Justice In Dante's Inferno

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.

Dante's epic poem, Inferno, is obviously a deeply Christian work. One is surprised, then, to find that Inferno is full with allusions to pagan mythology and is inhabited not just by biblical figures, but also by characters of Greek and Roman antiquity. After all, the most important character besides Dante is Virgil, a renowned Roman poet but a pagan nonetheless. It is odd that Dante would give so much authority in his epic to a pagan. Even though this may seem strange to us, Dante finds a way of fitting the classical heritage of Greece and Rome he revered into his Christian culture and beliefs to forge his own Christian epic.

Once said by Dante, “In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straightway was lost.” Dante consciously realizes that he’s “lost”, and sees no clear path before him. He’s at a standpoint of his life where the path of the future isn’t clearly seen. He must now find his path and his true purpose by descending down into the Inferno. Therefore, although Dante reflects the most informed theological thought on hell, he is certainly not constrained by it (Barolini). Dante masterfully constructs his hell and is “the first Christian writer to combine the popular material with the theological and philosophical systems of his day” (Morgan). Having a view that’s “both archaic and eschatological” (Davis), Dante explores through his Inferno the corruptness of Florentine politicians, symbolic interpretations of his political desires through different beasts of the Inferno, and combines the different beliefs of his day to form his hell.

Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno, translated by John Ciardi, is an epic poem based on Dante and Virgil’s journey through hell. Lucifer was an angel in heaven and God’s right hand man. He wanted to be equal to God and wanted to have as much power and all the respect that God had obtained from all of the other angels. After God found out about how he was trying to gain more power he sent him below the Earth’s surface. This is where hell resides. Dante was inspired to write this book after being exiled from Florence. The Stanford Encyclopedia stated about Dante’s life, “he never returned to Florence, and played no further role in public life, though he remained passionately interested in Italian politics, and became virtually the prophet of world empire in the years leading up to the coronation of Henry VII of Luxemburg as head of the Holy Roman Empire” (1312). One inspiration was because of the political nightmare Florence was facing. Before the fourteenth century the church and state were not separated. Throughout this epic poem Dante shows his major theme of how the state and church should be independent from each other but have equal powers. Another way Dante shows his hatred for the government is by identifying significant political figures at that time period in his journey through hell. Canto five and thirteen show how the sinners impacted Dante, questions that arise from the encounter, and insight to Dante’s main themes of his epic poem.

Dante’s Inferno details Dante the traveler’s journey through the nine circles of Hell. After meeting his guide, the eminent Roman poet Virgil, in a mythical dark wood, the two poets begin their descent through a baleful world of doleful shades, horrifying tortures, and unending lamentation. Through his journey, Dante discovers what it means to be a good and virtuous Christian by learning from the mistakes of those being punished in the nine circles of hell. In this way it can be seen that Dante, the poet, defined his notion of Christian purity in terms of the impure, especially through Dante’s interpretation of the nine circles of hell.

Most people wonder how God created such an awful place as hell. However, without hell, people would not see God’s justice, and if there were no hell, people would not understand God’s mercy or love since there would be nothing to save people from. Hell is not like any other creation; it is an eternal place of pain and misery. In the Inferno, Dante depicts the Justices of hell since all those who are in hell have committed different sins and they have not repented. Dante asserts that hell is divided into nine levels and the deeper he goes the torment becomes more intense. The worse the sin committed on earth, the worse the punishment in the afterlife; hence humans should be held accountable for their actions on earth, but sinners should not be treated equally because the nature of justice is such that each person reaps what he or she sows.

Inferno, written by Dante Alighieri, is the first part out of the Divine Comedy. Dante was an Italian poet who grew up in Florence, Italy. He was very involved in politics until he was exiled from Florence by an opposing political group. After his exile in the early 1300s, Dante started his work on the incredible epic poem he would become so well-known for. Written from his point of view, Dante starts his poem by writing, “In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself, in a dark wood, where the direct way was lost.” (Inferno, Dante) He must depart on a dangerous endeavor through hell if he desires to find himself again. Virgil, a Roman poet and Dante’s personal hero, leads him on this journey. The hell Dante depicts is very detailed and gives the reader a graphic picture of what is taking

The Inferno is the first part of Dante’s epic poem The Divine Comedy. The Inferno tells the journey of Dante going through Hell, guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil. In the poem Hell is illustrated as nine circles of torture that is located in the middle of the Earth, the Inferno describes the recognition and the ultimate rejection of sin. Every canto is written in parts of what sinner is being punished, what their punishment is and why they are there. Susan Blow writes a critique of Dante’s Inferno describing his work as one that “reaches beyond Christianity and speaks to the universal conscience of humanity.” This describes how Dante was able to reach out to audiences and describe the dangers of living in such a sinful mindset. He was appealing to a broader audience that way he could attempt to create a social reform. Canto thirty-four describes the ninth and last circle of Hell where Lucifer is left to rot. This circle is where those who commit the sin of betrayal against their benefactors are sent. Dante witnesses Lucifer as well as Judas, Cassius and Brutus being chomped on by Lucifer. They are sent there for their sins against their benefactors and have the worst punishment in the entirety of Hell. The fact that traitors against benefactors proves that it is the greatest sin one can commit and that those who commit this sin will face the worst kind of wrath and will be damned for all of eternity.

In The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri, illustrates a man on his journey through three stages of differing setting. One, being hell, and the other two being purgatory and Heaven. However, the most frequently read section of the book is when Dante writes about the Inferno, or hell, due to the prolific details of punishments distributed to the sinners. When he writes, Dante appeals to all readers by completely and vividly describing all events as he makes his descent through hell. And, complementing those descriptions, Dante strategically places historical figures throughout history in hell to make The Divine Comedy real and very relatable. In other words, by doing this Dante enables the reader to connect on a more deeper level with the comedy. Not to mention that Dante also bases his Inferno off of Christian beliefs and well known mythology also connecting the reader further into the writing. However, Dante purposefully and masterfully does this for a reason. In The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri, Dante realistically and vividly portrays hell in a violent surreal manner in order to educate the reader, and the living for that matter, about their potential eternal after lives if they do not follow the true path God provides.

The medieval comedy Dante’s Inferno, describes the journey of Dante (the pilgrim) through Limbo, Hell and purgatory to eventually to reach Heaven. Written through the perspective of Dante Alighieri (the poet), this book represents his life and personal bias through the lenses of many allegories. Before starting his journey, Dante is accompanied by Virgil, a famously known poet whom Dante looks up with profound respect. Dante the poet writes his version of Hell as 10 different circles and many ditches within, the deeper one goes the worse the sins get in his version of Hell. Through Dante the poet assigns each group of sinners in the circles and ditches a punishment. As seen in circle 4 and the 10th ditch of circle 8, the punishment fits the crime because, hoarders/spenders had a selfish drive that negatively impacted the lives of the people around them and in the view of the Church alchemy was a direct offense against God.

Inferno, written by Dante Alighieri in the early 1300s, discusses Dante’s journey through Hell. Dante is the protagonist in this comedy. While its genre is comedy, comedy during the middle ages was known to have a happy ending, Inferno has also been referenced to as an epic poem or a long narrative. The happy ending in Inferno or Dante’s other works in conjunction with Inferno would be Paradise or Heaven. Dante goes through his journey in hell with Virgil. Virgil is in Hell because he lived in a time before Christ appeared on Earth, but has gotten orders to guide Dante through Hell. The journey is in the best interest of Dante possibly for sins he may have done. One major theme of Inferno is actions and how it affects a certain person’s reputation. Dante discusses the levels of Hell and how one person sinned to get to that level. There are 9 levels throughout Hell, starting with Ante-Inferno or the Neutrals and ending with fraudulent which consists of hypocrites and thieves and also treacherous people.

In the beginning of Dante’s Inferno, Dante engages the reader in a personal way by including them in his story. He allows the reader to relate and emphasizes that they will or most likely have gone through an experience of losing their path in life. Midway on our life’s journey, I found myself/ In dark woods, the right road lost (Dante, 1408). The Inferno is often described as the quintessence of the medieval worldview, a codification of the values of the high Middle Ages in art, science, theology and philosophy (Wilke, Hurt). He was a pious man whose own experiences in a corrupt society shaped his writing style and the symbolism he included in his stories. There are graphic details of each circle of hell by describing the appropriate

The divine comedy is a product of medieval literature, it has strong theology and is religious. In a sense, the divine comedy is a symbolic story. The author Dante experienced Hell, Purgatory, and finally, Heaven, to meet God. “Before me, there was nothing created except the eternal ones, and I endure eternally. Abandon all hope, you who enter (C3, 7-9).” Dante reads the lettering at the gates of hell. Inside the Inferno, Dante wrote every sin down, including gluttony, lust, violence, heresy, blasphemy, and fraudulent, etc. each layer of Hell was like an execution ground, and the souls were suffering in mentally and physically in commitment to the faults they are condemned with after leaving the world. However, Hell is not only for accusing or full of

The Divine Comedy is a lengthy narrative style poem which describes the journey of the poet Dante through hell, purgatory and heaven, with the help of his guide Virgil. The poem is split into three sections; for each of the significant settings. Due to the extensive length of each of these sections, this review will focus on the first book; Inferno. Inferno is a telling of Dante’s journey through the nine circles of Hell as he learns many valuable lessons and meets many historical figures. Aside from providing a summary of Middle Ages religion, philosophy and literature, this piece of work also brings to light many serious issues that mankind faces. Even though this poem was written centuries before today, modern society can still draw inspiration and meaning from the words of the famous author.

Dante's Inferno is just one of three parts of an epic poem, written by Italian politician Dante Alighieri, known as The Divine Comedy. The Divine Comedy's three parts are known as Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio. This poem describes Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The Divine Comedy was written in the fourteenth century in Florence during a time of tremendous political corruption. Alighieri includes these politicians in his book and describes the punishments they receive in Hell. Inferno begins with Dante falling into sin and away from God. Sin has obstructed his path to God and he begins this all with a long journey through Hell.