Canto Dante's Journey

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,

“Midway along the journey of our life/ I woke to find myself in a dark wood, / for I had wandered off from the straight path” (1600). With these words, Dante opens the narrative and brings the reader in to see the point of view that he is lost. Dante is trying to connect with the reader that it is not just his life but the reader’s life himself that has gotten off the “straight path” and need to rediscover their own goal. He uses this connection time and time again within the narrative as he travels into the underworld and into the realms of the afterlife. He writes so the reader will have this connection to him and the feelings he is experiencing within this painful yet joyful journey.

The Midway along the road of life represents Dante’s lifestyle and his way of life and how it revolved around going along with God and everything he did had a good purpose behind it that would support God. He is in the middle of a journey to seek what life really meant. The dark wood was a representation of the ways of living on earth. There are two different ways of life, the Godly and the earthly ways. The go-to way to live was to take the Godly path (which was also what road of life referred to) which meant that the way you live had to revolve around God. The earthly path (which was also what dark wood was referred to) is the path that lead you to Hell.

The story begins with stage one which includes “the call to adventure”, “supernatural assistance,” “crossing the threshold,” and “the belly of the whale.” Dante wakes up lost in the middle of the dark woods, and wonders around fearfully in a strange place. He sees a figure named Virgil approach him which demonstrates the call to Adventure as she tells him to go with her to see those in Hell, the sight of the people in Purgatory, and the blessed realm that is Paradise. In Hell, Canto 1, Virgil states this by saying, “it is best, as I think and understand, for you to follow me, and I will be your guide, and lead you from here through an eternal space where you will hear the desperate shouts, will see the ancient spirits in pain… and then you will see others at peace in flames, because they hope to come, whenever it may be, among the blessed” (17-18). With the assistance of Virgil guiding him throughout his journey, Dante and Virgil are able to cross the threshold to Hell. They approach the entrance of Hell and go inside. As they cross the multitude of thresholds in the Inferno, they meet many “sinners” such as Minos, Francesca, Cerbeus (the three-headed monster), Plutus etc. Each experience helps Dante to recognize the unknown world. However, he is still afraid that he cannot actually fulfill his journey. He is reassured by Virgil and has courage to lead on

The writing starts off by talking about how Dante is imagining the afterlife. Dante takes this journey to the afterlife to experience all the different divisions of hell. Each section of hell represents something that you have done in your life. Dante wanted to tour each section so he could see what the consequences are for the wrong acts that he has done. Dante wants to be able to recognize his sin and learn how to repent of his sin.

Our first glimpse of struggle occurs at the beginning of the epic poem where Dante awakens in the Dark Wood of Error feeling lost and fearful because he “went astray from the straight road” (Canto I, Line 1-2) and ended up in a “valley of evil” (Canto I, Line 13). When Dante sees The Mount of Joy, “a little hill” (Canto I, Line 16) that could take him back to where he needs to be quickly and efficiently, he gains enough hope to go climb it but he is blocked abruptly by three beasts: “a spotted Leopard” with “tremor and flow and gaudy pelt” (Canto I, Line 33-34), “a great Lion,” who is “raging with hunger” (Canto I, Line 44-45), and “a She-Wolf” who is “a starved horror ravening and wasted” (Canto I, Line 48-49).

The setting and purpose of Purgatory alone is an example of redemption because Purgatory is “a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven.” Those souls who have sinned are actively trying to save their selves in order to get to heaven. Similarly, when Virgil and Dante reach the entrance to Purgatory a man named Cato requires Dante to “Go… see thou gird his waist/With smooth reed, and from his brow likewise/Cleanse all this filth with which it is defaced” (Dante The Divine Comedy II: Purgatory Canto III 94-96). This action is a symbol of redemption and how it is required to be clean from sin in order to be save or pass on. Once Dante was cleansed he and Virgil we able to start their journey towards

Dante's poem was in a terza rima. That means it is a form that uses three-line stanzas that follow the pattern aba, bcb, cdc, and so on. The terza rima helped him to show his symbols and allusions by being about to express things in a different way. The Divine Comedy that Dante wrote was very well structured and was very clear on what he was talking about. In The Divine Comedy, he wrote about three different things. The Inferno which was his journey to hell, the redeem of sinners damned for eternity. The Purgatorio which was the purgatory, the realm of temporary punishment and purification for those not yet saved. And lastly, Paradiso, which is heaven. The realm of the eternal salvation. Through his journey, he ran into three creatures. The

Journeys can be taken many ways. Some people take the path less traveled and some people take the easy way out. Dante happens to be on journey that is less traveled, by exploring the depths of Hell in the Inferno. The epic poem’s story is about self-realization and transformation. It sees Dante over coming many things to realize he is a completely different person from the start of the Inferno journey. Dante sees many things that help him gain courage in order to prove to himself and the reader that accepting change and gaining courage can help one to grow as a person and realize their full potential. After seeing people going through certain punishment Dante realizes that he must not seek pity on himself and others in order to fully realize his true potential.

Botticelli’s adaptation of Canto 1 of the Purgatorio stays much truer to the literal description as originally depicted by Dante. Botticelli stays faithful to the text; he illustrates Mount Purgatory as cone-shaped showcasing its tectonic structure. The artists employs his graphic, thin linear style to illustrate the different terraces etched into the mountain, building up to peak of the mountain where a tree stands in place for Earthly Paradise. The artist is minimal in the use of detailing, capturing only what is needed and allowing the rest to fill with blank space. Botticelli depicts the island as the focal point of the image, allowing the rest of the illustration to be blank except for the people in the image minor details such as grass,

In my reading of the Divine Comedy, it seems to be a guidebook for spiritual salvation. The text itself depicts a man taking a journey throughout the stages of life. His expedition references both pagan and Christian religions. Dante travels through heaven, purgatory, and hell as a way to show readers what to expect and how to get there. Through the help of a guide, Dante makes his way throughout the stages of life.

Dante is truly a great poet. When he describes a place, he goes truly deeply than what’s on the surface. In Purgatory, when Dante and Virgil are walking through the gateway, Dante describes each step when walking in. “Once there, Dante and Virgil have to climb three steps to ascend to the gate (Purg. IX, 76-77; Sayers 1955b) which is guarded by an angel. These three steps signify the confession of sin, contrition for sin and satisfaction for sin”. He first describes the first step by saying, “We came to the first step: white marble gleaming/ so polished and so smooth that in its mirror/ I saw my true reflection past all seeming” (IX 94-96). In these first stanzas to the entrance of Purgatory demonstrates the color white as hope and desire of improvement. This is very

The picture of Satan does not satisfy the typical readers due to the fact of them visualizing Satan to be a red horned creature but this is not how he is portrayed. Lucifer looks like a giant with three faces each being a different color. He also has giant bat-like wings and blond silky back hair. Lucifer is placed at the bottom of the slope directly opposite to where they had entered the Inferno. One thing that surprises the readers about Dante’s Satan is the long crusty back that they must climb in order to exit hell. Dante represents the ultimate evil in this way because his sins made his lover Beatrice die and therefore he goes through on a journey to experience what it is like for the sinners that are forever doomed and hopeless. “A

Around 1314, Dante Alighieri completed the Inferno, the first section of what would make up The Divine Comedy, a collection of three poems reflecting Dante’s imaginative journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. In these poems, Dante the poet describes the pilgrimage that Dante the pilgrim must complete to attain salvation. With the Roman poet Virgil as his guide, Dante the pilgrim must purge himself of his own sinful nature, which can only be achieved by observing and learning from those that have landed themselves in either Hell, Purgatory, or Heaven. Described in Inferno, his excursion begins in Hell where Dante learns about the stories and the sufferings of many sinners. As Dante the pilgrim progresses through Hell it is clear that he assumes different personas. In some instances, Dante the pilgrim is portrayed as an empathetic man who pities the sinners while on other occasions, Dante the pilgrim is portrayed as a callous and indignant being in regard to the sinners. While Dante the pilgrim is depicted in these two completely different ways, it is the insensitive portrayal that more precisely depicts Dante the pilgrim, as that is his true identity when he leaves Hell. His journey affected him so greatly that by the end of his pilgrimage, Dante the pilgrim has transformed from a compassionate man into an impervious and even cruel individual.

As it is known, the work is divided into three parts – Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Hell for the author does not represent an embodied place. It is rather a state of the soul of the man with sins who is tormented restlessly by repentance. The poet populated the circles of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise guided by his antipathies and sympathies, perceptions and ideals. In my opinion, Heaven in The Divine Comedy personifies beauty and love. Readers meet Beatrice for the first time in this part. For me, this girl is a symbol of worship, eternal goodness, and divine love not attained by human wisdom. The author is greatly inspired by the height that he manages to reach and this feeling is transmitted to me. Dante, looking at Beatrice, rises from heaven to heaven. He does not feel the flight but only sees that his companion’s face has become even more beautiful. I have felt such a feeling of delight as well. It is possible to notice that in Hell and Purgatory Dante’s journey resembles earthly wanderings. However, in Heaven, he is travelling in a completely miraculous way and it is very inspiring.