ipl-logo

Allegory In Dante's Inferno

741 Words3 Pages

Dante’s Inferno represents a microcosm of society; meaning, laymen, church, politicians, and scholars are all compiled into one place and punished for their sins. Hell, despite being depicted as brutal, ugly, and chaotic, is made realistic because the inhabitants come from every country and every walk of life. While Dante Alighieri did not invent the idea of Hell itself, he did create an important and in depth concept that still receives attention in biblical, classical, and medieval works. The Divine Comedy itself was written sometime between the years 1308 and 1321 and scholars still consider it the “supreme work of Italian literature.” The work itself is an epic poem divided into three separate sections: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso; respectively Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. 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 …show more content…

The poem begins with Dante lost in the woods and attacked by a lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf symbolizing pride, envy, and avarice. He is essentially forced off his path towards heaven which is represented by a mountain. The entire journey recorded in the Divine Comedy is a depiction of mankind’s fall into sin before achieving redemption and eventual salvation. In my opinion, Dante’s life on earth had become his own personal hell. Therefore, the first installment of the Divine Comedy is his way of sharing that, all the while exposing the corruption of society to the world. Dante’s disdain for society is apparent by his use of real life people in order to show readers the corruption the medieval world had

Show More
Related
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
751 Words | 4 Pages

With Dante’s journey through hell he examines the sins of others, these supposed wrongdoings, such as murder are overall worse for the population, causing, over time, a

Read More
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
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
1570 Words | 7 Pages

The “Inferno” is a story written by Dante Alighieri, about his spiritual journey through the circles of hell, with the help of his companion Virgil as his guide. Through the journey, they visit a total of nine circles; where they encounter many monsters. The characteristics Dante attribute to those monsters are drawn from classical Greek and Roman mythological creatures. They meet such mythical monsters like Minos in the second circle, Cerberus in the third circle and Minotaur in the seventh circle. Dante uses allegories or extended metaphors (“Topic: Allegory”), to illustrate those monsters he encounters throughout the journey as an instrument of punishment and symbol for sins based on their mythological history, in a way that Minos symbolize justice, Minotaur a symbol of violence in a form of self-punishment and Cerberus as an allegory of gluttony sin.

Read More
1040 Words | 5 Pages

The “intellect” itself can be deduced as being God. This version of Hell, however, was born from Dante’s mind after being banished from Florence. Much of the Inferno is written as satire, but the morals it holds still present themselves within the larger Catholic ideology. In Thomas Thayer’s The Origin and History of the Doctrine of Endless Punishment, he conducts a detailed analysis of the Bible’s hell and it’s origins.

Read More
982 Words | 4 Pages

In The Comedy, Dante the Pilgrim develops a relationship with his damned idol, Virgil, in order to journey through both Inferno and Purgatory. Even though Virgil was a good man while living, he lacked understanding of certain virtues, like pride, which prevented him from being able to reach higher levels in the afterlife. Dante the Poet’s choice to damn Virgil conveys that obeying a higher order is the way to one’s salvation. The developing relationship between Virgil and Dante the Pilgrim throughout the first two canticles brings light to the opposing separation between the two characters because of the devotion Dante has to Christian virtues in comparison to Virgil’s pagan misunderstanding of virtue. While Dante the Pilgrim experiences many

Read More
789 Words | 4 Pages

A Lust For Power For as long as man ate the forbidden fruit, individuals are poisoned with the need to be superior and the want to exercise their power on those of lesser stature. In Inferno, Dante Alighieri explores different ways in which individuals abuse their power, leading to the conclusion that although some individuals may have the power to use their platform for good or peace, they choose to act selfishly in order to be above others. Dante achieves in conveying this concept through his description of those in the church and in politics. Although one may think that the topic of the abuse of power is only stressed in the eighth circle of Hell, it is actually represented throughout the entire epic poem.

Read More
548 Words | 3 Pages

Dante's Inferno is a masterful work of literature that delves into the fundamental questions of human existence, including the nature of sin and redemption, the significance of love, and the intricacies of political and moral accountability. In summary, it is a masterpiece. Dante's exploration of the nine circles of Hell, Dante offers a profound reflection on the nature of humanity. By utilizing various characters, imagery, and themes throughout the poem to create a nuanced and intricate depiction of the human soul.

Read More
1633 Words | 7 Pages

“Durante Degli Aligheries Inferno {Part of the Divine comedy} is widely regarded as the greatest poem in modern european language, its allegorical comparisons, metaphors and satirical critisism of italy in the 15th century all contribute to its level of prestige. However, what influenced Dante Aligherie to create such a masterpiece? By looking at Dante Aligheries participation in Florentine Politics and comparing it to the extensive amount of political references used in Dantes Inferno it is clear that Politics played a vital role in creating Dantes depiction of Hell. Furthermore, by examining the importance of religion in medieval Italy and Dantes connection to the church, one can easily see that Dante heavily uses religious references to the pope of the church. Finally, this essay will investigate how Dantes connection to Florentine art influenced the poems content.

Read More
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
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
667 Words | 3 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.

Read More
427 Words | 2 Pages

The question of whether Dante's view of Hell in his epic poem "The Divine Comedy" is biblically accurate has been a question for ages. While Dante relies heavily on biblical sources for his depiction of Hell, his interpretation and imagination deviate significantly from the real biblical text. While Dante's view of Hell is influenced by biblical teachings, it is not a strict biblical portrayal, but rather a creation of his creative imagination, theological beliefs, and his culture. To understand Dante's view of Hell, it is important to examine his sources and his creative process. Dante's knowledge of the Bible was extensive, and he called upon many biblical passages in his depiction of it.

Read More
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

More about Allegory In Dante's Inferno

Open Document