Dante Inferno Essay

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Dante Inferno

Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet and a moral philosopher born in Florence in 1265. He is most known for the epic poem "The Divine Comedy", which he wrote after he was exiled for twenty years and so he began to travel and write. This epic poem was written for the purpose of warning Christians of the society he was in to repent and fear the wrath of hell or experience the rewards of paradise. It was most likely Dante's own experiences of love, politics and exile that inspired him to write so deeply. "The Divine Comedy" is a work of originality. Dante is an important figure for Italian literature and Western literature in general. The reason for that is his imagery brings the reader into his world and his senses. Dante provides an in depth analysis of Hell and all its dimensions, more than we would ever imagine. His imagery does not only enforce the reader to imagine the words but also to take the journey with him....show more content... Dante's journey goes from Hell, to purgatory and finally to paradise, leaving the readers with a happy ending. Dante titled the epic poem "The Divine Comedy" but there is not a single joke in the book, quite the opposite. The comedy of his journey is that it ends on a good note instead of a bad. The most interesting aspect about Dante is, while he is on the journey though the nine circles of hell, he does not realize that he can still achieve salvation and be forgiven and he has the opportunity to enter paradise. Dante's imagery pulls the reader into all nine circles of hell. Also, Dante felt pity for most of the sinners but not all of them. His sympathy declines as the story goes on. He feels the least pity towards Simonists, those religious leaders that make a profit out of sacred

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Dante's Inferno

The Inferno by Dante Alighieri was; shall I say long and boring, but Dante's insight to the underworld (Hell) is amazing and interesting. As I read through the on–line book, I became wrapped up in what Dante was attempting to portray in his writing. There are 34 Cantos or verses within "The Inferno" and each verse leads us through Dante's life and his version of Hell. I perceive that Dante's poem is one big circle which starts down through the depths of hell, up into purgatory, and finally to the pearly gates of heaven. By its connection between each canto, thedivine comedy teaches us to work our way through its circles. The book is so descriptive, that you feel as though you are sharing each adventure,...show more content...

This circle housed the fraudulent ones; the seducers, flatterers and prostitutes. Geryon, a flying monster with different natures, just like the fraudulent, allowed Dante and Virgilto hitch a ride on his back. This circle was divided into ten Bolgias (trenches) or stony ditches with bridges between them. In trench1, Dante sees pimps and seducers much like Pope Boniface VIII who granted indulgence to all pilgrims. Trench 2 he finds flatterers which disgusted him greatly. After crossing the bridge to trench 3, he and Virgil see those who are guilty of simony, which was named after a magician Simon Magnus. Also Dante's views claim that three popes were guilty of this sin. They were Nicholas III, Boniface VIII and Clement V. Again, crossing another bridge between the ditches to trench 4, they find sorcerers and false prophets, Amphiaraus, Tiresias, Manto, and Eurypylus. Moving along to Bolgia 5, Dante found grifters like Malacoda their escort and the leader of the grifters. These grifters are sunk into a boiling pitch for their punishment. Crossing from bridge to bridge; Dante and Virgil come to Bolgia 6 where they see the hypocrites, the jovial friars and Caiaphas. In the remaining 4 ditches, Dante finds the thieves (Bolgia 7), Vanni Fucci, who during his life was known for his anger and brutality. Borgia 8 claimed the evil counselors and advisers such as Get more content

Dante Alighieri, as you know, was a religious Italian poet during the late middle ages who wrote on of the most famous poems of all time: Dante's The Inferno. In The Inferno, like many of Dante's other poems, he uses an array of literary devices that give his poems more depth and make a specific point to the reader. One of the many literary devices that Dante utilizes throughout theInferno is irony. Dante uses irony in two ways in the Inferno; first to illustrate to readers that what you do in life comes full circle and haunts you in hell. The second way Dante uses irony in this poem is in specific characters Dante encounters in hell to add some comedy to the poem. Both forms of irony, however, serve the purpose of touching the reader and...show more content...

This usage of irony is used in certain characters in hell and it often has to do with why they are in hell. Furthermore, the irony is portrayed in the stories that the sinners tell Dante about how they wound up in hell. One example from the poem that shows this irony come from canto V where Dante and Virgiltalk to Francesca and Paolo who tell them their story about how they wound up in hell. Dante recounts their story, "On a day for dalliance we read the rhyme of Lancelot, how love had mastered him. We were alone with innocence and dim time. Pause after pause that high old story drew our eyes together while we blushed and paled; but it was one soft passage overthrew our caution and our hearts. For when we read how her fond smile was kissed by such a lover, he who is one with me alive and dead breathed on my lips the tremor of his kiss. That book, and he who wrote it, was a pander. That day we read no further."(Dante 39–40). In this passage, Dante recounts the story of how Francesca and Paolo (Francesca's brother–in–law) read a book and fall in love. Shortly thereafter, both of them are killed by the husband and they end up in hell. In Christine Perkell's, Irony in the Underworlds of Dante and Virgil: Readings of Francesca and Palinurus Author(s): Christine Perkell, Perkell exclaims, " To summarize: As Francesca tells her story, she inadvertently– ironically – reveals thГЁ justice of God's judgment in placing her in Inferno. She fails to confess; she fails to take responsibility as a moral Christian agent; she fails to see herself or her sin as God sees her and it." Perkell sees the irony in Francesca's story just as Dante intended it to be. What is ironic about Francesca's story is that while she tries to make Dante feel pity for her, she reveals to Dante the truth as to why she is in hell and the

Dante's Inferno Irony Analysis
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Essay On Dante And Inferno

In a horrific burning plain, is where you will spend eternity for being with your same sex lover! Dante wanted to bring an end to immoral behaviors in Florence. Dante was born to a family that liked getting involved in the multifaceted Florentine political arena. He was born in the year 1295. The political setting that his parents were used to became a key theme in Inferno. According to historical findings, his mother passed away when Dante was 12 years of age. When he became of age, he was arranged for a lady who he would later marry, but was in love with another lady. After the death of his loved one, Dante began to venture into the field of philosophy and issues dealing with the political environment of Florence. Because of the writings that he wrote to the Florentine government, the Florentine leaders exiled him after falling out of favor. Being exiled from Florence was a great success for him because it was the period in which he became involved with his artistic work. He soon then wrote he Inferno, which was a section of the Divine Comedy. He later completed all the sections of the Divine Comedy, which is a comedy symbolizing the human life which he presented as a visionary journey through the Christian afterlife. He wrote the comedy to warn the corrupt society in order to lead a life of being just and righteous. In his comedy, he talks about thesin of homosexuality. Homosexuality or sodomy is a sinful practice which leads to destruction of souls and is found in Get more content

Literature is an art. It demands the imagination of the reader, and in return the literature will communicate the message at whatever level is desired. It is not uncommon for many literary works to operate on more than various level; there are facts and truths, which are immediately apparent, and in contrast, the symbolism or allegories that may be present upon deeper investigation and exploration. In works regarding religion or spiritual matters, oftentimes it is very common to find symbolism, and this is very true of Dante's 'Divine Comedy,' a work so full of symbolism that there is only time enough to concentrate on the first two cantos of the first book Inferno. When putting this work into context so...show more content...

It is interesting and symbolic that the poem starts in a representation of spring, and spring is often seen as the beginning of things, a time when life comes back to the earth and is seen in the old traditions as "a season of creation" (Dante). It is also well to remember that at this time Dante would have believes the sun to be a planet that orbited the earth and not visa versa as we known today (Dante). So we are starting at the beginning, and the first event that occurs is on his walk he meets three animals " concerning that wild beast with the dappled skin...... of a lion ...... And a she–wolf" (Dante). These are symbolic, although it is not until later (canto XI) that we find out why, and that there forms represent forms that we may associate with hell, which is also the inferno. In the later canto we find that this is a symbolism of the "triple division of sins" these are the beasts of incontinence, violence and Get more content

Dante?s Inferno Essay examples

Dante's use of allegory in the Inferno greatly varies from Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" in purpose, symbolism, characters and mentors, and in attitude toward the world. An analysis of each of these elements in both allegories will provide an interesting comparison. Dante uses allegory to relate the sinner's punishment to his sin, while Plato uses allegory to discuss ignorance and knowledge. Dante's Inferno describes the descent through Hell from the upper level of the opportunists to the most evil, the treacherous, on the lowest level. His allegorical poem describes a hierarchy of evil.

Conversely, Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" describes theascent from ignorance to knowledge, as one prisoner is freed to make his ...show more content...

175) This quote describes the punishment for fortune tellers. In life the fortune tellers foresaw the future.

In death they are doomed to exist with their heads on backwards and their eyes overflowing with tears so that not only could they not see what was happening in front of them, but they could not see at all due to these copious amounts of tears. Similarly, each sin had its own logical punishment, and each group of sinners received the same punishment, with only a few exceptions. Such an exception can be found in Canto XXlll when Caiaphas lies crucified on the floor while the other hypocrites walk around him in circles. He is set apart because he counseled a Roman to crucify Jesus. While the sinners represent man's imperfections, Virgil symbolizes human reason.

Throughout the poem, Virgil uses logic and reason to convince the monsters to allow him to gain passage to the various circles of Hell. The use of characters and mentors is distinct in each piece. "The Allegory of the Cave" presents few characters, and except for the one prisoner who ascends from the cave, none are distinguished from the others. The one freed prisoner attempts to become a mentor to the others but fails.

As he tries to enlighten the remaining prisoners he is received with anger and threats. Nothing is learned about the characters as individuals. They remain nameless, faceless images. In contrast, there are numerous characters in the Inferno. The sinners are arranged in

Dantes Inferno Essay
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Dantes Inferno In The Inferno, by Dante many of the sinners' punishments are questionable to the sins they've committed. Like Dante, one feels great pity for many of the sinners that exist in all of the levels of Hell. Many of their retributions seem much too severe for some of the sins that just don't seem that dire.

Francesca and Paolo di Rimini have no control over the love that develops between the two of them, but are forced to spend eternity in the Second Circle of Hell. The sinners in this area of Hell, the lustful, experience an eternity of torrential rain fall and extremely powerful winds, which toss the souls of these sinners throughout the air. After reading of Lancelot and Guinevere both Francesca and Paolo...show more content...

After hearing Francesca's story Dante faints, but who wouldn't pity her; she did what she did in the name of love.

Ulysses, a man who fought for his people, bound in the Eighth Pouch of the Eighth Circle of Hell for going against the Christian morals of his time. Among the others guilty of Spiritual Theft he exists within a flame, with Diomedes; they stole from God, so they were stolen from life. Their first mistake was a joint effort; their actions in the Trojan War, with the Wooden Horse, which resulted in the fall of Troy and Aeneas' founding of the country of Rome. Also, the statue of Pallas from Palladium was believed to have been a sacred statue that Troy's existence depending on; theft of this would result in the downfall of Troy, and what do you know Ulysses stole it. Although Ulysses hurt others, he also helped others; if he hadn't done any of theses things, Troy wouldn't have fallen, and Rome wouldn't have been found. Having nothing but a guilty conscience can make a person insane; their intentions were nothing but good for their people, so one understands why they did the things they did.

Lastly, Pier della Bigna commits suicide after realizing that he can no longer deal with the terrible life envious people around him have created for him. Trapped in the Second Ring, Seventh Circle of Hell, he is forced to spend eternity as a tree. The Harpies, a kind of bird, feed on these trees, damaging the leaves and the limbs, causing him

Essay on Dantes Inferno
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Dante's Inferno

In The Divine Comedy Volume1: Dante's Inferno, opens with a terrified Dante alone, and lost in a dark wood, he tries to climb a hill towards sunlight but a three–headed animal runs interference causing Dante much despair (67–71). As Dante sinks low into a depressive state of fear, and hopelessness so Beatrice sends Virgilto help him. Virgil's appearance in the story validates how the author's characters serve symbolic and dynamic purposes within his poem. For example, Virgil was esteemed as a literary legend–a great poet of his time (44;100). Before Dante can begin climbing that mountain called Purgatory he must go through Hell–literally. Dante's Inferno comprises 34 Cantos, and nine levels of Hell, although, the first level is the calmest

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Dante's "Inferno" is a pandemonic story told through the eyes of Dante as he travels through the nine circles of hell with the spirit, Virgil. Dante, being a mortal, was sent to visit hell by God for he had "lost his way" through life; and Virgil, the spirit, was to be his guide. As Dante travels through the first section of hell and ends at the city of Dis, it becomes known that the journey is only beginning for Dante and his moral compass is in desperate need of this experience to place him back on the way of life. Dante faces many challenges through hell as he experiences immense fear, pity, sorrow, and guilt. These emotions are adamantly shown through his reactions to his environment and the way he handles the complications of each circle

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Essay On Dante's
Inferno

Dante's Inferno Essay

At the start of the poem we find Dante in the dark forest(Inf. 1.2). Not much description is given maybe to show Dante's disorientation. Whether the disorientation is spiritual, physical, moral or political; that is unclear at the start of the poem. The poem us written this way so reader can identify with Dante. It is also written in such a way that sometimes it is difficult to understand some parts, you sometimes have to read it backwards to get a better understanding.

The way Dante characterizes the dark woods has a lot of ideas taken from various traditions. This ranges from the medieval Platonic image of chaos, this is shown as a type of primordial wood. There is the enterance to the classic underworld (Hades), which is in the...show more content...

Virgilalso wrote ten pastoral poems; Eclogues, the fourth of which talks about the birth of a wonderful child and that was thought to be a prophet of the birth of Jesus.

Circle 7–9

In Canto 11 of the Inferno Virgil explains to Dante that violent sins, sins of violence, takes three forms other people, ones self, and God (28–33). The people who commit crimes against other are punishes in the first ring of the seventh circle, a river of blood (Inferno 12) Those people who commit suicide, those who commit crimes unto themselves are punished in a horrid forest (Inferno 13). The ring for the people who commit crimes against God, the third ring is a barren places all of sand ignited by flakes of fire. To break this circle down more, there are those who offend God directly(blasphemers), those who violate nature(sodomites) and those who are users(Inferno 14–17).

The way Dante shows sodomy, it is understood that it is sexual relation between males, but that doesn't make it homosexual. At that time in the Middle Ages it was seen as extremely wrong both legally and theologically. The crime could end with loss of property and/or even capital punishment.

Usury was similarly condemned, as it goes with and equated with heresy in 1311, at the Council of Vienne. Fallen man must live "by the sweat of his brow" and Jesus said 'lend, expecting nothing in return"( Gen

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Dante Inferno Essay

Dante Alighieri was a major Italian poet born in Florence, Italy in 1265, around the Middle Ages. Although he wrote other works, none were as notable as the Divine Comedy, the most illustrious work of all medieval European literature. This epic dives into Dante's journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise. The various religious and political figures, mythological references, as well as biblical references, all play a role in the poet's comprehensive analysis of the turmoil Florence was facing in the Middle Ages. In Dante's Inferno, the poet spawns his own form of punishment of the heinous conduct that was spurning in his time period. Dante's inspiration for this epic stemmed from being exiled from Florence. As he was exiled, he commented on the corruptness in Italy, which produced Dante's allegory Inferno. Using a biographical lens, we can see the the influence of his life in this work. In Dante's Inferno, Dante's background plays a prominent role in how he illustrates politics in Hell. He incorporates the history of the Church during the 1300s.The poet illustrates the venal behaviors of both religious figures, and the Catholic Church in its entirety. Dante's resentment towards the church is primarily due to the corruption that the church displayed during his time period, "his heart overflows with the wrath he feels against those who corrupt the things of God"(Dante 152). The ordeals during that time period influenced him to write the Inferno as a forewarning towards

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