Analysis of the 'Up on your Feet' Passage from Dante's Inferno, and How It Relates to the Overall Theme of the Book

663 Words2 Pages

How can any person say for sure what life after death will be? It is the greatest mystery of human intellect so far. Man can only speculate about what will possibly happen after death. There are many different ideas that have appeared throughout the years. The Ancient Greeks believed in the underworld, where all souls went after death, and where they were watched over for eternity by Hades, or Pluto, god of the underworld. Before them, primitive people believed in gods of the Earth. After the time of the Greek Olympians passed came the time of Christian Doctrine, and the rise of the Roman Catholic Church. One text from this time gives reason to be a believer and gives reason for one to repent their sins. Dante’s Inferno has lasted the test of time, and though its writer didn’t necessarily believe this to be the true representation of Hell, he shows the world what his personal Hell would consist of. Throughout the text, Dante the Pilgrim is lead through Hell by one of the greatest poets the world has known, and Dante’s personal motivation for becoming a poet, Virgil. At one point, toward the end of their journey, when the pair reaches one of the lowest levels of Hell, Dante feels as if he can travel no more. He sinks to the ground in despair. This angers his guide, who reprimands Dante. The passage known as the “Up on Your Feet” passage is directly related to the overall theme of Dante’s Inferno, in several different ways.
Dante tires after traveling through nearly seven of the nine circles of Hell, and Virgil becomes angry and impatient; his words to Dante reflect the overall theme of the Inferno. “‘Up on your feet! This is not time to tire!’ my master cried.” (Pg.207 line 46) Dante has ventured a long way into the pits of hell. ...

... middle of paper ...

...to order and command my will, called to me.’” (Pg. 36 lines51-54) Virgil explains to Dante why he is to be guide through the underworld. So when Dante decides he is going to give up and venture no further into Hell, Virgil is angry. He doesn’t want Dante to waste the gift he has been given by one who loves him. “‘The man who lies asleep will never waken fame, and his desire and all his life drift past him like a dream, the traces of his memory fade from time like smoke in air, or ripples on a stream.’” (Pg.207 lines 47-51)
In review, Dante had to travel through Hell in order to save his soul from eternal damnation. His guide, Virgil, was not an angel, but was not technically in Hell either. He was in Limbo. He was sent to guide Dante by Beatrice, an angel of heaven who loved Dante. Dante’s straying from the path of righteousness set all of these events into motion.

Show More
Related

  • Dante’s Inferno - The Evolving Relationship between Dante the Pilgrim and Virgil the Guide

    2166 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Dante’s Inferno, the relationship between Dante the Pilgrim and Virgil the Guide is an ever-evolving one. By analyzing the transformation of this relationship as the two sojourn through the circles of hell, one is able to learn more about the mindset of Dante the Poet.  At the outset, Dante is clearly subservient to Virgil, whom he holds in high esteem for his literary genius. However, as the work progresses, Virgil facilitates Dante’s spiritual enlightenment, so that by the end, Dante has ascended to Virgil’s spiritual level and has in many respects surpassed him. In Dante’s journey with respect to Virgil, one can see man’s spiritual journey towards understanding God. While God loves man regardless of his faults, His greatest desire is to see man attain greater spirituality, in that man, already created in God’s image, may truly become divine, and in doing so, attain eternality.

    Read More

  • Divine Comedy - Contrapasso of Dante’s Inferno

    1650 Words  | 4 Pages

    As Dante and Virgil, Dante’s guide through Hell, approach the Gate of Hell, Dante reads the inscription above the gates:

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Dante Switch Guides

    1446 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dante needed two main guides to help him take on the arduous task of changing his sinful ways to save him from himself, he needed both guides because each taught him very different but very valuable things. These guides where chosen because of various aspects that allow they to teach Dante to the best. The first of these guides is Virgil, a well-respected pagan poet. There are many reasons why Virgil was chosen

    Read More

  • Dante's Sense of Irony

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Inferno we follow the journey of Dante as he wanders off the path of moral truth and into Hell. The Virgin Mary and Santa Lucia ask Beatrice, Dante’s deceased love, to send some help. Thus, Virgil comes to the rescue and essentially guides Dante through Hell and back to the mortal world from which he came. However, things begin to seem kind of odd. When reading the Inferno one may begin to question the way Dante describes Hell and the things that occur within, or even the things we have always believed about Hell. Despite the way it is described and well known in western civilization, Hell is not at all how we expect it to be because of Dante's use of irony throughout this poetic masterpiece.

    Read More

  • The Allegory of the Cave and Dante

    1237 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ards monstrous figures and sympathy towards those who seem to be tortured unjustly. In his perverse education, with instruction from Virgil and the shades, Dante learns to replace mercy with brutality, because sympathy in Hell condones sin and denies divine justice. The ancient philosopher Plato, present in the first level of Hell, argues in The Allegory of the Cave that truth is possible via knowledge of the Form of the Good. Similarly, Dante acquires truth through a gradual understanding of contrapasso and the recognition of divine justice in the afterlife. Ultimately, Dante recognizes that the actions of the earthly fresh are important because the soul lives on afterwards to face the ramifications. By expressing his ideas on morality and righteousness, Dante writes a work worth reading, immortalizes his name, and exalts the beliefs of his Christian audience.

    Read More

  • Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy

    1145 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Dante and Virgil reach the gate of Hell, Dante is overcome with fear upon reading the inscription above the gate and hearing the screams and lamentations of those inside. He reacts to the inscription by crying out, " ‘Master,’ I said, ‘these words I see are cruel.’ " (III.12). By this he shows his fear of the unknown because he does not yet know exactly what he will witness during his descent. One of Dante’s truest display of fear occurs upon reaching the vile City of Dis. When the "fallen angels" deny the travelers access through the city, Virgil, usually unflappable, even appears shaken up. Understandably, this does not help Dante’s nerves at all. He actually makes a side comment to the reader declaring the terror he felt after the angels had defied Virgil’s request saying: "And now, my reader, consider how I felt / when those foreboding words came to my ears! / I thought I’d never see our world again!" (VIII.

    Read More

  • Dante Inferno Analysis

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    That is symbolic of the nature of the human life and human beings. All human beings are new to life that only goes once. There is importance in making sound decisions not to get lost in the motions of life forever. The role of God or the Holy Spirit is seen in the guidance by Virgil. All that Dante needs to do is follow the lead of the one that knows much more than him. The use of the holy days to journey through hell in the narration gives the reader the authority to associate some of the events of the journey with spirituality and God. The guidance of Virgil is also legitimate because he leads Dante to the

    Read More

  • The History Of Dante's Inferno

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    He had meticulously described it to illuminate the Bible’s interpretation, especially for the degrees of sin. For instance, during his journey through Hell, he had traveled through nine rings, each containing different forms of sin. Within the rings, Dante had met individuals who were cast into Hell for adultery and heretical beliefs. However, Dante had not only described who he saw, but also the quality of their lives in Hell. D’Epiro states, “The poet’s most famous portrait of flawed grandeur is that of Ulysses, whose sins as a false counselor have caused him to be enveloped in flames like a human torch.” (99) Dante had wanted to put an emphasis on how perilous Hell was because of the time period’s grasp on religion in 1320.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis: Dante's Inferno

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dante’s Inferno presents the reader with many questions and thought provoking dialogue to interpret. These crossroads provide points of contemplation and thought. Dante’s graphic depiction of hell and its eternal punishment is filled with imagery and allegorical meanings. Examining one of these cruxes of why there is a rift in the pits of hell, can lead the reader to interpret why Dante used the language he did to relate the Idea of a Just and perfect punishment by God.

    Read More

  • The Weakness of Human Nature in Dante's Inferno

    2210 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dante's "Inferno" is full of themes. But the most frequent is that of the weakness of human nature. Dante's descent into hell is initially so that Dante can see how he can better live his life, free of weaknesses that may ultimately be his ticket to hell. Through the first ten cantos, Dante portrays how each level of his hell is a manifestation of human weakness and a loss of hope, which ultimately Dante uses to purge and learn from. Dante, himself, is about to fall into the weaknesses of humans, before there is some divine intervention on the part of his love Beatrice, who is in heaven. He is sent on a journey to hell in order for Dante to see, smell, and hear hell. As we see this experience brings out Dante's weakness' of cowardice, wrath and unworthiness. He is lead by Virgil, who is a representation of intellect. Through Dante's experiences he will purge his sins.

    Read More

  • The Structure and Content of Dante's Inferno

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... Moreover, such belief in human reason signifies Dante's hope towards a bright society and the pursuit of God’s love as the other part of self-reflection. In conclusion, a great deal of tension and contrast between “dark” and “light” in The Inferno helps us to explore Dante’s self portrait—he fears dangerous desires and sinful darkness, but shows much courage and hope towards life since he nevertheless follows his guide Virgil to dive into horrible Hell. As shown in Canto I, such emotional reaction to dark and light symbols lays a great foundation for developing Dante’s broad and universal traits as his journey progresses.

    Read More

  • Dante's Journey Analysis

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the beginning of the journey, Dante knew from the moment he saw “Abandon every hope, all you who enter” (Canto 3) his life was about to change. At this point of the journey he has met his guide Virgil. Virgil showed him the rightful way in life and he also introduced Dante to everyone who influenced him throughout his

    Read More

  • The Divine Comedy vs. Paradise Lost

    3039 Words  | 7 Pages

    Dante experiences a vision, at the age of 35, after experiencing traumatic events in his hometown of Florence. The events that are occurring in Florence at the time are associated with papal corruption and cause Dante to be forced into exile. Following the vision, which confirms to Dante that he has strayed from the right path in life, Dante begins his travel through the three realms, which contain the possible consequences following a person’s death. Dante’s journey begins on Good Friday, when he is escorted to the gates of Hell, moves to Purgatory and ends in Heaven. However, an escort accompanies him for duration of his journey. Virgil, who Dante has long admired, escorts Dante through Hell and...

    Read More

  • Analysis of Dante's Inferno

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    Despite the obvious flaws of Dante himself, he does give a clear vision of how punishments will be taken forth in the afterlife. He gives reason to fear and respect the law of God lest eternal punishment be your only promise in the afterlife. These punishments are as relevant as can be, so he offers a very vivid picture of hell. The men that he puts in hell give it a realistic twist, enhancing the fear that is felt upon reading this work

    Read More

  • Perception Dante Alighieri’s in The Inferno

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dante successfully completes his journey of enlightenment through hell by learning through active observation and self-reflection about himself and his journey. With the beneficial observation and reflection, Dante learns from the sinners and gains knowledge about himself. There is a strong emphasis on perception throughout the novel. It is through sight that Dante acknowledges hell and learns from it. At the commencement of his journey into hell, Dante says to Virgil, "lead me to witness what you have said. . .

    Read More

More about Analysis of the 'Up on your Feet' Passage from Dante's Inferno, and How It Relates to the Overall Theme of the Book

Open Document