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Similes And Metaphors In Divine Comedy By Dante Alighieri

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The “Divine Comedy” written by Dante Alighieri includes many different similes and metaphors to allow Dante to do justice when describing the things he sees within hell and his life. For example, Dante says “And just as cranes in flight will chant their lays,… so did the shades I saw approaching, borne by that assailing wind, lament and moan;” (Alighieri 78). In this quote Dante is describing the noises he hears when he is walking into and experiencing the second circle, (the circle of lust). Specifically, he is mentioning the reaction the shades are having to being thrown endlessly inside a hurricane, which is the punishment for that circle. This simile is very effective as it is able to draw a type of analogy from the scream of the lustful to the …show more content…

In this case, Dante is comparing his life to a dark forest. From this comparison many things can be inferred about Dante’s life up until now, his thoughts, and even his mental state. For example, this metaphor allows the reader to infer that as of now Dante’s thoughts have been clouded and Dante doesn’t really know what or where he is going with his life. The dark forest can also signify that Dantes thoughts and ideas might have started to become sinister or even evil, thus “lost the path that does not stray”. This metaphor which Dante uses as the first line of the book sets the tone of the whole book, allows the reader to see Dante at his lowest, and his journey throughout the book to self-improvement. Lastly, Dante uses another simile “As little flowers, which the chill of night has bent and huddled, when the white sun strikes, grow straight and open fully on their stems, so did I, too, with my exhausted force; and such warm daring rushed into my heart that I-as one who has been freed-began:” (Alighieri

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"'Nothing can take our passage from us / when such a power has given warrant for it / (VIII 101-102). The Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieri's poem, Divine Comedy. Virgil guides Dante through the nine Circles of Hell. Throughout the poem, the readers see numerous examples of Dante always asking questions towards Virgil, and showing his emotions. Virgil guided Dante through Hell with his wisdom and reason.

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In Canto 1, of The Inferno, Dante uses several allegories, but two in particular were the straight road and the dark wood. In the first passage, Dante states,” Midway in our life’s journey, I went astray from the straight road and woke to find myself alone in a dark wood” (Aligheiry PG1). This story explains that Dante was on a good journey, but he soon found himself at a bad place. Figuratively, the straight road in the story represents the correct path or the right way in Dante's life, while the dark wood represents the bad things in his life. The literal meaning of a straight road is a path that you can find at a park.

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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.

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He achieves this by expressing the wrath of God. One way is by comparing their plight and God’s rage to many unstoppable and destructive works of nature, such as floods and storms. He also compares his contempt to holding an insect over a fire, as well as the image of a taught bow and arrow. These images clearly convey the hopelessness of their situation, the ineffectiveness of pleading, the anger of God, and the terror accompanied by suffering of hell. He also shows how terrible this wrath and suffering is with much expressive language, as well as comparing the joy of Heaven to the misery of Hell with the gloating and watching of those in Heaven.

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Dante is introducing the concepts that the graver the sin, the more we are separated from God and the harsher our suffering is after our death. Dante also uses contrapasso to show that sin itself is its own punishment. The sinners in Hell are not just eternally suffering from the horrible physical pains inflicted on them but also feel the guilt and weight of their sins. An

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In Dante’s Inferno, Dante Alighieri's depiction of Satan at the bottom of hell reveals the theme that in Hell the punishment is always befitting of the due to the fact that the lower you go, the farther that person is from god. The picture of Satan satisfies the reader because he shows that he is the opposite of god and that he is full of evil. Lucifer is the demon in the circles of hell which he has three faces, and bat like wings in which he creates the cold wind where the sinners suffer. “The face in the middle was red, the color of anger. The face on the right was white blended with yellow, the color of impotence.

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Many different authors use allusions to add imagery, express their emotions, and strengthen their reliability to the claims they make. Throughout the epic poem, Inferno, the author, Dante Alighieri, uses many different references from the Bible to exemplify characters who would fulfill the certain criteria that are contained throughout the different circles of Hell. The contrapasso in Hell reveals the punishments that each individual has to encounter as a result of the sins they committed while on earth. Dante uses biblical allusions to organize the underlying themes found throughout the epic poem and to grant credibility to his sensible perspective of Hell.

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The story revolves around metaphors where everything has a double meaning behind what is said. Here what Dante is trying to tell us is that he wakes up in hell because he has strayed from the righteous path that the church and God has set for him. This medieval writing continues throughout the layers of hell sinners are damned to hell and live in a world devoid of any sanitation everything around them is full of suffering and death. Above the gate is a message that tells the beginning of the journey into hell and the suffering that will be caused, “I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY, I AM THE WAY INTO ETERNAL GRIEF… ABANDON EVERY HOPE, ALL YOU WHO ENTER” (399, 1). The church brings out these punishments seeing as the medieval era he lived in was during the time that the church dominated a person’s way of living.

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Dante being lost in the wood represents his spiritual quest for god and also the years he spent roaming the lands without a singular home, and the beasts blocking his path are the sins he has committed that he must repent for by travelling this path with

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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.

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Also, Alighieri’s use of the idea “like an eagle’s flight.” exhibits compassion to Homer and his crew through the word choice used. An eagle is a symbol of both freedom power, which juxtaposes the reason for why these sinners are in Hell. All sinners in Hell are there to serve the punishment for the sin they committed during their lives. Instead, in this circle, Dante sees four shining figures who are described like a god would be, displaying his immeasurable compassion for Homer and his crew. In addition to the implication of diction, Alighieri ties in imagery into his work in order to reveal his compassion towards Homer.

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Dante Alighieri is respected as one of the greatest poets today and through time. Born in Florence in 1265, Dante was exiled in 1302 due to political conflict. In his exile he wrote his epic masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, completed just before his death in 1321 (Quinones, Dante). It has had profound influence throughout time, inspiring countless writers, artists, and sparking numerous debates throughout the years. Written at the beginning of the Renaissance, the impact of this incredible work is abundant and clear.

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"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.

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Dante 's Inferno Analysis Dante 's Inferno is just one of three parts of an epic poem, written by Italian politician Dante Alighieri, known as The Divine Comedy. The Divine Comedy 's three parts are known as Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio. In short, this poem describes Dante 's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. This was written in the fourteenth century in Florence during an era of extreme political corruption. Not surprisingly then does Dante put his enemies, corrupt politicians, in Hell.

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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.

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