Divided into three major sections—Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso—the narrative traces the journey of Dante from darkness and error to the revelation of the divine light, culminating in the Beatific Vision of God. ("The Divine
Dante begins this journey to find God. To reach Dante 's goal, Dante passes through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante and Virgil enter the gates of hell and descend through the nine circles of hell. In each Circle, sinners are punished differently according to what you have done. In the first circle are virtuous non-Christians and unbaptized pagans who are punished with eternity in an inferior form of Heaven.
Dante's journey is more for self enlightenment in comparison to other great epics, such as Beowulf. Although Dante does not realize it, he is there to improve himself. During this trip, he feels pity for the sinners in the levels of Hell and often faints because of the awful treatment they are being subjected to. He eventually feels compassion for the sinners and realizes that Hell is a place that you would not want to be in. He then goes back to the normal world wanting to tell everyone to change the way they live so they do not end up in Hell, like he experienced on the
The afterlife is an existence after death. In philosophy, religion, mythology, and fiction, the afterlife is the concept of a realm in which an essential part of an individual’s identity or consciousness continues to exist after the death of the body in the individual’s lifetime. There are some people who think that after you die there is nothing more after and there are those that believe in an afterlife such as heaven. Heaven is a place regarded in various religions as the abode of God, the angels, and of the good after death, often traditionally depicted as being above the sky. Christians believe that after a person dies, they will either go to heaven or to hell.
Dante was an Italian poet who depicted his fictional journey through heaven and hell. The first epic poem of the three, Inferno, depicted Dante’s experiences going through Hell. Purgatorio begins with Dante and Virgil, his guide, emerging from Hell at the foot of Mount Purgatory, where souls purge themselves of sin. The epic follows Dante and Virgil as they travel through the seven terraces of Purgatory and see souls cleanse themselves of their vices. The bottom of the mountain, Ante-Purgatorio, contains the excommunicates – those who delayed repentance and are now awaiting their time to begin purging their vices in Purgatory.
The theme of vision throughout the last cantos of Dante’s Paradiso is crucial in fully grasping the scope of the Rose’s consequence. In canto XXX, Dante enters Empyrean and completes his return journey to God. Dante undergoes two treatments of his vision in this canto, before he can see God. In lines 52-54 of Paradiso XXX, Beatrice explains that the blinding brightness of the Empyrean welcomes all newcomers precisely as Dante is welcomed in this section, “The love that calms this heaven always offers welcome with such greetings, to make the candle ready for its flame.” Dante is able to see the river of light flowing through the countryside, after this visual stimulus.
Dante paints a very beautiful picture of heaven in Paradiso. Heaven is divided into ten realms that are held within the constancy of The Empyrean, the fastest sphere, which lies beyond space. The Empyrean, which is the tenth heaven, is representative of perfect and everlasting love, which renders it unchangeable (Canto 1 123). The Great Wheel, also known as The Primum Mobile, is the largest sphere that lies within The Empyrean; it encompasses the eight heavens, which are fixed onto separate planets (Canto 1 76-78). Once a soul enters Heaven, their earthly actions are judged by God, then they are placed into a level of heaven in accordance with His judgement.
Argument of Dante’s Inferno Throughout the story of Dante’s Inferno his travels through Hell to search for God was interrupted by the spirits and the nine levels of Hell. In the book Dante’s Inferno, Dante goes on a journey through the levels of Hell. In the book as Dante travels through the levels of Hell and his anger increases as the journey goes on.
In Canto IV, Dante addresses two theological issues of salvation. According to Christianity, all souls that lived sinless life but were not baptized, are denied salvation. Dante designates his first circle of hell, called Limbo, for those poor souls. In Limbo, they are not tortured, but the cannot have salvation. It was a very simple and brilliant solution.
After reading the final Cantos of Paradiso, I found Dante’s interpretation of Heaven as something magical that I hope to be true. Dante begins Canto XXIV by examining the concept of faith and how it’s necessary in order to understand Heaven. In Dante’s conversation with St. Paul, he defines faith as a “…substance of things hoped for…” that satisfies the need for evidence (Canto XXIV, lines 52-87). I believe Dante takes the time to discuss the importance of faith because faith is often a difficult concept for many people to grasp. Through Dante’s definition of faith, he makes it evident that faith is a necessary component in giving our lives meaning and providing us with something better to look forward to.
Unfortunately, Dante’s journey transitions from the wood into the depths of Hell where he and readers discover the Christian view of sin, repentance, and the need for a savior. The author introduces his readers to Jesus Christ during Virgil and Dante’s conversation about the lost souls in Limbo. In the First Circle of Hell, known as Limbo, the lost souls that did not have an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ dwell in this place. Although they did not sin, they did not have a proper relationship with God through Jesus Christ. However, Virgil testifies about Jesus’ decision into Hell when he says, “ I saw a mighty lord descend to us…
Jesus has descended into Hell and granted salvation to the souls in Limbo with hope. With the absence of these saved souls, every soul left in Hell has no hope of salvation. The sigh that states “Abandon all hope ye who enter here” acts as a warning for only the souls damned to stay in Hell for all of eternity (I, III, 31). No matter what ring of Hell a soul is punished within, the loss of hope is part of their punishment. Dante is one of the few that enter Hell that retains hope.
Essentially Dante was never settled after his exaltation and wandered endlessly. With his journey into the Inferno, Dante first awakens in a Dark Wood, at first sight he sees a light outlining a mountain in a distance and makes his way towards it. He is encountered by three beasts who stop his passage up the mountain. Before the monsters could have their way with Dante he is saved by the Roman poet Virgil who tells him to reach the mountain top he must first travel through Hell and Purgatory. Virgil was sent by Dante’s lover, Beatrice.
Dante’s conception of purgatory does not make sense when placed in line with Christianity. The Christian faith today is based on the life and teachings of Jesus from the study of the word of God, also known as the Bible. The Bible does not specifically state that purgatory exists. God’s word, through numerous scriptures, only states that Heaven and Hell are the two places that exist after death.
Many readers consider this level of the Heavens to be the “waiting room” of Paradise. The seven terraces correspond with the seven deadly sins and the idea of symbolic retribution remains evident in this part of The Divine Comedy. Dante’s experiences, meeting the different souls in Purgatory and in Inferno, both have the same effect on him. Dante learns that humans believe God and the Heavens are the explanation for everything – sin and purity – in their lives. Learning this has a major impact on him because he realizes that humans have the power to choose to either be pure or impure in their lives.
