Dante's Inferno Comparative Essay

As you read a story, an author can take you into a world all of their own. Whether it is a spin on modern times, or a universe that is created entirely by the author themselves, the setting of a story is critical to the narrative and the reader’s understanding of it. Without a location for a story to take place, readers would lose a significant aspect of the narrative, as the location is just as vital as the text itself. The location guides our protagonist throughout their journey, and if that element is lost, the tale and description of the journey itself is weakened. As the setting develops it can play an active part in the narrative, which can be heavily seen in Dante’s The Divine Comedy in his depiction of Inferno and John Milton’s creation

In John Ciardi’s translation of The Inferno, he begins each Canto with the location in hell where Dante is and what sins are located there. Ciardi translation is introduced by Archibald T. MacAllister, who states that “[Dante] describes sight, sound, hearing, smell and touch with fear, pity, anger, horror and other appropriate emotions to involve his reader to the point of seeming actually to experience his situations and not merely read about them.” (MacAllister 14) This shows how his language creates a “three-dimensional art” (MacAllister 14) to involve the reader further into the world that Dante has created, “a vision of the three realms of the Catholic underworld.” (MacAllister 14) This vision is so accurately portrayed that artists have been able to visually represent Dante’s worlds into maps, something that Milton has also been able to achieve. Book VII of Paradise Lost is Raphael’s description of the universe and how it came to be. This Book – out of all 12 in Paradise Lost – shows Milton’s religious view of the world, and his interpretation of the six day creation. Thoughout Paradise Lost, Milton begins to elaborate on his religious views to get them to comply with the scientific discovery of his time. He describes Earth as “this round World” (Milton III. 418) as Satan views it from Hell, “the Globe farr off…a boundless Contintent” (Milton III. 422-23) He continues to build his universe by describing the world as “hanging on a golden Chain” (Milton II. 1051) from Heaven. Milton and Dante both are able to create vivid worlds through contextual imagery. The layout and organization of these universes play a critical role in how our characters interact and move through their narratives, from Dante’s journey