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The Varying Principle Of Hell In Dante's Inferno

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In Dante’s Inferno, hell is organized into sections that are categorized in ascending order of severity as they descend into the depths of hell. The punishment of the sinners in each category reflects the sin itself, known as contrapasso. However, the severity of a sin and its punishment was never explicitly stated in the Inferno, which can lead to multiple interpretations of the ordering principle of hell. In the Inferno, individuals who committed fraud are punished far more severely than those who committed murder or those who mocked God. With this detail in mind, an interpretation of the ordering principle of hell is the severity of harm and damage of the sin towards society and the government which indirectly harms God’s plan for order. …show more content…

The placement of Brutus and Cassius is due to their sins of treason. Regardless of the fact that Brutus and Cassius existed before Christianity and should have been placed in limbo, their sins of treason determined their place in hell. Sins of treason harm the government and the reputation of the society as a whole, therefore, sins of treason is the ultimate sin. As the emperor of Rome at the height of its power, Caesar was considered to be the perfect manifestation of a strong government. He was an authoritarian figure that can influence society and order. However, Brutus and Cassius betrayed and murdered Caesar. This act of treason placed both Brutus and Cassius in the mouth of Lucifer along side with Judas, who betrayed Jesus, as stated here, “The black mouth holds the shade of Brutus: writhing, but not a word will he scream; Cassius is the sinewy one on the other side” (299). This scene demonstrates that betraying an authoritarian figure is the same as betraying Jesus himself. This shows that the ordering principle of hell is the severe harm towards the government and society which indirectly harms God's plan for

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The same way, disorder means damnation. In both of the masterpieces we find the same way in conceiving coordinates and juxtaposing politics and religion, empire and church. Analogous is the way to express certain forces of nature, intimate qualities of the spirit, sublimation or degeneration of senses through animals. Dante’s Comedy and the mosaic of Otranto teem with animals and monsters: dogs, wolves, dragons, lions, sphinxes, griffins, centaurs, etc. We find all of these representations in both of the works and with the same meaning, same analogies, and same functions.

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Cassius will prevail in making Brutus a conspirator to kill Caesar because he is adept at manipulating others. Cassius is cunning and forms his argument around honor to appeal to Brutus. In addition, Cassius formulates a deceitful plan to plant forged letters from Brutus' constituents about their dislike of Caesar. Also, Cassius undermines Brutus and Caesar's friendship by evoking negative feelings about Caesar. Finally, inklings reveal that Brutus has been considering the

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First, Cassius uses ethos, pathos and logos to manipulate Brutus into joining the conspirators. When Cassius first mentions joining the conspirators Brutus is sceptical and asks him “into what

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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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In their introductory scene a discussion is taking place about Caesar's claim to the throne. Through this discussion the audience learns a lot about Cassius and Brutus’s values . It is revealed that Brutus is an honorable man who believes in the general good of mankind. He states,  (1.2 84-89)“ What is it that you would impart to me?/ If it be aught toward the general good, / Set honour in one eye and death

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The one on front, and that vermilion was…” (Dante's Inferno: Canto XXXIV) In other words, the theme of satan's description is an eternal punishment that will be powerful enough for the divine right. Using contrapasso, sinners must pay for the punishments in which they have committed in their lifetime. The sin will always fit the punishment.

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Him being betrayed makes it the biggest punishment as where it fits contrapasso. These insights of the bottom of hell support the theme that contrapasso is always just. The worse the sin is, the greater the punishment is. In Dante’s Inferno the worst sin was Betrayal in which the worst punishment was given. The bottom was where hell was depicted but it wasn’t full of fire as many people think.

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The prisoners receive a thematically equivalent punishment to their actions in their previous lives. As the deeper circles of hell are populated by the worst inmates, the concept of contrapasso elicits exceedingly jarring punishments the further Dante travels. The nine total circles of hell are large enough to populate a lifetime 's worth of the world’s sins. When Dante is introduced to the first circle of hell, reserved for pagans, it is clear that the inmates are bound eternally to live in the Inferno, for even those who did not conciously commit sin, are forced to stay in this realm. In his real life, Alighieri was highly vocal about political stances.

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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.

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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.

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The idea of Hell itself in most Judeo-Christian denominations begins with the simple premise of being a place for those who have either sinned or turned his or her back on God, damning them to an eternity of punishment and suffering. A major idea presented in Inferno is the idea of the contrapasso. Justin Steinburg in his essay “Dante’s Justice? A Reapprasial of the Contrapasso” summarizes the idea by explaining it as a balance of crime and punishment in Hell. In canto 28 in the Inferno, the Dante first poses the idea in text when Bertran de Born must carry his own head in his arms after separating father from son.

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My take on this is that Cassius is the true villain in this story and that Brutus was well the sidekick but a very confused

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God’s Justice in Inferno One of the most significant themes, if not the most significant theme within Dante’s Inferno is the perfection of God’s divine justice. Dante expressees divine justice within Inferno in a multitude of ways, with one of the the most prominent examples being the overall structure of Hell and how the punishment for the sinners (perfectly) reflects upon the sin. To the modern reader, Hell likely seems more like an act of cruelty than divine justice, much less a product of God’s love. At first,the torments that the sinners are subjected to seems extreme and grotesque.

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In the Inferno, Dante describes the different levels of hell and the punishment which corresponds to the sin. Dante categorize hell into three major sins consisting of incontinence, violence, and fraudulent. Fraudulent is portrayed as the worse sin in the Inferno while incontinence is seen as a less serious sin. Each category has sinners which have all been punished for their wrong doings in life. The three major sins consist of circles where Dante separates the different sinners.

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Brutus is without a doubt the most noble character in this play. Nonetheless, his impeccable sense of morality also blindfolds him to other people’s sordid motives and makes him easy to be manipulated. Indeed, Brutus is easily manipulated by Cassius in Act 1, Scene 2. In hope to convince Brutus to join the conspirators, Cassius says “Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings” (1.2.150-152). As a result, Brutus starts to believes that it is his job to murder Caesar, as he says in Act 2, Scene 1: “It must be by his death: and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general” (2.1.14-16).

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