Analysis Of Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri’s, The Divine Comedy, is the symbol of his legacy as it is known as the greatest epic poem of the Middle Ages. Its writing was influenced by two of the most import works of all time, The Aeneid and The Bible. Dante is led by his idol, Virgil, as he makes the journey to find his identity and make amends so that he can be reunited with his dearly beloved. This perilous journey into Hell is one that few have made. When Dante makes his way through the second circle, the story of two souls has a profound effect on him. Meeting these two souls causes a conflict between the Pilgrim and the Poet and while the Pilgrim shows sympathy for them, the Poet remains stoic and condemns them both to Hell. When Dante makes his way into the …show more content…
Francesca tells Dante their story and how she was forced to marry an old deformed man that she didn’t love, but she fell in love with the man’s younger brother, Paolo. One night while they were alone, they began to read the story of Lancelot and Guinevere and could not resist kissing and “that day no farther did we read therein.” Francesca’s husband caught them and brutally killed them out of anger. Dante then feinted because he was so overcome by emotion and pity. The two just happened to fall in love and the only thing separating them was a loveless marriage. The fact they could not control their love was their undoing. This touches Dante the Pilgrim and he feels sympathy for them just like he did for Queen Dido. The Pilgrim again shows weakness for love and romance by showing pity for the two souls. For many, this would be an exception and the punishment would not be as severe considering the situation as well the fact they were murdered. However, since they could not control their lust and committed adultery they were still condemned to the second circle. Dante relates to their deep love with that of his love with Beatrice, whom is his reason for traveling into Hell. Dante’s experience meeting Francesca and his experiences through the second circle cause the transfer from pilgrim to …show more content…
Why did the Poet lessen Dido’s punishment while still condemning the two star-crossed lovers? The reason why is because Dido never committed adultery, however, she committed suicide and Francesca and Paolo committed adultery. When Dante was alive, suicide was not considered a mortal sin but adultery was. So what was originally seen as an act of moral pity is just a normal judgment for the Poet. This can be parallel to both sides of the Machiavelli argument. The Pilgrim acts as the side that gives in to emotions. It shows Dante’s true earthly feelings and how many people would react as they travel through Hell and see the punishments for sinners. The Poet acts as the Machiavellian side. It shows Dante’s heavenly feelings by ignoring emotion and condemning sinners for the magnitude of the sin that they committed. This explains contrast between the two why the Pilgrim is sympathetic to Francesca while the Poet condemns her to