Definition Of A Theme In Dante's 'The Divine Comedy'

1417 Words3 Pages

Adriana Moran
World Literature 2403
Professor Amy Brady
10 March 2014
Messages
The definition of a theme is not concrete, but it can have many meanings among literary scholars. In the semester, we viewed the term theme as a message the reader takes away from the text. Literary scholars can take a text and pick out numerous themes throughout the written work. Themes do vary from reader to reader because it depends on how he or she portrays the text. In the books The Divine Comedy: Inferno by Dante and 1001 Nights we are taught to do a close reading. While doing this we learned how to read literature and learned what to look for. Reading The Divine Comedy: Inferno by Dante that the farther you go down into hell the more extreme the punishments are. Also, when studying 1001 Nights I found the repetition of words to illustrate morals throughout the embedded narrative as a theme found in the work.
In Dante’s The Divine Comedy: Inferno, the theme that in order to reach to heaven, you must go through hell stood out to me. The allegory starts off with Dante walking through the woods alone. He is trying to find paradiso/heaven to be with Beatrice, who Dante is in love with. As Dante was walking the path to reach heaven, beasts are blocking his way. Virgil, sent by Beatrice and Dante’s new guide, is there to help to find a way to heaven. Virgil and Dante are now together and must get to heaven, but the only way they can get to heaven is to go through hell. Even in the first three cantos Dante the author explains that the only way that he can get to see Beatrice is if he travels through the nine circles of hell.
As the story continues, Dante and Virgil reach Limbo where Virgil resides and the second circle of hell. Limbo is here for peop...

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...get the King to notice how the Cadi, King, Vizier, Governor, and the Carpenter reacted at the end of the story. Also, how faith in women can be restored and that they are not an enemy.
In short, the definition of a theme is not concrete, but it can have many meanings among literary scholars. Literary scholars can take a text and pick out numerous themes throughout the written work. I found in The Divine Comedy: Inferno by Dante that the farther you go down into hell the more extreme the punishments are. Additionally, in 1001 Nights I found the repetition of words to illustrate morals throughout the embedded narrative as a theme found in the work. The examples I used for each literary work proves that the themes I produced exists. The themes I put together for both works is only one of many literary critic can conclude which makes literature so interesting to study.

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