Examples Of Contrapasso In Dante's Inferno

In Dante’s Inferno, contrapasso, or the law of retribution, is very present as each circle of Hell contains different types of punishments for each type of sinner. Iconic historical figures are found throughout Hell suffering retribution for their sins. This is important as Dante specifically wanted to show no one is above God no matter how important they were in life. The idea of contrapasso isn’t unique to Dante as the law of an eye for an eye is found in the Old Testament. However, Dante’s punishments are a derived from this law as it would be difficult for each sinner to experience being done to them what they did on Earth thus their punishments can only fit their sins and are made to suffer. Dante’s religion heavily influenced his writing of Inferno thus placing …show more content…
Within the eight circle, in the ninth and final bolgia, the schismatics are located. The sin of schism is considered greater than heresy as they go against the unity of God by splitting into other beliefs and creating scandal and rift. The retribution the sinners suffer is getting being split and mutilated, the same way they split from God’s grace. The devil himself cuts each sinner with his sword, allowing them to heal to slice them once again. In the ninth bolgia, Dante encounters Muhammad, disemboweled for promoting Islam and causing a division among God’s followers. “Livide, insin là dove appar vergogna eran l’ombre dolenti ne la ghiaccia, mettendo i denti in nota di cicogna” (canto XXXVII, verse 34). Each sinner gets punished depending on the nature of their sin. If they spread false advice, like Curio, their tongues are cut off since the origin of their sins came from their tongue. Those who caused a rift among family members, like Bertrand de Born, get their head cut off. As the head and body cannot function without one another, the same principle applies for