ipl-logo

What Role Do Idols Play In Dante's Inferno

504 Words3 Pages

Since the first fall of Adam and Eve the human race has been afflicted with sin. And this sin came from idolizing knowledge in an apple. An idol is always the root and the cause of sin. Idols are anything that gets in the way of our journey towards heaven and our praise of God. For this reason God made the first of his commandments against idolatry. So it would make sense that those most affected by their idols would be in hell. Dante stresses the effect of these idols strongly in his Inferno. The most obvious example of an idol playing a major role in the fall of sinners is that of money. Money is the idol of the avarice and prodigal. Avarice men are to focused on saving their money rather than their spiritual life. Likewise the prodigal man will spend his money and praise it as the only reason for his existence. Both cases make money a god rather than God himself. Dante explains that “behold the transient farce Of goods that are committed unto Fortune, For which the human race each other buffet”(Inferno 7:62-63). This corresponds with the punishment that the …show more content…

The lustful idol love, but not the love of God only the love of man.They worship others humans for their bodies and love, yet are never truly satisfied. Dante talks to the lustful who tell him “Love, that exempts no one beloved from loving, Seized me with pleasure of this man so strongly, That, as thou seest, it doth not yet desert me; Love has conducted us unto one death;”(Inferno 5:101-104). As this quote explains love can seize anyone, not let go and drag them to hell. These and many more examples of idols are frequent in Dante’s Inferno. This gives a lesson to the human race that all should listen to. Idols are what lead to sin, which leads to hell. After reading the Inferno every man should drop their idols, in fear of hell. God should be the only one worshiped and if this is followed then the human race will live with God eternally in

Show More
Related
1247 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
128 Words | 1 Pages

Within the narritive Dante's Inferno, Dante decided to include Classical and Biblical figures to create allusions. Some of these figures include Paola and Francesca, the 12 deciples, Flippo Argenti, Aristotle and even the Christ himslef. Throughout the journey that Dante and Virgil take, they face various obstacles questioning their strength to go further. The allusions that Dante includes help construct the meaning throughout the Canto's by having references to look back on and compare to. For example; Paopla and Francesca with their lovers quarrel, Christ coming down into the underworld to save those who have not committed a sin and is residing in the Noble Castle.

Read More
228 Words | 1 Pages

Dante’s Inferno utilizes imagery throughout it’s text to conceptualize religious ideas otherwise without. This is accomplished on each level but in the case of the Vestibule which houses the undecided, he uses the imagery of the people chasing after but never being able to catch what it is they chase. By having the people literally chasing after something it illustrates there sin of being fleeting and of being neither bad or good. Instead of going from one thing to another, the persons should have sought a higher purpose for living and not what was merely their desire. The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, specifically the fourth is another work that seems simple and yet is broad in meaning (Sayre 251).

Read More
1552 Words | 7 Pages

This idea is reflected in the Inferno and Purgatorio: the violent sinners lack love, the prideful sinners who have too much of it for themselves, and the sinners of incontinence who are in hell because of having this kind of disordered love for good

Read More
237 Words | 1 Pages

Like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dante's Inferno is jammed with characters and images that pose a deeper meaning than they seem. You might even call Dante’s Inferno the king of allegories. Not just because it is old or aged, but because there are many layers of meaning crammed into it. Level upon level of Dante's Hell is just congested with hidden meanings. In Dante’s Inferno, the allegory shows that all your actions have consequences and is defined by shape, length, allusion and punctuation and sentence structure.

Read More
989 Words | 4 Pages

In Inferno, Dante is the main character who is fighting between good and evil, which translates to be the theme of the story. Dante explores deeply the Christian hell and heaven, which includes the immediate Purgatory. This experience makes him cast his allegiance to good and God. The differences between these two stories are depicted when comparing the epic conventions, epic characteristics, and when comparing the various religious backgrounds of the times in which these two stories were written.

Read More
960 Words | 4 Pages

If they weren’t noble or had connections, citizens worked hard to set themselves apart. While most commoners did not resort to foretelling the future, as many of them were a part of the Church, they could relate to what Tiresias sought. Similarly, many famous Greek warriors resided in the tamest Circle of Hell: the First Circle. The closest thing Hell had to paradise, people were placed there for the simple fact that they were born and died before Jesus. Very few souls were taken from Circle One until Jesus died and “chose for elevation among the elect” (28), selecting the best of the best to join the ranks of heaven.

Read More
1040 Words | 5 Pages

The “intellect” itself can be deduced as being God. This version of Hell, however, was born from Dante’s mind after being banished from Florence. Much of the Inferno is written as satire, but the morals it holds still present themselves within the larger Catholic ideology. In Thomas Thayer’s The Origin and History of the Doctrine of Endless Punishment, he conducts a detailed analysis of the Bible’s hell and it’s origins.

Read More
1509 Words | 7 Pages

Francesca and Ugolino were affected by love and hatred & pride respectively. If both of them did not give in to their urges, then they would have ended up with different fates. The Inferno also shows that if a person exercises free will to err, then he/she can be brought to eternal

Read More
1633 Words | 7 Pages

“Durante Degli Aligheries Inferno {Part of the Divine comedy} is widely regarded as the greatest poem in modern european language, its allegorical comparisons, metaphors and satirical critisism of italy in the 15th century all contribute to its level of prestige. However, what influenced Dante Aligherie to create such a masterpiece? By looking at Dante Aligheries participation in Florentine Politics and comparing it to the extensive amount of political references used in Dantes Inferno it is clear that Politics played a vital role in creating Dantes depiction of Hell. Furthermore, by examining the importance of religion in medieval Italy and Dantes connection to the church, one can easily see that Dante heavily uses religious references to the pope of the church. Finally, this essay will investigate how Dantes connection to Florentine art influenced the poems content.

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
1080 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout ‘Inferno’, sins and their punishments are structured from the least morally corrupt and

Read More
1207 Words | 5 Pages

"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.

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

Inferno explores the descent of mankind into sin. The work’s vast usage of imagery and symbols, a powerful allegory, and well known allusions highlight political issues whilst dealing with the nature of sin and the road to salvation. In Inferno, Dante is forced to take a journey through hell. With the help of Virgil, his personal tour guide, Dante sees the different kinds of sins, as well as their contrapasso, or

Read More
480 Words | 2 Pages

Dante’s Inferno details the long journey of Dante and Virgil, throughout the bowels of Hell, or the Inferno. Dante’s Inferno is organized into nine different levels, each distributing a different and awful punishment to every different sin. The main sins include the seven deadly sins, “Wrath, Sloth, Lust, Greed, Pride, Gluttony, Envy”, he also included “Treachery” and “Violence”. The three sins that I believe fit their sins would be “Wrath/Sulleness”, “Greed” and “Gluttony”.

Read More

More about What Role Do Idols Play In Dante's Inferno

Related Topics

Open Document