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Dante Inferno

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Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet and a moral philosopher born in Florence in 1265. He is most known for the epic poem “The Divine Comedy”, which he wrote after he was exiled for twenty years and so he began to travel and write. This epic poem was written for the purpose of warning Christians of the society he was in to repent and fear the wrath of hell or experience the rewards of paradise. It was most likely Dante’s own experiences of love, politics and exile that inspired him to write so deeply. “The Divine Comedy” is a work of originality. Dante is an important figure for Italian literature and Western literature in general. The reason for that is his imagery brings the reader into his world and his senses. Dante provides an in depth analysis of Hell and all its dimensions, more than we would ever imagine. His imagery does not only enforce the reader to imagine the words but also to take the journey with him. …show more content…

Dante’s journey goes from Hell, to purgatory and finally to paradise, leaving the readers with a happy ending. Dante titled the epic poem “The Divine Comedy” but there is not a single joke in the book, quite the opposite. The comedy of his journey is that it ends on a good note instead of a bad. The most interesting aspect about Dante is, while he is on the journey though the nine circles of hell, he does not realize that he can still achieve salvation and be forgiven and he has the opportunity to enter paradise. Dante’s imagery pulls the reader into all nine circles of hell. Also, Dante felt pity for most of the sinners but not all of them. His sympathy declines as the story goes on. He feels the least pity towards Simonists, those religious leaders that make a profit out of sacred

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