Examples Of Evil In Dante's Inferno

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Shakespeare 1.1.12). In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, a character called Macbeth shifts from a loyal and courageous follower of the king to a mad murderer. The theme of this play, what is good can be bad and what is bad can be good, resembles Hell in the Inferno, by Dante Alighieri. In Dante’s Inferno, Hell is an upside down place where the damned are punished justly for their sins. These hopeless souls deceive Dante on his journey through Hell, just as the witches deceive Macbeth. Both the witches and the shades do not care about the well-being of the living and trick their victim in order to lead them to eternal damnation. While Dante is able to overcome the lies that his interlocutors try to deceive

Each of the punishments in the Inferno either resembles or contrasts the sin committed by the shade. For example, in the second ring of the lowest circle, a man named Count Ugolino is trapped in ice and gnaws on the back of Archbishop Ruggieri’s head. The two men planned to betray the city of Pisa when Archbishop Ruggieri locked Count Ugolino and his children in a tower where “hunger proved more powerful than grief” (Alighieri 33.75). The idea that Ruggieri starved Count Ugolino, and now Ugolino gnaws on Ruggieri’s head for eternity perfectly displays Dante’s contrapasso. Likewise, in Macbeth, once he has killed Dunan in his sleep, Macbeth claims that he sleeps “in the affliction of these terrible dreams” (Shakespeare 3.2.19), which recur nightly. This shows how his deed has made him incapable of sleeping due to the madness, regret, and fear that the murder has brought him. Also, Shakespeare’s inclusion of contrapasso in the play shows how Macbeth could be a character in Dante’s Inferno. Like the shades in Hell, Macbeth’s punishment, his inability to sleep, resembles the deed he has committed, killing Duncan when he was asleep. Since he suffers from a punishment that resembles his sin, like the other souls in the Inferno, Macbeth could easily be shown as a character in

When contemplating his plan to murder Duncan, Macbeth states “First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door” (Shakespeare 1.7.13-15). Macbeth acknowledges that if he goes through with his plan, he would be committing three treacheries; treachery against lord, treachery against guest, and treachery against kin. Shakespeare’s inclusion of these treacheries resembles the ninth circle of Hell in the Inferno. The ninth circle withholds many shades trapped in ice and is the circle Satan himself is in. One sinner here who is like Macbeth is Judas Iscariot, who betrayed the Lord for the possession of money. Similarly, Macbeth betrayed his king for possession of the crown. Judas and Macbeth both betrayed truly good men who were important figures. Due to the severity of his actions and committing the worst treachery, treachery against one’s benefactor, Judas is frozen and being eaten by one of Satan’s three heads. Therefore, one can assume that Macbeth’s placement in Hell would also be in the ninth circle getting eaten by Satan, since he has committed treacheries against friend, guest, kin, lord, and benefactor. Macbeth brings up this awful punishment when he talks about his defense against the approaching armies. He calls for Seyton, saying, “this push will cheer me ever or disseat me now” (Shakespeare