Inferno

I explored Canto XXXIV of Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno. This canto describes Dante’s and Virgil’s expedition into the last circle of hell, Cocytus. As well as detailing their interactions with a number of significantly important characters. Virgil leads Dante into the last circle of hell and they are immediately shaken by a great icy wind. They look over to see a massive horrid creature stirring up the windstorm by flapping it’s wings. Dante said “I did not die, and yet I lost life’s breath” (25), he was stunned and couldn’t believe his eyes. Virgil tells Dante that this is Lucifer otherwise known as Satan. Dante then provides an in-depth description of Satan. He has three faces, six bat-like wings, six eyes, sharp pronged teeth and many other gruesome qualities. Each one of his faces are different colors, one was “fiery red” (39), another “something between white and bile” (43) so yellow and the last one was “the color that find on those who live along the banks of the Nile” (45), which would be black. Dorothy L. Sayers, a renowned 19th century English writer stated that Lucifer’s’ three faces suggests his control over the three main human races. The red face symbolizes the Europeans, the black face represents the African people and yellow for the people of Asia. She along with many other writers claimed that the faces represent a distortion of the Holy Trinity, instead of the all-loving, all-powerful, and all-knowing…

I have always been a fan of the different interpretations people have of Heaven, Hell, or the in-between, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri is one of my favorite interpretations, taking you on Journeys beyond belief. The divine comedy is separated into 3 Canticle, which means hymn, song or psalm, Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio) and Paradise (Paradiso). The story by many is said to be real and by some non-religious orientated people it is meant to be as basic mythology, of one man’s…

While talking to Pope Nicholas III in the Eighth Circle of Hell, Dante becomes frustrated with the simony of the popes and exclaims, “You, shepherds, the Evangelist had noticed when he saw her who sits upon the waters, and realized she fornicates with kings” (Inferno, 19.106-112). Dante compares the Simonist popes to the so-called “Whore of Babylon” from Revelation. The Church is the prostitute that has “fornicated” itself with political leaders and has involved itself with politics. The popes…

Dante’s inferno is the first of Dante Alighieri's poem, the Divine Comedy, which chronicles Dante's journey to God, and is made up of the Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise). In his writing of the Inferno he adds commentary on the politics, economics, and culture of the Middle Ages. Which was very different during his time, especially with the problem’s growing with the white and black factions. And Beatrice the women he fell in love with at first sight. Even though…

The Code of Hammurabi is one of the oldest deciphered texts in human history, dating back to approximately 1700 B.C.E.; the code was a set of laws and punishments during the reign of the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi. The code is regarded as a moral and fair set of laws that is also the oldest collection of codified law to ever exist. Throughout the Inferno, it is clear that Dante Alighieri reiterates the theme of “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” in his interpretation of hell, only…

The Divine Political Commentary Renowned poet Dante Alighieri lived in a tempestuous political and religious era; Fourteenth century Italy was riddled with opposing political factions, most notably the Guelphs and Ghibellines, which were constantly engaged in conflict. This ongoing partisan upheaval would eventually result in Dante’s exile from Florence, after which he would go on to write The Divine Comedy, an epic poem that sets up a flawless system of punishment, redemption and salvation. The…

In Canto 3 of The Divine Comedy: Inferno, the pilgrim, and Virgil arrive at the gate of hell. They enter and as Virgil explains, the souls who had no goal in life, no direction, no intellect to choose God, reside here. They are the neutrals. They move along until they reach the river of Acheron where Charon, after a bit of hesitation, takes them across to the other side. On this side, there is an earthquake which causes Dante, the pilgrim, to faint. In this canto, Dante takes us through the…

The Inferno: Where all Dreams Come True The fictional classic, The Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, is where all spirits recieved their biggest desires. This is evident wehn focusing on how the souls’ punishments correspond with exactly what they wanted in life. Examples of this include the heretics being placed ina tomb, suicides not recieving a body, and the wrathful fighting. In the Carnal Dante and Virgil met the souls of Francisca and Paolo. These souls were placed in Hell because they…

Dante’s Inferno is considered one of the best works of humanity. In Inferno, Dante literally puts all kind of men into hell for their sins; from great kings to slaves, from every type of ethnicity, race, country and anything else a man identifies by. Based on Christian doctrines of his time, Dante has taken revenge over all kind of figures that he knew by. Furthermore, Inferno is filled with allegories and represents a deep literature. In this essay, we will discuss about the uses and…

(Williams). He wrote the Aeneid, in which Dante was very fond of and saw Virgil as the highest level of achievement and human intelligence (Schoder 414). Because of these reasons, Virgil fit Dante’s poetic purpose, making him fit to be Dante the Pilgrim’s guide in Inferno. He also served as a tutor, inspiration, and as an ideal representation of a poet to Dante (Schoder 414). When the pilgrim first sees him, the pilgrim cries…