Suffering In Dante's Inferno

Improved Essays
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Hell? What images do you imagine? You may think of a satanic devil with his little “helpers” burning through the pits of hell. You may further fill in the picture with other beastly devils that roam around torturing damned sinners who will never see light of day, or those who turn cry out with pain, regret, and suffering. In Dante’s epic poem known as the Divine Comedy, he creates a unreal version of himself as he travels through the farthest reaches of hell (Inferno), purgatory and paradise In the second circle of Hell are those overcome by lust They are the first ones to be truly punished in Hell. These souls are blown to and fro by the terrible winds of a violent storm, without

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Inferno Hero's Journey

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Throughout the poem Inferno Dante uses the outline of a hero’s quest to complete his character’s journey through Hell. The hero’s quest is often used because it is familiar to readers. Dante uses an abstract idea of a hero’s quest by departing Earth, descending through Hell, and finally realizing the mistakes he makes in life can lead to eternity in Hel Dante’s departure is the beginning of his journey through Hell. Dante is in a dark time in his life, known as “The Dark Wood of Error” (I.3). Dante soon realizes his loss and finds “a little hill”, which stands for earthly joy.…

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    There punishments was that they were in two mobs. One mob hurled weights at each other while they were chanting “Why do you hoard?” “Why you waste?” The other mob tore each other limb from limb in the Styx. People you will find in this level of hell are the priests, cardinals, bishops and the clergy.…

    • 122 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The cultural, physical, geographical surroundings of Hell shape and affect Dante Allegri and his psychological and moral trails as a person. From the moment Dante had stepped into Hell he had changed as our surroundings can change who we are. Dante was changed morally and righteously after he had witnessed Hell and what would come for him soon. As the comedy begins, ‘Midway upon the journey of our lives, I had found myself in a forest dark…’…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Hell In Dante's Inferno

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Inferno, written by Dante Alighieri, explains the layout of Hell according to Dante himself. There are many circles and rings that house sinners based on the type and severity of their sins. Achilles, Brutus, and Attila the Hun are a few of the well-known figures mentioned during Dante's journey through Hell. The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a compiled collection of the tales of 29 people embarking on a pilgrimage. One of the people, the Wife of Bath, is purposely made to stand out during the General Prologue.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Dante's Inferno, Dante Alighieri shows us how the sinners face harsh punishments as the price they have to pay for selling away their morals. For example, in canto xiii, the sinners are embodied in oak trees for committing suicide. Minos left their souls there and they took root and grew. They explain their situation…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The crime of the uncommitted is refusing to accept the burden of faith, yet not straying far from its path; a soul travels the predestined road, yet they refuse its ideology. The Inferno, an ancient epic poem written by Dante Alighieri, describes a journey through the various circles of Hell, but there is one part of Hell that is very briefly described: The Vestibule. The Vestibule is the false home to those labeled “uncommitted”; the lost souls who travel the boundaries of Hell searching for their meaning. In lines 32-48 of Ciardi's translation of the third canto of the Inferno, Virgil explains to Dante that there are two types of people who inhabit the outer ring, the angels of neutrality and the faithless. The text reveals to us that the angels simply refused to partake in the battle between God or Satan, but it fails to shed any light on the second class of inhabitants, thus leaving it up for interpretation.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Dante’s Inferno from The Divine Comedy is written about his own life, and the journey he takes to find a sense of redemption through his own art and philosophy. It begins when Dante is halfway through his life and, he has lost his way. Not only in his mind, but he now found himself traveling through the dark woods, “Midway along the journey of life, I woke to find myself in a dark wood, astray from the straight path” (Cantos I, 1-3), and the influences from religious figures in his life. When Dante speaks of having strayed from the right path, the reader should not assume that Dante has committed a crime. But instead, we start to see he has strayed away from what has always been expected of him and the strict medieval Catholic religion and…

    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Hell, as envisioned by Dante Aligheri in the 14th century, was classified into several circles, representing sins that fall into the themes of incontinence, violence, or fraud. Dante’s organization of The Inferno was meticulous and extremely detailed, to the point where some even labelled his Inferno as a “perfectly functioning bureaucracy” (V: Note 9-12) . While he was very successful and venerated for creating such a comprehensive idea of Hell, if his concept is the standard that must be lived up to in the modern, 22nd century that civilization lives in now, a majority of society would be condemned to the deepest circles of Hell. This influx of souls damned to the lowest part of Hell is due to the fact that some sins, that Dante’s society deemed the worst of the worst (such as those located in the spheres of fraud), have become commonplace in modern society, and have dawned a new, non-malicious connotation. Therefore, Dante’s 14th century version of the Inferno is outdated, and must be revised to reflect…

    • 1348 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Dante’s masterpiece, the Divine Comedy, remains popular with the public because of the use of many different techniques to entice the readers. His complex characters resonate with readers new and old, which adds to the Divine Comedy being a classic. Dante, who has an interesting life, constructs a story about something that people were unable to picture or even think about: Hell. The idea of Hell was an interesting concept that Dante can exploit when he wrote the Divine Comedy. Dante also incorporated some of the people from his home town such as the , .…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Inferno by Dante Alighieri Dante travels through hell, guided by Virgil. Hell is divided by sin, with specific punishments for the different sins committed. Throughout the Inferno Dante the writer makes it clear that the punishments are designed to suit the sins committed. These punishments are cruel and violent punishments that are often times gruesome. Dante the writer wants the reader to feel nothing for these sinners suffering, since they are getting what they deserve.…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As you get deeper into the circle of Hell, the crimes become severe and so do the punishments. The First Circle of Hell are…

    • 1531 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moreover, Dante also vividly paints a picture of how sinners will be punished in hell and oppositely, the process of how sinners are redeemed in purgatory. Although…

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    For as long as there has even been a theological understanding of the existence of God, heaven and the story of humankind’s beginnings, there has been a conversation about hell. The presence of hell hearkens back to the Old Testament and the concept grows throughout the Bible until the great unveiling of its physical manifestation in the book of Revelation. It is this final understanding of what hell will be that sticks in the minds of many Christians and theologians. In fact, what has been described in the book of Revelation is the basis for the characterization of hell in popular culture and represents imagery that has since persisted through the generations.…

    • 1977 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are various depths to Dante’s interpretation of hell and each circle of hell coincides with some crime that is committed while the souls were alive. In a sense, individuals that do not repent for their sins will receive their own taste of karma for their actions once they pass away and enter hell. In Dante’s The Inferno, three main punishments serve as examples of how his creation of hell can be considered a moral propaedeutic. One of the more gruesome punishments in Dante’s, The Inferno, is what happens in hell to those who commit suicide.…

    • 2199 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What is greed? The most common distinction pertains to a strong and selfish desire for something, such as wealth or power. The question is, what kind of person would intentionally succumb to such a malicious concept? The notion itself appears in countless works of literature, from fiction and non-fiction alike, and stands as an extremely prominent theme that has been featured in countless collected works. However, regardless of its commonality, greed is still a sinful conception that many men and women have submitted to in both literature and life.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays