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Dante And Virgil's Punishment In Dantes Inferno

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In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Dante the pilgrim and Virgil, his guide, venture through each layer of hell where they encounter different sinners. In the second circle of hell, they see an eternal whirlwind tormenting the lustful sinners (Inf. 5. 31-33). It is here that Dante and Virgil encounter the star-crossed lovers, Francesca and Paolo (Inf. 5. 82-85). Dante learns that Francesca was forced into marriage but fell in love with her brother-in-law, Paolo. One day, Francesca and Paolo became moved by the story of Guinevere and Lancelot and shared a fatal kiss. Their desire for one other condemned them to hell (Inf. 5. 124-135). Upon hearing their tragic story, Dante becomes overwhelmed and faints (Inf. 5. 139-142). Through the imagery of the …show more content…

Before Dante and Virgil face her, they witness how the lustful are punished. Dante and Virgil “descended from the first circle down to the/ second” where they saw “so much/ more suffering that it goads the souls to shriek.” (Inf. 5. 1-3). Those who were guilty of lust were tortured by an endless whirlwind that would violently blow them around (Inf. 5. 31-33). Dante’s first account of the lustful is derived from the punishment suspended on them. He does not learn of Francesca’s faults first, but of the terror that she must face now for eternity. Due to this, the setting victimizes Francesca character by showing how she has no control over her own punishment. Dante’s failure to realize the sinners here deserve their punishment reinforces the blindness he has towards the sins of the lustful. The second circle is also described as a place “where all light is silent,” emphasizing that there is no hope for the sinners here. The absence of hope heightens the sympathetic atmosphere by showing there is no redemption for those guilty of lust. This sympathetic effect is reinforced with Dante’s reaction towards the punishment. He is overwhelmed with feelings of pity and a sense of being “lost” (Inf. 5. 71-72). Because Dante is the only living entity in Inferno, he automatically becomes the most relatable character. This connection between Dante and the reader creates a …show more content…

Francesca’s character is composed of the punishment she suffers and the story of her downfall. The description of the whirlwinds and suffering that she must endure for eternity sets the sympathetic mood for Dante and Virgil’s encounter with Francesca. When Francesca speaks to Dante, the poetic words and references to love she uses creates an overwhelming effect of sympathy. She is shown to be a victim of love rather than lust. Dante’s reaction to Francesca when he faints completes the sympathetic effect. All these components converge and create the message that lust is easily mistaken for love. Dante Alighieri utilizes this situation to present mankind’s difficulty to understand lust from love. Much like Francesca, mankind is driven by inner passions, becoming incapable of seeing the reality of lust from love. Ultimately, Francesca reflects the difficulty of differing lust from love in modern

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