Dante, the great love and the story of Paolo and Francesca 2 part

Dante, the great love and the story of Paolo and Francesca 2 part

So the story of Paolo and Francesca has captivated thousands of readers, artists and sensitive souls. There is a sweetness, such a fascinating beauty in the story of Dante, in the words of Francesca who, despite the torments of hell, recovers the exquisite refinement of a court lady in her dialogue with Dante, that it leaves you breathless. Already the first description of the couple offered by the poet, when he expresses the desire to talk to them, is inspired by a timeless grace:

Speak would I to those two, who go together,
And seem upon the wind to be so light. (vv.74-75);

                                               

                                              Amos Cassioli, Paolo and Francesca (1870)

Sounds flow sweetly, like music, thanks to the abundance of vocals, nasal and liquid consonants. And the same can be said of the response by Virgil:

and then do thou implore them
By love which leadeth them, and they will come.

(vv.76-77).

Only in the name of love the two souls of the lovers will let be approached: love has become their only dimension of existence, even in the afterlife. And then, the beautiful simile that brings back the most sublime moments of Stilnovo:

As turtle-doves, called onward by desire,

With open and steady wings to the sweet nest
Fly through the air by their volition borne...

(vv.82-84)

                         

                                        Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Paolo and Francesca (1870)

The rule of retaliation requires that eternal punishment corresponds to the sin the damned have committed in life; and the lustful are overwhelmed by an eternal storm corresponding to the one of the senses, which they have not been able or willing to resist. Yet, in the grip of that same storm, Paolo and Francesca appear "light", full of grace, like doves that nostalgia recalls to their nest: a soft, tender place, to feel safe in with their love. They almost seem to give mildness to the storm and mitigate the grim, infernal atmosphere. And, a little later, Francesca turns to Dante with endless courtesy, even saying that she would pray for him, if only she enjoyed God's grace and were not damned. We know that the two young people were brothers-in-law, then guilty of adultery and, perhaps, even of incest; but, facing such grace and such love, we are to ask: how can they be  damned, two lovers like that? Is their punishment not excessive? Where is the harm in this love? It's worth asking why their story has charmed so much readers for centuries ....