Virgil

The word “inferno” means Hell in Italian. Hell is where the main character Dante Alighieri and the ghost of the Roman poet Virgil, who was sent Dante’s deceased loved one Beatrice, travel in order to help Dante get back on the right path. The reason why Dante travels to Hell is because the Ghost of Virgil offers to guide Dante through Hell in order to get to Paradise (Heaven) to purify himself of all his sins. During the journey in Hell, they travel through the Nine Circles of Hell. The Circles…

Proper, and Earthly Paradise. Inside purgatory the upper part of the mountain contains seven terraces, each consisting of one of the seven capital sins (The World of Dante). After visiting the first terrace, that of the prideful, Dante the pilgrim and Virgil arrive at the second terrace, which is full of the envious. This terrace differs from its predecessor, the prideful, because it is full of bare rock. This bare rock is very different from the white marble Dante previously saw in the last…

thought of it brings back all my old fears) / a bitter place! Death could scarce be bitter” (1.1-6) In these very first lines of Inferno from the Divine Comedy by Dante, there is a foreshadowing of another dark wood to come ahead. When Dante and Virgil reach the second ring of the seventh circle of hell. They are met with the Woods of Suicides, where the souls that denied their bodies by committing suicide, and are now trees and bushes that are eaten away by half-beast, half-bird women who eat…

When looking deeper, it is clear that the three beasts represent their own sins and are to be feared and avoided to ensure they evade eternal damnation. It is also made clear that Dante is only fearing the three beasts by what Beatrice told Virgil that the beasts have “hindered in his path along that lonely hillside,” which mentions nothing of temptation of committing sin but that he has only been “turned aside by terror” (II, 15.62-63). This once again helps prove that Dante’s fear rather…

describes the sinners and their punishments in this canto is extremely helpful in describing future events as well. The souls in this canto are called the “Suicides,” which obviously means that they were violent against themselves. When Dante and Virgil enter, unlike the other cantos, they cannot see the souls, instead they see trees that are gnarled and nasty. This…

Dante’s purpose of his journey was to get through heaven so he could get to heaven, which means he has to enter the very worst part of hell. Virgil says to Dante, “Hope not ever to see Heaven. I have come to lead you to the other shore; into eternal darkness; into fire and into ice.” The last Circle in hell represents the worst of crimes, betrayal. An American writer and editor, Rob Dreher, explains…

told by the legendary poet, Virgil, that Beatrice was waiting for him in the afterlife. His journey lasts from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300, which was before his actual exile. Throughout his journey Dante meets Sinners in every level of Hell and Dante stops to speak with many of them which describe what their sin was. Dante creates a very disgusting landscape as he describes what happens on every level of hell. He and Virgil then move into…

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri was one of the most influential poets of all time. He wrote works such as The Divine Comedy and De Monarchia. His works continue to be read today and almost all who read them are fascinated. Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy in 1265. After a long life there, he was exiled for 2 years, though, he never returned. He didn’t technically settle down anywhere for a while. People believe that he then settled in Bologna in 1304, where he wrote De Vulgari…

Publius Vergilius Maro, usually referred to as Virgil, is recognized as the greatest of the Roman poets. His best-known work, the epic poem Aeneid, describes the adventures of Aeneas alongside his fellow survivors of the Trojan War. With many characters filling important moral and symbolic roles, Dido allows the protagonist to exercise an important Roman value, pietas. Dido’s character is present in the first half, books one through six, of the Aeneid. With all of this mention, she must be…

longs to soften, soothe her sorrow and turn aside her troubles with sweet words, though groaning long and shaken in his mind because of his great love, nevertheless pious Aeneas carries out the gods’ instructions. Now he turns back to his fleet.” (Virgil 94) Pain often must be endured to complete one’s duty. The quote above from Virgil’s Aeneid describes precisely that. Aeneas suffers as he leaves the woman he loves to fulfill his destiny. The quote is relevant to many people and many…