ipl-logo

How Is Satan Portrayed In Dante's Inferno

667 Words3 Pages

In Dante’s Inferno, he writes about his journey through hell for the purpose of recognizing his sins. He goes through this journey with Virgil, a voice of reason for Dante.

Dante meets people through his journey of the many circles in the Inferno that lead him down into the center of hell, where Satan is. Satan is seen as being monster-like with three heads, representing a mocking of the Trinity and blowing his wings around the cocytus river. The final thing seen here is the fact that Dante’s description of Satan is a bit disappointing compared to the other descriptions he has written about the inferno. Dante’s portrayal of Satan is paradoxically empty and monstrous; it captures Satan in his true form and speaks of who he truly is.

One of Dante’s portrayals of Satan is his monstrousness throughout the Inferno with him blowing over the cocytus. Dante’ first impression of Satan is “I saw his head towering above me! for it had three faces” (266). The image of the three heads is a symbolic mocking of the most holy Trinity. There is also the description of “Under each head two wings rose terribly, …, They were not feathers-their texture and their form were like a bat’s wings” (Alighieri 266). …show more content…

Dante’s portrayal of Satan shows him to be monstrous and empty as he does not fulfill any satisfaction that is felt if something is missing in one’s life. The thing that is missing in the readers’ lives is God as only God can satisfy our desire. This paradox of Satan by Dante speaks truth as to the fact he is both monstrous and empty. This is an astounding idea to think but it makes sense as he is seen with three heads gnawing on the sinners in the final realm of Hell, Judecca, but is also empty as he is the epitome of sin and, as said earlier, sin is empty and never truly

Show More
Related

  • Theme Of Contrapasso In Dante's Inferno

    606 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Dante's Inferno, Dante who is main character is getting a tour of hell by his tour guide Virgil. Virgil his tour guide presents to him all the nine levels of hell, including the punishments the sinners must suffer with for all eternity. In the ninth level of hell, the worst sinners are frozen in a giant lake. The sinners are then eaten alive by whom is so called satan. According to Dante, Satan is described as “Than do the giants with those arms of his; consider now how great must that whole, which unto such a part conforms itself… O, what a marvel it appeared to me, when i beheld three faces on his head!

    Read More

  • Examples Of Contrapasso In Dante's Inferno

    1207 Words  | 5 Pages

    "The Inferno" is the first book in the epic poem called the “Divine Comedy” by the Italian politician Dante Alighieri and it is followed by "Purgatorio" and "Paradiso”. The book "Inferno", which is the Italian translation for Hell, tells the journey of its author through what he believes is Hell, which consists of nine circles of pain and suffering. In his journey, he is guided through the nine circles by the Roman poet Virgil. Each circle in the book represents a different type of sin with a different type of punishment, varying according to the degree of the offense they committed in their life. By the end of his journey through all of the circles, Dante realizes and emphasizes the perfection of God's Justice and the significance of each offense towards God’s unconditional love.

    Read More

  • Contrapasso In Dantes Inferno

    1345 Words  | 6 Pages

    Fueled by the anger surrounding his banishment from Florence in 1302, Dante Alighieri spitefully wrote the epic poem, the Divine Comedy. The Inferno, the first part of the trilogy of the Divine Comedy, tells the story of Dante the pilgrim and Dante the poet. The two personas deliver Dante’s journey through hell, the Inferno, with added depth. Dante is also guided by Virgil, an ancient Roman poet from 50 B.C. The three personas share different perspectives on the grueling detail of their findings in hell.

    Read More

  • What Does Virgil Represent In Dante's Inferno

    195 Words  | 1 Pages

    2006, Form B. In Dante’s Inferno, the protagonist Dante strays off the Path of True Way and journeys through Hell. Alongside him is his guide Virgil. As Dante travels through all nine circles of Hell, he sees suffering souls and important figures in his time wandering aimlessly and enduring agonizing torture. This journey through Hell makes for a good story; however, Dante’s excursion symbolizes a more in-depth concept.

    Read More

  • Satan In Dante's Inferno By Dante Alighieri

    618 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Dante’s Inferno, Dante Alighieri's depiction of Satan at the bottom of hell reveals the theme that in Hell the punishment is always befitting of the due to the fact that the lower you go, the farther that person is from god. The picture of Satan satisfies the reader because he shows that he is the opposite of god and that he is full of evil. Lucifer is the demon in the circles of hell which he has three faces, and bat like wings in which he creates the cold wind where the sinners suffer. “The face in the middle was red, the color of anger. The face on the right was white blended with yellow, the color of impotence.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Divine Justice In Dante's Inferno

    1874 Words  | 8 Pages

    But, as the poem continues to progress, it becomes quite clear the there is a perfect balance within God’s justice as the degree of each sinner’s punishment perfectly reflects upon the gravity of the sin. Furthermore, the inscription on the gates of Hell explicitly states that Hell exists as a result of divine justice; “ll. “ Justice moved my great maker; God eternal / Wrought me: the power and the unsearchably / High wisdom, and the primal love supernal (III.4-6).” Prior to delving into the structure of Hell and how it displays God’s divine justice, one must first familiarize themselves with both the historical context of Dante’s life, along with the beliefs of the medieval church.

    Read More

  • Loss Of Hope In Dante's Inferno

    973 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jesus has descended into Hell and granted salvation to the souls in Limbo with hope. With the absence of these saved souls, every soul left in Hell has no hope of salvation. The sigh that states “Abandon all hope ye who enter here” acts as a warning for only the souls damned to stay in Hell for all of eternity (I, III, 31). No matter what ring of Hell a soul is punished within, the loss of hope is part of their punishment. Dante is one of the few that enter Hell that retains hope.

    Read More

  • What Are The Three Major Sins In Dante's Inferno

    1087 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the Inferno, Dante describes the different levels of hell and the punishment which corresponds to the sin. Dante categorize hell into three major sins consisting of incontinence, violence, and fraudulent. Fraudulent is portrayed as the worse sin in the Inferno while incontinence is seen as a less serious sin. Each category has sinners which have all been punished for their wrong doings in life. The three major sins consist of circles where Dante separates the different sinners.

    Read More

  • Hierarchy Of Derision In Dante's Inferno

    77 Words  | 1 Pages

    During Dante Alighieri's journey through Hell in The Inferno, he comes across many citizens from his own town of Florence. Through these characters, he reveals his opinions of Medieval Italian society, particularly his scorn towards many political and religious leaders. As a White Guelph, his exile from Florence leads him to direct his feelings of anger and frustration into this book, which reveals his hierarchy of derision; this hierarchy becomes evident the deeper Dante goes into Hell.

    Read More

  • Christian Religious Beliefs In Dante's Inferno

    1247 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dante’s Inferno is an epic poem by Durante “Dante” degli Alighieri, written in the 1300s. He wrote a trilogy, known as the Divine Comedy, consisting of Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante was inspired by many events and issues happening at that time, such as the war between Guelphs and Ghibellines, the Battle of Montaperti, and Christian religious beliefs. In this paper, I will explore the first book, Inferno, on the topic of Hell and how the sinners had a significant impact on Dante’s journey through Hell. In Circle 5: Styx, Canto VIII, Filippo Argenti, a sinner of Wrathful, helped Dante to symbolize to readers his anger towards Black Guelphs, political enemies of the White Guelphs.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Odyssey And Dante's Inferno

    989 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Inferno, Dante is the main character who is fighting between good and evil, which translates to be the theme of the story. Dante explores deeply the Christian hell and heaven, which includes the immediate Purgatory. This experience makes him cast his allegiance to good and God. The differences between these two stories are depicted when comparing the epic conventions, epic characteristics, and when comparing the various religious backgrounds of the times in which these two stories were written.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dante's Inferno: A Comparison Of Greek

    1040 Words  | 5 Pages

    The idea of Hell itself in most Judeo-Christian denominations begins with the simple premise of being a place for those who have either sinned or turned his or her back on God, damning them to an eternity of punishment and suffering. A major idea presented in Inferno is the idea of the contrapasso. Justin Steinburg in his essay “Dante’s Justice? A Reapprasial of the Contrapasso” summarizes the idea by explaining it as a balance of crime and punishment in Hell. In canto 28 in the Inferno, the Dante first poses the idea in text when Bertran de Born must carry his own head in his arms after separating father from son.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Divine Retribution In Dante's Inferno

    1311 Words  | 6 Pages

    Divine Retribution In the beginning of Dante’s Inferno, Dante is met by the spirit Virgil, who proposes to guide him through the nine circles of hell. The theme of divine retribution is seen all throughout The Inferno. Dante describes divine retribution as “the punishment fitting the crime.” Each circle of hell represents a different kind of sin.

    Read More

  • Dante's Inferno Research Paper

    1078 Words  | 5 Pages

    The year is 1302, Dante Alighieri is absent from his role as one of the six supreme magistrates. Prior to that he had an extremely successful political career who had no problem exerting his power. Dante considered himself “a moderate White, he found it necessary during the two-month term to join in banishing his brother-in-law, Corso Donati, and his "first friend," Guido Cavalcanti, as ringleaders respectively of the Blacks and Whites.” Blacks and Whites were faction groups who had ongoing fights in the streets of Florence. This is an extremely admirable trait of a great ruler and/or ruler, the ability to at any moment turn on friends or family in order to uphold the city or government.

    Read More

  • Allegory In Dante's Inferno

    741 Words  | 3 Pages

    Inferno explores the descent of mankind into sin. The work’s vast usage of imagery and symbols, a powerful allegory, and well known allusions highlight political issues whilst dealing with the nature of sin and the road to salvation. In Inferno, Dante is forced to take a journey through hell. With the help of Virgil, his personal tour guide, Dante sees the different kinds of sins, as well as their contrapasso, or

    Read More

More about How Is Satan Portrayed In Dante's Inferno

Open Document