Engels believed that Dante in Italy was the last poet in the Middle Ages and the first poet in the new era. This comment not only points out the duality of Dante, but also is the key to understand the duality of The Divine Comedy.
The duality of Divine Comedy is first manifested in how to treat the future and destiny of the motherland. On the one hand, Dante realized that the unification of Italy was the only way to save the motherland. On the other hand, the unification model he envisioned was utopian and wrong, and he pinned his hopes on the moral perfection of a good emperor and people.
Secondly, it is manifested in the dual attitude towards religion. On the one hand, he advocated believing in God and singing carols for God, saints and ascetics, on the other hand, he comprehensively exposed and criticized the evil of the church in reality.
The third table shows the current attitude towards this life. On the one hand, it praises the ethical concept of asceticism, on the other hand, it affirms secular life, praises human nature and shows humanistic thought.
The fourth performance is in the use of artistic techniques. On the one hand, it adopts the creative techniques of medieval literature, such as fantasy form, symbolism and mysticism description; On the other hand, it shows the creative characteristics of modern literature, such as realism, psychological description and Italian writing, which promotes the formation and development of Italian national language and national consciousness. All these show the duality of The Divine Comedy, both in the middle ages and in the new era.
The theme of Divine Comedy is that in the old and new times, both individuals and human beings need to be honed from confusion and mistakes in order to achieve a true and perfect situation. It is an allegorical summary of the author's political and moral exploration of Italian national unity, which shows a strong patriotic spirit and the bud of humanistic thought.