Dante’s Inferno from The Divine Comedy is written about his own life, and the journey he takes to find a sense of redemption through his own art and philosophy. It begins when Dante is halfway through his life and, he has lost his way. Not only in his mind, but he now found himself traveling through the dark woods, “Midway along the journey of life, I woke to find myself in a dark wood, astray from the straight path” (Cantos I, 1-3), and the influences from religious figures in his life. When Dante speaks of having strayed from the right path, the reader should not assume that Dante has committed a crime. But instead, we start to see he has strayed away from what has always been expected of him and the strict medieval Catholic religion and
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In circle eight, he also shows his dislikes towards the Catholic church through his encounter with Pope Nicholas III, a man in Hell for selling privileges of the church, which he used his religious power for the wrong needs and stole money from the church for his own desires. He goes on to condemn many leaders of the church, stating that "gold and silver are the gods they adore" (Cantos XIX, 106). Though they claimed to enforce God's word, their actions proved otherwise, making them unfaithful to God and therefore condemned to a deeper part of …show more content…
Dante also specifies in circle nine the amount of value he gives both religion and politics stand equal, for the greatest religious traitors in his eyes, Judas, and Brutus, are both being chewed alive by Lucifer. Although we see him criticizing religious leaders from his society, he still values his beliefs above all, for "the soul that suffers most is Judas Iscariot" (Cantos XXXIV 61-62). Even though Dante lets his own beliefs about the church and local politics impact The Inferno a great deal, he still manages to maintain the image of Hell as something above his own perspective and maintain the ideology of a place of punishment for those who showed no remorse for their sins. A perfect example of this lies in that he places a man he loved Brunetto Latini, in Hell for homosexuality. Despite his high regard, he has for a friend, who had a great role in fostering Dante's career, he knows that Latini remains a sinner nonetheless. Although he insults many well-known figures, he managed to rationalize where he put them in his idea of Hell and why. He even puts members and leaders of his own political parties in these different circles when he also sees them to be sinners. Although this story was an opportunity for Dante to create his own version of Hell and send his foes there, the depiction gives people everywhere of how it might possibly
In circle eight, he also shows his dislikes towards the Catholic church through his encounter with Pope Nicholas III, a man in Hell for selling privileges of the church, which he used his religious power for the wrong needs and stole money from the church for his own desires. He goes on to condemn many leaders of the church, stating that "gold and silver are the gods they adore" (Cantos XIX, 106). Though they claimed to enforce God's word, their actions proved otherwise, making them unfaithful to God and therefore condemned to a deeper part of …show more content…
Dante also specifies in circle nine the amount of value he gives both religion and politics stand equal, for the greatest religious traitors in his eyes, Judas, and Brutus, are both being chewed alive by Lucifer. Although we see him criticizing religious leaders from his society, he still values his beliefs above all, for "the soul that suffers most is Judas Iscariot" (Cantos XXXIV 61-62). Even though Dante lets his own beliefs about the church and local politics impact The Inferno a great deal, he still manages to maintain the image of Hell as something above his own perspective and maintain the ideology of a place of punishment for those who showed no remorse for their sins. A perfect example of this lies in that he places a man he loved Brunetto Latini, in Hell for homosexuality. Despite his high regard, he has for a friend, who had a great role in fostering Dante's career, he knows that Latini remains a sinner nonetheless. Although he insults many well-known figures, he managed to rationalize where he put them in his idea of Hell and why. He even puts members and leaders of his own political parties in these different circles when he also sees them to be sinners. Although this story was an opportunity for Dante to create his own version of Hell and send his foes there, the depiction gives people everywhere of how it might possibly