The Nine Circles In Dante's Inferno

Dante paints a vivid picture of hell, depicting it as nine circles spiraling down into the center of the Earth. We journey into the inferno alongside Dante, who represents sin, and our guide, Virgil, who represents human reasoning. As we travel deeper into the inferno, the punishments become more severe as the sin becomes more grievous. In the beginning, Dante pities the plight of the sinner, much to Virgil’s dismay, however, as we continue on our journey, Dante slowly recognizes that the punishment is fitting of the sin and finds himself to be disgusted with the sinners. Circle I, also known as Limbo, became the eternal home of the virtuous pagans, those who were born without the light of Christ’s revelation. Although they didn’t suffer from physical torment, these souls were condemned to an eternity of hopelessness, for they would never be able to experience the light of Christ. Virgil, who is representative of human reasoning, belonged to this circle, along with various poets, philosophers, and those who lived good lives. For the rest of eternity, they would desire to be with God with the knowledge that this would never occur. …show more content…
Their thoughts were consumed by money and wealth, leaving no room for the light of God. Dimmed beyond recognition, these souls tore down all the humanity they once had to build a mockery in it’s place. No amount of gold could purchase even a moment of solace for these weary souls. During the time they were given on Earth, they used their energy for the building of their mortal kingdoms, resulting in an eternity of straining against enormous weights, only for them to clash into each other and roll back. Seemingly unaware of their own sin, they shouted accusations towards the opposite party, failing to realize that one excess feeds into the other, devolving into an endless cycle which would last for all of