Similarities Between Dante And Farinata

Dante and Farinata had opposing views regarding their political parties. Farinata supported those of the high society and Roman Emperor while Dante favored the lower class and the pope. Although Dante did support the pope this did not spare Pope Anastasius II from being accursed to the sixth circle for allowing the unorthodox practices of his time. As a Catholic, allowing this practice was unacceptable. Dante’s seventh circle of hell is reserved for those that have committed violent actions, whether they be against themselves, others, or God. Individuals that have acted violently against others are forced to reside in a river of blood. One such individual Dante wishes to highlight is Ezzelino III da Romano, a prominent leader of the opposing political party. Here it is clear that Dante is swayed by politics because he sentences a political rival to hell for his violent actions against the Guelph party. Those that were violent to themselves, or committed suicide, are turned into trees, only able to speak when a branch is cut off. A prominent belief of Dante’s is that Suicide is seen as equally sinful as murder. Pier delle Vigne, a man who was wrongfully convicted of a crime killed himself while imprisoned. Dante acknowledges Pier was guiltless for the crime, however he must pay the …show more content…
Each stone trench is symbolic of the type of fraud committed by the inhabitant and each punishment of the resident is unique to the trench. Dante is strongly inclined to write passionately about the sins of level eight. He is filled with abhorrence toward the misdeeds of the catholic church regarding fraud at the time, and even takes a brief pause in the narrative to openly criticize and rebuke the decisions of these men and what they have done with their power in the