The Inferno: An Analysis

601 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary analysis inferno dante

While I read Dante’s Inferno, I caught myself reading an underlying message. It wasn’t about the Christian faith, or the soul’s road to salvation. It was Dante’s own political views. While the book may have been written for the religious message, I believe that Dante added his take on politics as well. I believe Dante uses religious principles to punish his political opponents. If you’re asking why Dante would need an opportunity to take his enemies down, it all comes down to the Guelph and Ghibelline conflict. In a nutshell, Guelphs were for more papal power, and the Ghibellines wanted more power for the king. Within the Guelphs, there was another separation. There were the Black Guelphs, who wanted the pope to be the supreme power, while the White Guelphs thought the pope and king should coincide as leaders. Dante was a member of the White Guelph party, and was exiled from his home of Florence by the Black Guelph party. Shortly after his exile, Dante began writing The Inferno, so his angry emotions were still fresh. It is easy to see how he could slip in a few jabs at his foes. ...

Show More
Related

  • The Inferno by Dante Allegheri: Fourfold Analysis

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    To further interpret The Inferno, the Italian poet, Dante Allegheri, created a method called The Fourfold Analysis. This method involves analyzing the historical, moral, political, and spiritual effects of the topic. For example, Dante’s fourfold method helps the reader to further understand the thieves and their allegorical symbolism. The Thieves are found in the Seventh Pouch of the Eighth Circle of Hell in Dante’s Inferno, guarded by Cacus, a centaur. They are found with their hands tied up, being punished by snakes and lizards. The Thieves played a significant role in The Inferno, as they take up two entire cantos. The sight of the thieves in hell makes Dante’s “blood run cold with fright.” (Ciardi 197) At first glance, the actions of a thief seem to only affect 2 groups of people-the thief and the victim(s)-however, the effects include damage of community trust, personal costs, and continued separation between good and evil.

    Read More

  • The Bond of Communion: An Analysis of the Communal Bonds throughout Dante's Inferno

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human beings are odd creatures, possessing abilities no other living species have. These abilities being Intelligence, Reason, and Free Will. These attributes allow human beings to value and destroy whatever they deem necessary to them. One of the most valuable things to a human being is the communal bond. This bond comes in many shapes and forms and is ultimately a form of love, and is usually a connection we share with others and with God. The communal bond works like a relationship, in which the persons involved are expected to and obey the instructions specified. This bond is a weak love, one that is easily influenced and most likely to be corrupted and shattered. This is due to man’s inability to hate himself and assume responsibility for his actions. Instead man decides to blame his neighbor for his wrongs and this leads to man loathing his community. In his work, The Inferno, Dante Alighieri utilizes the placement of sinners in The Inferno in order to establish the idea of moral depravation being a result of breaking communal bonds.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dan Brown's Inferno

    1400 Words  | 3 Pages

    Inferno follows the story of Dr. Langdon and Sienna Brooks as they travel through Florence trying to stop a mad man from setting loose a disease that could wipe out huge amounts of populations as a way to solve the world’s overpopulation problem. This disease being later shown to be a vector virus that make’s 1/3 of humans actually sterile instead. Langdon however has no memory of anything and has to retrace his steps in order to stop the possible outbreak. Many of the places told in the story all have to deal with significant areas within Florence herself. Florence is the breeding ground of the world’s most famous artists and have inspired books and even video games alike. From the Boboli Gardens to the Florence Baptistry.

    Read More

  • Inside Inferno by Dante Alighieri: A Story within a Story

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    Inferno is the story of Dante's journey through Hell on his way to heaven to see Beatrice. There is the recurring theme throughout the text. Dante loves her so he is willing to go through the perilous and difficult journey to get to her. Dante was a rather religious individual and it shows throughout his writing. “The time was the beginning of the morning; the sun was rising now in fellowship with the same stars that had escorted it when Divine Love first moved those things of beauty; so that the hour and the gentle season gave me good cause for hopefulness on seeing that b...

    Read More

  • The Cruel Punishment In Dante's Inferno

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dante came a long way in reaching the lower part of Hell in the “Inferno” to not be to be highly satisfied with what he experienced from seeing, hearing, reflecting, and questioning. Throughout the journey we can see that Dante had two sides to him the one in which his felt sympathy for the sinners and felt frightened along the way and the other Dante in which he judgment that the sinners should have a more cruel punishment. Dante encountered many challenges as he progressed to each level.

    Read More

  • Dante’s Inferno in Milton´s Paradise Lost

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many arguments have been made that Dante’s Inferno glimmers through here and there in Milton’s Paradise Lost. While at first glance the two poems seem quite drastically different in their portrayal of Hell, but scholars have made arguments that influence from Dante shines through Milton’s work as well as arguments refuting these claims. All of these arguments have their own merit and while there are instances where a Dantean influence can be seen throughout Paradise Lost, Milton’s progression of evil and Satan are quite different from Dante. Dante’s influence on Milton is noted by many scholars and is very apparent in several instances throughout Paradise Lost, however, Milton shows a progression of evil through his own vision of Satan and creates a Hell that is less meticulously constructed than Dante’s and more open to interpretation.

    Read More

  • Dante's Inferno Research Paper

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Dante’s Inferno, the punishment for a sin is the representation and reflection of the sin itself. The law of Dante’s Hell is symbolic retribution, which means that the specific attributes of the sin--how it was committed, by whom, and its effects--are concretely embodied in the specific nature of the punishment. This paper will attempt to show, by going through the geography of Dante’s Hell, how the sins in Dante’s Inferno are related to their punishments.

    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

  • Divine Justice In Dante's Inferno

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    “How stern the power of Almighty God who crushes sinners with such righteous blows(Canto XXIV lines 109-110)!” In Dante’s Inferno, Dante Alighieri describes a trip through Hell, visiting the various sinners and circles of Hell. Dante also uses many experiences and beliefs from his real life to enrich his views of Hell and his idea of Divine Punishment. Dante’s perception of Divine Justice includes sinners whom he places in Hell for committing crimes without regret, they are placed lower in Hell according to the severity of their sins. Dante is not always just in his placement of sinners, his personal grudges and archaic Catholic beliefs get in the way of true Divine Justice.

    Read More

  • The True Meaning of Dante´s Inferno

    1608 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religious people always fear that they will not make it to Heaven or the place their God resides. The bible and other religious text give advice on how to avoid the pain of Hell. Dante Alighieri, a famous Italian poet, wrote about the physical description of Hell and the punishments each sinner would receive for their sins. Although The Divine Comedy chronicles Dante's journey from the depths of Hell to the glory of Heaven it contains a deeper meaning. Dante reveals the true meaning of the Inferno through his leading motif, his interactions between the sinners, and the intertwining of other literary works into the Inferno.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dante's Inferno

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dante’s The Divine Comedy illustrates one man’s quest for the knowledge of how to avoid the repercussions of his actions in life so that he may seek salvation in the afterlife. The Divine Comedy establishes a set of moral principles that one must live by in order to reach paradiso. Dante presents these principles in Inferno where each level of Hell has people suffering for the sins they committed during their life. As Dante gets deeper into Hell the degrees of sin get progressively worse as do the severity of punishment. With that in mind, one can look at Inferno as a handbook on what not to do during a lifetime in order to avoid Hell. In the book, Dante creates a moral lifestyle that one must follow in order to live a morally good, Catholic

    Read More

  • Dante's Inferno Research Paper

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    To understand Dante’s version of God’s judgment, one must understand the life events that lead to the writing of the Inferno. Dante was born in 1265 in Florence, Italy (Louis, and Cachey). Later in his life, Dante became involved with politics in Florence and held many political positions. During this time however, there was much political dispute and change occurring. The residing political party at the time split into two factions: the White Guelphs who wanted more independence from Rome and the Black Guelphs who were supporters of the pope (Wetherbee, and Winthrop). Because of Dante’s political allegiance with the “Whites”, he was exiled from Florence in 1302 (Wetherbee, and Winthrop). It was during his exile that Dante wrote his epic poem.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Hell In Dante's Inferno

    1516 Words  | 4 Pages

    We’re all in the same game, just different levels; dealing with the same hell, just different devils. This idea perfectly explains the basic components and structure of Hell in the classic story of Dante 's Inferno. Alighieri builds hell in his story for the entertainment of his readers with multiple underlying and discrete messages about politics and religion from his time period. To grow on the politics in his story there is the character Virgil, the ghostly poet who will lead Dante through hell to his divine illumination. In his story there are nine circles of hell, getting smaller with more severe punishments as you go. There are a few other locations such as Limbo and Purgatory that are heavily influenced in his story. As readers go through

    Read More

  • Dante And Dante: The Story Of Dante's Inferno

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dante’s Inferno, set up of hell is created by is created by Dante himself which allows him to designate where in hell each sinner falls into. With that power, Dante places all the inhabitants in regards to his judgement, as he acts as a proxy of god. The second circle of hell in the Inferno, is inhabited by the individuals which commit a sin of incontinence. Two individuals that we find in this circle are, Francesca and Paolo, lustful lovers that are given the opportunity to tell their story to Dante the pilgrim.

    Read More

  • Dante's Motivation to Write The Divine Comedy

    3221 Words  | 7 Pages

    To truly comprehend Dante’s Divine Comedy, although complete comprehension is not necessary to enjoy this literary masterpiece, there are several skills one might need to acquire. For instance, one helpful piece of knowledge would be the ability to fluently speak Italian, since the many translations differ being able to have read Dante’s actual written words and understand them would make reading the Divine Comedy a bit more personal and therefore easier to understand. To catch and understand the plethora of references and allusions made by Dante it would aid any reader with their findings to be accompanying their reading of the Divine Comedy with a reading of Dante’s autobiography Vita Nuova. Vita Nuova or New Life would give the reader a comprehension of all the political references in addition to all of the political references throughout the Divine Comedy. Whether it is Dante’s un avenged ancestor Geri del Bello or the political leader Boniface the Divine Comedy is made up of many aspects of Dante’s life thus making it difficult for any scholar to pinpoint the true motive behind the writings of the Divine Comedy.

    Read More

More about The Inferno: An Analysis

Open Document