy and appeared as a character of anecdotes and short stories even before Dante's creation of the Divine Comedy.
Matelda, anglicized as Matilda in some translations, is a minor character in Dante Alighieri's Purgatorio, the second canticle of the Divine Comedy. She is present in the final six cantos of the canticle, but is unnamed until Canto XXXIII. While Dante makes Matelda's function as a baptizer in the Earthly Paradise clear, commentators have disagreed about what historical figure she is intended to represent, if any.
Bonconte I da Montefeltro was an Italian Ghibelline general. He led Ghibelline forces in several engagements until his battlefield death. Dante Alighieri featured Montefeltro as a character in the Divine Comedy.
Sapia Salvani was a Sienese noblewoman. In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, she is placed among the envious souls of Purgatory for having rejoiced when her fellow Sienese townspeople, led by her nephew Provenzano Salvani, lost to the Florentine Guelphs at the Battle of Colle Val d'Elsa.
The first circle of hell is depicted in Dante Alighieri's 14th-century poem Inferno, the first part of the Divine Comedy. Inferno tells the story of Dante's imaginary journey through a vision of the Christian hell, ordered into nine circles corresponding to classifications of sin. The first circle is Limbo, the space reserved for those souls who died either before baptism or those who hail from non-Christian cultures. They live eternally in a castle set on a verdant landscape, but forever removed from heaven.
Jacopo del Cassero was a magistrate and condottiero from late medieval Italy. He appears as a character in Dante Alighieri's Purgatorio.
Cato the Younger was an Ancient Roman politician during the late republic. He was famous in ancient times and through to the modern era as an exemplar of moral virtue and as a martyr for the Roman republic.
