As a part of the principles of close reading one should look for common themes in a piece of literature. One way that a person could go about doing this is by writing down different topics or buzz words to identify common topics and things that are repeated throughout a passage. One can find many overlapping topics in Dante’s Inferno Cantos XXIV and XXV; some of the bigger ones include serpents, fire or the holy spirit, descending and ascending and rebirth. One can see each of these topics several times throughout the passage, as per the principles of close reading, one can determine that when a topic is repeated, it should be further
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.
On the other hand, Dante’s four levels of interpretation are: Literal, Allegorical, Moral and Anagogical. Dante applies these four levels to everyday literature. Why should one use the four levels of interpretation when reading works of literature and in everyday life? For Dante, knowledge is, “the ultimate perfection of our soul, in which resides our ultimate happiness, we are all therefore by nature subject to a desire for it.”
In The Divine Comedy, purgatory is a highly symbolical in terms of morality, ethics, theology and psychology. Purgatory is “a dark wood” where “the right way was nowhere to be found” for Dante (Dante I.3). This is symbolical for the Dante’s midlife crisis because he sidetracked himself off the pathway to
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.
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.
Doré and Botticelli’s respective illustrations to two key cantos, Inferno Canto 34 and Purgatorio Canto 1, were chosen in order to comparatively analyze each respective artists’ interpretation of the same canto and across cantos that contrasted in subject matter. Canto 34 of the Inferno is the monumental ending when Dante finally reaches the bottom of Hell and witnesses Satan, the ultimate figure of evil Dante has devised. After Dante and Virgil descend down the flank of Satan and orient themselves oppositely from Hell, they start to climb up “on that hidden path to return to the bright world” (Inferno 541). Inferno ends and the reader must transfer to Purgatorio, the next cantiche in the series. Canto 1 of Purgatorio is a moment of transition,
For example, as one goes deeper into Hell, the colder it becomes. In the reading, Dante states “How frozen and how faint I then became”. This idea from the story is very symbolic. It means that all warmth comes from God. Thus, the further you are from God, the colder you become.
Dante Alighieri’s most famous piece of literature, The Divine Comedy, foundation is created from the literary devices, symbolic retribution. According to Dante, a symbolic retribution is a punishment that represents the sin that someone has committed when they were alive. The Divine Comedy depicts all the different layers of Dante’s Inferno and includes the sinner being punished by the worst sin committed by that sinner. Each level of Dante’s Inferno is unique to a specific sin. Dante’s Inferno, is filled with nuisances and painful activities for sinners and the unrighteous.
One particular scene shows San Lorenzo facing leaping flames and is said to have been the inspiration behind Dante’s ‘Inferno.’ Dante was exiled from Florence in 1302 and eventually made his way to Ravenna. He once described the artwork as a ‘symphony of color’ and surrounded by the city’s mosaics, he finished Paradiso—the third and final part of the Divine Comedy. He spent the last few years of his life admiring Ravenna’s masterpieces and eventually died in the city. Today, you can find Dante’s tomb where a single burning oil lamp burns continuously, the oil a gift from the exiled poet’s guilt-ridden hometown of
Dante’s elaborate description of the sinners suffering leads the reader to feelings of pity. Their pity allows them to have an open mind about who the sinners are on the inside. Concl Without the strong diction used here, the reader would not be able to fully comprehend its meaning or what Dante intended the reader to feel. Symbolism and diction work together to facilitate the identification of ideas and thoughts in a novel
This was a hard book to read, sure I like the author’s writing style. But the way the story went is something else. The book was depressing, a lot of bad stuff happening, one after another. Then Dante the character I really grew to love, got the short end of the stick. Not only does he get pushed away for another man, but he had a tragic ending.
Authors commonly use allegories to express two different meanings within one work. Dante, for instance, used his allegories to diversify the thought process of his readers. Within the first stanza of the Inferno, Dante uses the portrait of a dark and arduous wood to symbolize the darkness that clouds his own life. Dante brings this woody scene to life for his readers by claiming “I [Dante] went astray from the straight road and woke to find myself alone in a dark wood.” (Canto I lines 1-3) From that ominous wood, Dante is escorted through the steep and winding levels of hell.
The most relevant literary element of this text is symbolism, Dante Alighieri utilized this element throughout the entirety of this epic poem. An example of the use of this element is in the text the sun is referred to as a symbol for divine illumination, and the “Dark Wood of Error” is a symbol for worldliness and one of the more significant uses of symbolism is Virgil, virgil is a symbol for human reason. Symbolism in a text is a useful way of making ideas/concepts realitable and understandable from the audience and/or reader. Personal Response: Although I enjoyed reading The Inferno written by Dante Alighieri, written in the early 14th century it was little difficult. I don’t typically read anytime of poetry so reading this text was challenging
In Dante’s inferno Dante uses several symbols for sin and righteousness . Dante’s Journey through the underworld really contributes through many main points of symbolism. For sin Dante uses the evil animals that tried to kill him to symbolism it. Then for righteousness he uses god like symboles. In Dante’s inferno there are lot’s of symbolism contrasted from sin and righteousness.
