Dawn Neatherlin
Professor
History 2321
10 October 2017
Alighieri Dante, The Inferno The fourteenth century was when The Renaissance was beginning in the European countries. As we know, the word “Renaissance” actually means “rebirth” in French, therefore during this time period, much of Europe was coming out of its darkest times. Before The Renaissance, Europe was faced with the plague and the Fall of Rome. Once The Renaissance came about, people were devoting themselves to the churches and traveling all over to learn new things. The development of The Renaissance brought forth beautiful art including paintings, music, sculptures, architect, etc. People begin to experiment with science, inventions, and trade. The fourteenth century and development of The Renaissance are significant to Dante’s The Infern, because during the novel, Dante was going through his “Dark Ages” as he was traveling through Hell to reach his “Renaissance” in Heaven.
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The novel begins with Dante being lost in the woods and almost being attacked by three beasts, a panther, a lion, and a she-wolf, which later I realized as the reader that these beasts represented his sins. Virgil is able to save him from the beasts and guides him through the nine circles of Hell, each circle representing a different type of sin. During their journey through Hell, they encounter many different people, including many famous poets, along the way that have disobeyed God and were being punished in the pits of Hell. I did find it interesting that some of the people Dante encountered in Hell were his