The Inferno, By Dante

Dante’s obsession with Virgil is evident in the nicknames that Dante uses –leader, lord, master, sweet father and teacher to name a few. Dante’s idolization of Virgil the poet causes him to act out in order to please his guide. For example, when Dante first recognizes Argenti as the sinner in the mud he cries out to him, “With weeping and mourning cursed spirit, now remain; for I recognize you, though you are filthy all over,” (Inf. 8.33-35). In this passage, Dante is not verbally abusing Argenti rather he is simply telling the sinner to remain where he is in order to prevent Argenti from reaching over the boat. After these words however, Virgil becomes elated at Dante’s distaste with the sinner and immediately praises Dante. Dante does not take these words of praise lightly - in fact, they affect Dante to such great extremes that they practically goad him to continue to wish pain upon Argenti.

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

There are many examples of Dante taking pity on those in hell. First, one can see this portrayed in the second circle of hell by the lustful. The lustful, whose actions often led them and their lovers to death, suffer for their sins by means of fire: "Into this torment carnal sinners are thrust, So I was told the sinners who make their reason, Bond thrall under the yoke of their lust." (Inferno. 5.37-9). When first entering the second circle Dante, “beholds a place completely dark, where there is noise worse than that of a storm at sea. Lamenting, moaning, and shrieking, the spirits are whirled and swept by an unceasing storm. Dante learns that these are the spirits doomed by carnal lust” (CliffNotes, The Divine Comedy). Dante reacts to Francesca 's love for Paolo, her horrible betrayal, and her punishment so strongly that he faints. Due to Dante’s misguided concept of lust, he does not realize the full severity of Francesca’s sins.

The text answers the question in a direct way using the works of Aristotle, “How his Ethics describes, and deals with at length, the three dispositions rejected by Heaven, Incontinence, malice, and bestial rage and how one of these offends God less and so incurs less blame?” (Canto XI 80-83). At this explanation a reader could draw the conclusion that God’s judgment is merciful and perfect. The question though still remains, if those of previous levels offend God less why do they still incur such a horrible punishment? This question leaves implications that God’s punishment might not be perfect and just. In previous cantos Dante seems to have developed some pity for those shades he has met in previous circles, such as Ciacco, and Francesca. He sympathizes with those damned almost as if he is realizing his own sins of his world. The implications of an imperfect and unjust God can ripple right to the very core of our own existence. If god is not perfect then

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,

Dante’s Inferno paints elaborate imagery of Hell, sin, and the struggles of humans. Throughout the poem, Dante combines both religious and nonreligious aspects and shows instances of both in negative and positive lights. Despite being a devout Christian, Dante’s poem, specifically in canto 1, introduces ideas that contradict that of the catholic church. Dante’s piece makes claims regarding protection from sin and reaching salvation without members of the clergy or even religious figures. Through its content, characters, and even the way in which is written, this piece takes away focus from the church and in some ways, criticizes it. In this way, Dante protests the practices of the catholic church in Italy while retaining a strong Christian following.

With the literary devices demonstrated throughout the Canto, imagery and mood that occurred in Canto 24 really stands out to the reader with the well-detailed description that Dante shares with the reader. From lines 43-66 Dante tells the rigorous journey of the two men as they traveled into the eighth circle. Dante expresses the emotion felt by himself during the trip as a challenge early in the that laid an exhausting effect on Dante.

In such a circumstance then, Virgil likewise progresses toward becoming verse, however verse unaided by elegance. He is the wonderful, clearing, epic Aeneid, which at last and unavoidably misses the mark concerning The Celestial Parody on account of its powerlessness to locate the light and love of God pervading all things. In conclusion, one could fight that the whole arrangement of cantica speak to Dante's outcast from Florence from the expulsion which opens Canto I of the Inferno which he can't grasp: he has no clue how he was ousted, he was so "brimming with rest". Virgil again would speak to logic helping Dante to adapt to the bitterness of his outcast in the Inferno and helping him perceive the mountain he should scale: the Drama itself. In any case, having scaled the mountain, having made his showstopper, he no longer needs his long partner theory, rather turning towards religious philosophy and his rapidly moving toward

Dante and Virgil have some similar views on different subjects.. The major contrast between the two is dependent on their religion and beliefs. Virgil separates and acknowledges the the good and the evil, but he doesn’t set any boundaries between the two. However, Dante believes that the two should be separate, concluding sinners belong in Hell, and the good belong separate from the bad souls. Anyone who doesn’t believe in God, is automatically considered a sinner and is forced to go to Hell. Virgil and his society have no religious preconception, and as a result he believes that your view on God doesn’t decide your fate. He also disagrees that someone should be placed in categories in Hell based on their sin. He believes that everyone in life, has committed a sinful act. Dante’s society is far more unforgiving. If anyone has sinned in their life and have no felt remorse or sorrow for their actions,

Often when we set out to journey in ourselves, we come to places that surprise us with their strangeness. Expecting to see what is straightforward and acceptable, we suddenly run across the exceptions. Just as we as self‹examiners might encounter our inner demons, so does Dante the writer as he sets out to walk through his Inferno. Dante explains his universe - in terms physical, political, and spiritual - in the Divine Comedy. He also gives his readers a glimpse into his own perception of what constitutes sin. By portraying characters in specific ways, Dante the writer can shape what Dante the pilgrim feels about each sinner. Also, the reader can look deeper in the text and examine the

Imagine yourself, finished in this world and ready to go into the internal life. How do you think God will judge you? Were you someone generous, humility, loving, gentle, active, temperance, or Chasity? Do you believe that God would be proud in every single thing you have down on this earth? Well, for the most part, no everyone is Jesus and have all of those qualities. That is why Dante have written the world of Purgatory. Purgatory is a place after earth is a transformation process that helps every saved soul to perfect themselves for God. Through this process of transformation in Purgatory, a soul must accept, forgive, and learn from their sin in order to be in Heaven.

One author states, “Dante found the crimes most deserving of punishment to be those of betrayal of trust. He conceived such crimes to be the most deliberate and to do the most damage to the social fabric” (Chevigny 787) Dante’s view of crime is very ethically rooted because of the influences his faith have in shaping his character. When he hears the stories of the things the people in Hell are being punished for he knows that these were rightful actions taken by Satan and his partners. Virgil assists in this vantage point by not putting input in when Dante sympathizes with the sinners. He instead reminds them of the wrongs they committed and how they lost track of God when doing

Dante’s Inferno is foreseen as the horrible afterlife of sins and shows the human race what Hell is like. The Inferno is seen as one giant allegory written as a story that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. In the Inferno, Dante was lost and he embarked on a journey through Hell. The levels of Hell categorizes human sin and the possible outcomes for them. The three main characters Dante, Beatrice, and Virgil all play important roles in this allegory by leading, following, and inspiring the journey through Hell.

The narrator's strong interest in the psychological process by which Francesca and Paolo strayed from God's will leads to one final encounter. In that encounter, Francesca describes the process in a way that is both moving and yet austere, leaving no doubt that Canto V's main goal is to drive us through and beyond mere pity and towards an acceptance of the moral law that governs Dante's universe. Francesca explains that one day she and Paolo were reading about Sir Lancelot, and almost managed to get through the romantic story without going astray, when a brief moment too close to their own situation proved their undoing:

     Judging by the character in the story Dante is a god fearing man who has moral issues in his life. He seem to be in a constant fight with himself about the right way he should live his life. By the end of the story Dante gives the impression that he a is strong believer in the theory of “you reap what you sow”. By the end of the story Dante gives you the impression that he does not feel pity for sinners being punished because he looks at it as a form of divine intervention.