Good and Evil in Dante’s Divine Comedy and Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath

Who is Dante? He was a man that had a desire to find the truths of heaven and earth even from a very young age; his goal was to understand the three worlds in his mind of hell, purgatory and paradise so that he could find the true everlasting happiness. In Dante’s age there was not really a separation between church and state. “Dante 's philosophical view was also a political view. In Dante 's time, there were two major political factions, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Originally, the Ghibellines represented the medieval aristocracy, which wished to retain the power of the Holy Roman Emperor in Italy, as well as in other parts of Europe. The Ghibellines fought hard in this struggle for the nobility to retain its feudal powers over the land and the people in contrast, the Guelphs, of which Dante was a member, were mainly supported by the rising middle class, represented by rich merchants, bankers, and new landowners. The enemy was politically, philosophically, and theologically wrong — and thus a Heretic” He was a supporter of the papacy which was a direct opposition to the Holy Roman Emperor, therefore putting himself in danger of his beliefs.

In Dante’s Inferno, Dante is on a journey through hell in which he sees the different versions of sins and what consequences come after the immoralities. The person who commits a sin usually has to suffer in some way that would show revenge for the law of God. Dante threatens the people and tells them that they basically have nothing to look forward to except for having to suffer being separated from the will of God. Since these works were written by Dante, he had the power to judge others and decide how they will be punished for their sins. These visions that he had could very well be all false prophecies and may not be believed by every person. One thing that Dante did was to give enlightenment to sins that people did not know and made people

The Inferno is a tale of cautionary advice. In each circle, Dante the pilgrim speaks to one of the shades that reside there and the readers learn how and why the damned have become the damned. As Dante learns from the mistakes of the damned, so do the readers. And as Dante feels the impacts of human suffering, so do the readers. Virgil constantly encourages Dante the pilgrim to learn why the shades are in Hell and what were their transgressions while on Earth. This work’s purpose is to educate the reader. The work’s assertions on the nature of human suffering are mostly admonition, with each shade teaching Dante the pilgrim and by extension the reader not to make the same mistakes. Dante views his journey through hell as a learning experience and that is why he made it out alive.

When Dante first begins in this story he was lost and clueless physically and mentally.  Dante was located in a forest with his life ruined and not knowing what was in store for him. Dante had given up on his future and had given up on finding the correct path of life for himself. However, when he sees a sunset and a very important mountain that represent Heaven he will soon change. Dante is given an opportunity to change and turn his life around but to do so he must first experience the darkness of Hell with the assistance of Virgil who helps him and guides him through what is right and wrong.

Dante Alighieri went on a journey that was motivated by acrimony, revenge and retribution. The Divine Comedy is a story of Dante’s expedition through the afterlife with the help from a Roman poet, Virgil. In the Divine Comedy living in Hell is the same as living on earth in poverty today. Today, there are many politicians who are trying to help with the welfare of poverty, but they never follow through with their goals. Throughout Dante’s life on earth he witnesses the corruption of the church and power given to higher authorities because of their image. Many of the journeys that Dante has experienced in his journey through Hell are just like what we have experienced on earth whether you are rich or poor. However, there are significant differences between the two through symbolic signs and other non-religious meanings.

"What is fame? Fame is but a slow decay  Even this shall pass away."  Theodore Tilton     The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, is a poem laden with such Christian themes as love, the search for happiness, and the desire to see God. Among these Christian themes, however, is Dante's obsession with and desire for fame, which seems to be a surprising departure from conventional medieval Christian morality. Indeed, as the poem progresses, a striking contradiction emerges. Dante the writer, in keeping with Christian doctrine, presents the desire for fame and glory among the souls of Inferno in order to replace it with humility among the souls of Purgatorio. Yet this purification of desire is not entirely embraced by Dante,

Throughout the fast-paced lives of people, we are constantly making choices that shape who we are, as well as the world around us; however, one often debates the manner in which one should come to correct moral decisions, and achieve a virtuous existence. Dante has an uncanny ability to represent with such precision, the trials of the everyman’s soul to achieve morality and find unity with God, while setting forth the beauty, humor, and horror of human life. Dante immediately links his own personal experience to that of all of humanity, as he proclaims, “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”

Dante understands that reason plays an essential role in our world, but does not surpass faith; for that reason he places sinners accordingly in there rightful circle/pit. The Inferno can be analyzed and made relevant to Maimonide’s perspective as well as the perspectives of the teachers at High Sierra. At the very beginning of hell when Dante reaches the first circle, he first runs into virtuous pagans, the ancient Greek philosophers. Philosopher’s such as Plato and Parmenides who were born before Christ relied on reason with coming to turns on how the world functions.

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.

In the Divine Comedy, we follow Dante Alighieri on his journey through Hell, the Purgatory, and eventually into Paradise. Dante is depicted as a man whom has become lost on his path toward God. He has found that he has wandered away from the true way of life, and was seeking enlightenment. He is a symbol for the universal quest for God. Dante is a sympathetic and emotional man.

The inferno by Dante is a story of faith, religious and moral beliefs with various elements, symbols and themes. Through this journey Dante is guided through hell and back by Virgil a symbolism of his teacher and a comrade philosopher like him. The three elements through out this story that seemed to stand out the most are the perfection of God's justice, evil as a contradiction to God's will, and the style of language.

Dante Alighieri endured immeasurable adversity throughout his life when he began composing the Inferno. Affliction arose at a young age when Dante’s mother passed. Soon after, Dante met Beatrice and fell in love, yet a formal marriage contract with Gemma Donati prohibited Dante from pursuing Beatrice. In his early literary studies Dante met Guido Cavalcanti, his best friend, and Brunetto Latini, his mentor, and saturated himself with love poems centralizing Beatrice. At the age of eighteen Dante buried his father, and a few years later fought in the Battle of Campaldino. As a fervid patriarch of Florence, Dante became active in the life of politics as a White Guelf. While faithfully serving his city, Dante’s long lost love (Beatrice 1290), mentor (Brunetto Latini 1294), and friend (Guido Cavalcanti 1300) had perished. Subsequently, Pope Boniface VIII and the Black Guelfs drove the White Guelfs out of Florence in 1302, while Dante too was exiled, his belongings were confiscated. “His wife did not follow Dante into exile in 1302, probably because her family ties to Florence were so strong,” (Forman 3). Submerged in solitude, it was essential for Dante to deeply examine his experiences, beliefs, and life. Understandably, as a literary scholar Dante used poetic documentation to understand, accept, and forgive himself and others. Dante’s readers find an overabundance of personal experiences throughout the Inferno, and just as Dante used Virgil’s Aeneid and the Bible as counsel

This paper will look at the concept of evil as it impacts our world. Despite the horrible effects of evil in our world, there is a way to lessen the impact on the lives of individuals. For many centuries Christians have struggled with both the existence and the nature of evil. Most people would acknowledge that evil is real and has always had devastating effects on our world. From the sexual abuse of children, to the horrific terrorist attacks on 9/11, evil continues to rear its ugly head in our own time. Many people are left wondering what exactly is evil and why does it exist. Let’s look at the definition of evil. A dictionary definition of evil is “morally reprehensible, sinful and wicked” (“Merriam-Webster”, 2015). The definition of evil in the Bible falls into two categories: evil against one another (murder, theft, and adultery) and evil against God (unbelief, idolatry, and blasphemy). From the prohibition against eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9 New King James Version), to the destruction of Babylon the Great (Revelation 18:2), the Bible speaks of evil.

Similarly, the religious climate of Dante’s life dealt with strife, however, during the medieval times it fell between the rule of the church and emperor. Dante grew up in a family with the means to provide for an education and he was a student “keen on study and learning” (Musa, 1983). Unlike Augustine, Dante’s path to spiritual realization was a personal journey that revolved around his personal desires. Instead of focusing inward and spiritually, Musa states, that Dante “applied his energies to philosophy” and developed his “view of love as the most

The archetype of the sage pervades the epics of old: King Arthur had Merlin, Gilgamesh had Utnapishtim, and Odysseus had Mentor. In his work The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri subverts the clichéd, all-knowing and morally sound guide by placing Virgil the poet in this role. Virgil’s tragic predicament as a virtuous pagan propels Inferno’s message with respect to the nature of sin through his interplay with both Dante the Pilgrim and his surroundings.