preview

What Is The Theme Of Dante's Divine Comedy

Decent Essays

Dante’s Divine Comedy In Dante’s Divine Comedy, Dante is lost and enters a dark wood. Dante follows Virgil who is his guide, to the top of the mountain. Through this journey Virgil takes Dante through hell. In cantos 2-10 hell is organized into circles. The first circle is the Limbo, the unbaptized and pagans. In this circle Dante says the people are grieving for their undying loss. It is said on page 95, that this men, women and children are not sinners but lack fulfillment. Baptism is the gateway to faith. Pagans are lost in this circle not only because they lack Christian faith but for their lack in faith for the nature of things. The second circle is introduced in canto five for the souls of lustful people. Dante begins to hear grief, crying and shrieking. Dante claims that this is the least hateful of the deadly sins because it is a shared sin. This circle is for the people involved in sexual activities and affairs. The third circle is where the gluttonous are. The climate changes in this circle and the people are bothered by a heavy rain storm and a three headed dog. In this circle Dante meets a Florentine who talks about the disasters that will happen in Florence and the future for Dante. The fourth circle belongs to the hoarders and the spendthrifts pushing big rocks towards each other. Then, in the middle of crossing the circle Dante and Virgil are on the cliff to the Marsh of Styx, forming the fifth circle. The circle contains the river of hell and the wrathful

Get Access