The popular Hinduism idea of karma is a natural law that explains how our universe is governed. The belief of karma is that there is a balance in life between actions and consequences. In other words, what goes around comes around. Literary devices in The Divine Comedy help in the development of themes in the Novel. Dante Alighieri’s book tries to convey the message of karma. There is never a wayward action that goes without punishment in the book. The use of plot, conflict, imagery, juxtaposition, and motif reveal themes of justification and punishment in Dante’s Inferno.
The plot of The Inferno sets up the road for sinners and their respective crimes. The setting and course of the novel optimize the revelation of theme. There is no better …show more content…
This example of a motif shows justification and is a major part of the story. The most commonly reoccurring theme throughout Dante’s journey into Hell is the correlation between sinner and punishment. In every circle, sins did not go unpunished. The culmination of the series of contrapassos takes Dante to the final stop in Hell, the infamous ninth circle. From the very first circle, the severity of punishments grows progressively worse, so the last circle ends with the worst punishment that author Dante Alighieri could imagine. Dante and Virgil watch as Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius (arguably the three most notorious sinners known to man), are eaten alive by each of Lucifer’s three heads. After witnessing the gruesome suffering in the ninth circle, Virgil announces that he has “seen everything” that needs to be seen and that it is “time to leave” (Alighieri 34). After what seems like hundreds of different punishments, the contrapassos are over. The message has been spread. Every sin will be …show more content…
The themes seem to reach out and grab the reader’s attention, drawing their focus towards the punishments. Then the reader is able to compare each justification with the implemented literary devices. There would not be a story without some type of conflict. There would not be any significant story. The imagery is necessary to explain the severity of each punishment. The plot guides the reader through the journey in Hell, and the other literary devices assist in guiding the reader through that
The plot of The Inferno sets up the road for sinners and their respective crimes. The setting and course of the novel optimize the revelation of theme. There is no better …show more content…
This example of a motif shows justification and is a major part of the story. The most commonly reoccurring theme throughout Dante’s journey into Hell is the correlation between sinner and punishment. In every circle, sins did not go unpunished. The culmination of the series of contrapassos takes Dante to the final stop in Hell, the infamous ninth circle. From the very first circle, the severity of punishments grows progressively worse, so the last circle ends with the worst punishment that author Dante Alighieri could imagine. Dante and Virgil watch as Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius (arguably the three most notorious sinners known to man), are eaten alive by each of Lucifer’s three heads. After witnessing the gruesome suffering in the ninth circle, Virgil announces that he has “seen everything” that needs to be seen and that it is “time to leave” (Alighieri 34). After what seems like hundreds of different punishments, the contrapassos are over. The message has been spread. Every sin will be …show more content…
The themes seem to reach out and grab the reader’s attention, drawing their focus towards the punishments. Then the reader is able to compare each justification with the implemented literary devices. There would not be a story without some type of conflict. There would not be any significant story. The imagery is necessary to explain the severity of each punishment. The plot guides the reader through the journey in Hell, and the other literary devices assist in guiding the reader through that