Inferno, justice is not a merely cruel and unusual punishment designed to elicit cheap shock from onlookers. Inferno portrays God’s justice as springing from primal love, and thus is conditioned with compassion, however difficult it may be to recognize. Dante ensures the concept of contrapassor, which translates literally as "counter-penalty." Here, sinners are punished according to the nature of their sin, so that their punishment fits their crime. Some sinners literally become the embodiment of their…

Relationships come in many forms with varying troubles and blessings. In the book, The Divine Comedy, two of the main characters, Virgil and Dante, can have a seemingly simple relationship, but when closely examined and reflected on, it is actually quite complex. They venture through the depths of hell, the complications of a long journey, and the perplexing reality of purgatory. Throughout their relationship they are faced with different gains and trials that they react to in various ways. Their…

Dante, Inferno Throughout the epic poem Inferno, Dante the Pilgrim travels in the different circles of Hell told by Dante the Poet. The story examines what a righteous life is by showing us examples of sinful lives. Dante is accompanied by his guide Virgil, who takes him on a journey to examine sin and the effects it has in has in the afterlife to different sinners. Through the stories of Francesca and Paolo, Brunetto Latini, Ulysses and Guido da Montefeltro, we are able to understand that people…

Virgil Virgil came to be regarded as one of Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid can be considered a national epic of Rome and has been extremely popular from its publication to the present day. Virgil- Beatrice sends Virgil to Earth to retrieve Dante and act as his guide through Hell and Purgatory. Since the poet Virgil lived before Christianity, he dwells in Limbo (Ante-Inferno) with other righteous non-Christians. As author, Dante chooses the character Virgil to act as his guide because he admired…

Throughout the story Dante’s Inferno, Dante takes a trip through hell to reach what he calls paradise. During Dante’s journey to hell he goes through the nine circles called: limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. With each of the circles in hell, there is a punishment that resembles each of sins committed. Based on the reactions that the pilgrims give through textual conversations between Virgil and Dante. It can be concluded that the pilgrim has acquired…

Inferno, a difference in the characterization of Dante the Poet and Dante the Pilgrim is very evident. While Dante the Poet is the one essentially writing the epic poem and shamelessly assigning each sinner’s punishment, Dante the Pilgrim is traveling through the different Circles of Hell and experiencing each sinner’s emotions first hand. Dante the Poet has a different perspective on each sinner which permits him to be aware of details that Dante the Pilgrim is oblivious to, thus leading to their…

between Dante the Pilgrim and Virgil the Guide 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…

In Dante’s Inferno, one chapter of three in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, the main protagonist of the poem, Dante frequently uses romance and love as one of the main themes to express his message and vision of Hell he portraits in the story. Dante’s Inferno is an epic poem about a recounting of Dante and his incredible journey through Hell and its many levels while he is being guided by Virgil. In the story, Hell is shown to have nine levels of suffering depending on what kinds of sin you committed…

true love. Both Dante and Odysseus have a woman who waits for them and in their travels must search themselves and make the right choices to get back to them. Odysseus longs to be with his wife Penelope and Dante to be with the woman he wants to marry Beatrice. Both men are very much love the woman in their lives, go to their own hell and back and can think of nothing other than finding their way back to them. Beatrice even after death has a spirit that is very much in love with Dante. She has faith…

paper in a never-ending wind storm. Welcome to Dante 's Inferno, his perspective on the appropriate punishments for those who are destined to hell for all eternity. Dante attempts to make the punishments fit the crimes, but because it is Dante dealing out the tortures and not God, the punishments will never be perfect because by nature, man is an imperfect creature. Only God is capable of being above reproach and of metering out a just punishment. While Dante 's treatment towards the tyrants is fitting…