ipl-logo

Dante's Inferno Essay

1520 Words7 Pages

Book Report: Dante’s Inferno

Written in the 1300’s Dante’s work “The Divine Comedy” is still a renowned masterpiece. A classic trilogy, this tale tells of Dante’s journey through his portrayal of hell, purgatory and heaven. A topic that hadn’t been much explored or defined by any political, historic or religious individual previous to Dante. Each book has different critiques and ideas regarding religion. In this analysis I will talk about the most universal and redundant critiques and ideas found in Dante’s work “The Inferno” and give a general inquiry of the journey.
Dante’s writings are often viewed as more of a religious breakthrough than a literary one. Disclaimer, I don’t believe this was his original intention. Dante writes his works …show more content…

Some of his allegory might be in a mocking nature towards doctrine. One thing is to be sure, Dante is in firm opposition to the coalition of church and state. The simplest way to understand his opinion on the matter is to look deep into the lowest part of hell. Satan, with three heads, chews on three individuals, Judas, Brutus and Cassius. All of which committed crimes of treachery against benefactors. Judas’ crime against his benefactor, Christ. Brutus and Cassius crime against their benefactor, Caesar. They all are being eaten alive by the frozen three headed Satan with only the slight variant that Judas is faced head down into Satan’s mouth whereas the other two are being eaten beginning with the legs. This shows Dante’s belief that church and state play equally important roles, each within its own sphere and each with different consequences to action.
Another obvious critique of the church is Dante’s disapproval of Simony. He condemned Pope Nicholas III into the 8th circle of hell because of his practices of buying and selling ecclesiastical privileges, pardons or benefices. But these practices were dogmatically believed by the church of Dante’s

Show More
Related

Summary Of Dante's Inferno By Robert Pinsky

169 Words | 1 Pages

The Inferno of Dante, translated by Robert Pinsky is the first part of Dante’s Divine Comedy.  It is a descriptive religious quest through hell, separated with 7 different levels based on the sinners sin.  Dante includes current people of his day in different levels, such as his enemy Filippo Argenti, who took possession of Dante’s confiscated property after exiled from Florence.   He is guided through hell by Virgil the “righteous pagan”, placed in Limbo where “some lived before Christian faith, so that they did not worship God aright” (Dante 27.28-29).

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

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

Justice In Dante's Inferno

1194 Words | 5 Pages

“The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality” (Dante’s Inferno). Dante Alighieri was an Italian writer born in Florence. He made a huge impact between the late 1200’s and early 1300’s in Florence by his political views, ideology and writing style. In 1301 he was exiled out of Florence and from this he created his masterpiece, The Divine Comedy which houses Dante’s Inferno. Upon reading selections of Dante's Inferno (Cantos: one, three, five, and thirty-four) one cannot help but see that vast amount of allusion made by this world renown author.

Read More

The Epic Hero Cycle Of Dante's Inferno

751 Words | 4 Pages

Dante Hero Essay Pieces of writing are often viewed as a product of their origin time period, even in the modern day it is not uncommon to view our time plane as independent to what preceded as if we were somehow separate from every moment that came before. Instead every aspect of a story is ingrained with the message of millenniums before it, so much so the effect that the present has pales in comparison. This is present throughout Dante’s inferno written by Dante Alighieri as it is not merely a representation of the time period it originated from, rather the present represents the top of an iceberg whose very existence and stature are fully dependent on the times that preceded. This phenomenon of the past is fully present in Dante’s epic hero cycle. Dante’s resurrection reveals to be heavily influenced by the history of humankind.

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

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

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

A Lust For Power In Dante's Inferno

789 Words | 4 Pages

Furthermore, when speaking to Pope Nicholas III, Dante fails to restrain his emotions and after stating that he would “make use of words more grievous still,” comparing the catholic church to a monster that would “fornicate with kings” (Dante 19.103.108). Emphasizing that without all of its corruption and dependence on the rich, the church would lose its influence. By comparing the church and those empowered within it to a vulgar monster, Dante denies the church’s reputation of purity and good. Coherently, Dante’s placement of this pope in one of the deepest parts of Hell only amplifies the concept that those such as Pope Nicholas III or even a church, “trampling on the good and lifting the depraved” betray those that are good and betray God himself, are some of the most fraudulent and treacherous sinners of all (Dante

Read More

Nature Of Sin In Dante's Inferno

463 Words | 2 Pages

His response to sin at this point is contrary to the Christian view; however, his responses evolve throughout the journey. In conclusion, Dante’s Inferno implicitly communicates to mankind through an allegorical presentation about an individual’s detour off a righteous path leading him into the depths of Hell. He gradually learns that God’s justice prevails, no one can escape eternal damnation unless they

Read More

Religion In Dante's Inferno

1633 Words | 7 Pages

This essay aims to investigate the relevance of Italian 13,14 and 15th century religion, politics and art throughout Dantes inferno. Being the most important part of daily medieval life, Religion is prone to be one of the most influential topics in Dantes Divine comedy. Catholicism ruled as the dominant religion in medieval Florence from “the late 13th to the early 14th century” (Trotter). Dantes entire depiction of hell is based on Religion, Dantes spheres of hell all reflect a certain type of sin found in the bible (Trotter). The first circle of hell is Limbo, its inhabitants are mostly people of high

Read More

Dante's Inferno Research Paper

1078 Words | 5 Pages

All throughout his journey through hell, Dante punished those who were tyrants and abused the power they were given. He see’s that humans must not sin even with the power to do so without immediate consequence. They will be punished by an eternity in Hell if not punished in their mortal life. Comparing this to current times we can see the uprising movement of “Black Lives Matter” to spread awareness of police brutality throughout the United States, the cases of those such as Laquan McDonald shake the nation at what could be next. A dashboard camera captured an officer shooting down a young black man, a video that was not released to the public for over a year.

Read More

Justice In Dante's Inferno

1560 Words | 7 Pages

Whether it was a harm to a neighbor, to a God, or themselves, the passage mentioned earlier, specifically concentrates on those with self-harm. The intentions of these words are nothing more than just a background one will say, however, there is more to it, than just a setting. Throughout years, Dante was painted in many colors and shapes. Though a standard portrait of his red cloak, combines with an unforgettable dark green which follows with a dark black laurel wreath, is the most iconic image of him in the readers' eyes. Hence, if to look closely, the

Read More

Dante's Inferno: Analysis Of The Divine Comedy

1009 Words | 5 Pages

Inferno begins by following Dante as he falls from his path of moral truth. Sin has obstructed his path to God. We never know what type of sin Dante has committed, this is not important, he has simply strayed from the straight path. Because the hero of the Inferno is also the writer, we have to look at both aspects of him, Dante the author and Dante the character. Dante the character, well to be blunt, he is a bit of a weenie.

Read More

Allegory In Dante's Inferno

741 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Dante's Inferno Essay

Related Topics

Open Document