Humanism In Dante's Inferno By Dante Alighieri

The Road to Humanism The Renaissance and Humanism developed in Italy in the 1300s and 1500s. It developed in Italy then spread north. “Renaissance” meaning rebirth began a new way of thinking throughout Europe. Merchants and traders influenced the Renaissance by promoting art and education. Although Petrarch was the “father” of Humanism, Dante included characteristics of humanism in his works during the Middle Ages. Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy provides little hints of the Renaissance and humanistic views in Florence during the 1300s. Humanism was viewed as humans in the center of the universe. It also involved a rediscovery of the classics of ancient Greek and Roman writings. Dante Alighieri’s ideas about Humanism influenced later …show more content…
Dante separated from the church of Christianity when he completed his own hell. Dante also integrated the thought of humanism into his most famous written work, by including the concept of embracing talent during the Renaissance. For example, in the Foreword of Dante’s Inferno written by John Freccero, he explains that despite Dante’s position as a Christian poet, there is no suggestion of Christian mercy in his writings. Freccero states “In spite of Dante’s reputation as the greatest of Christian poets, there is no sign of Christian forgiveness in the Inferno.” (Freccero ix) Another example of humanism in Dante’s Inferno is the criticism that Dante expresses towards Pope Boniface VIII. Dante places Boniface in hell before he was deceased and while he was …show more content…
Another characteristic of humanism seen in Dante’s Inferno is embracing talent. Dante expresses how no man earned fame without accomplishing a major task. For example, Dante is fatigued and Virgil states that he must keep going in order to achieve fame.Virgil states, “The blanket’s cloth is not how fame is won—
Without which, one spends life to leave behind as vestige of himself on earth the sign…” (XXIV 48-51) Dante includes characteristics of early humanism of embracing talent and expressing how to earn fame by the time of death. Dante Alighieri influenced Francesco Petrarch in his writing of “A Letter to Boccaccio” explaining that people can take a spiritual path to heaven and a literary path, it does not change where a person will end up in the afterlife, heaven or hell. Dante takes the spiritual path to the afterlife. He studied the classics of Roman and Greek. Humanism was the rediscovery of classics, for instance”…humanism was the recovery or reevaluation of the classical culture of Rome then Greece.”(Edward 1) An example of the study of classics in Dante’s Inferno is Dante uses many Greek mythological creatures as guides throughout Hell. For example, Charon is the