Dante Alighieri’s Inferno Paper Essay

cavity is the first part of Dante Alighieris 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. hell is an allegory telling of the journey of Dante through Hell, manoeuver by the roman type poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is described as nine mickles of suffering turn up within the Earth. Allegorically, the Divine Comedy represents the journey of the soul towards God, with the Inferno describing the designation and rejection of sin. Because Dante is an educated Christian, he uses mythic references to agree Hell visually appealing. Dante is guided By Virgil because he be duplicityves Virgil represents human reason, something very important to Dante. The two poets ar stay their journey to Purgatory by descending into the first rank of Hell. The first move of the nine is Limbo. Limbo is a region on the edge of pit for those who be not saved even though they did not sin (University of Texas). In Limbo, there is a castle with seven gates which comprise the seven virtues (historylists.org ).This castle houses the great poets Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan it alike houses great philosophers such as Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Heraclitus, Orpheus, and Euclid. Dante uses the allusion of Aristotle as a man with honor and respect (http//apliterature-sasd.wikispaces.com). The second circle is cognise as Lust. Lust consists of the people who were overcome by lust (University of Texas). The souls in Lust are punished by being blown violently back and forth by strong winds, preventing them to find peace and rest (historylists.org). The strong winds symbolize the restlessness of a person who is led by desire for another person. Dante comes crossways a couple, Francesca and Paolo, who were murdered because they were practicing adultery. Lust is observe by the mythological creature Minos. Minos tail determines which level each and all(prenominal) soul belongs. Once a soul has told Minos why they are in Hell, his tail coils around his body and each coil represents a circle in Hell. Dante uses Minos as the king of sinners because Minos himself was surrounded by sinner during his lifetime.The trinity circle is known as Gluttony. Gluttony is where the Gluttonous sinners suffer downstairs a cold and filthy rain. Gluttony is guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed dog. Dante ad apts him to be more monstrous by his large size and ravenous bite, an apt symbol for gluttony (foxtwin.com). Dante uses particular names for particular people in each circle. A prime example of this would be when Dante and Virgil come across Ciacco the most gluttonousman. He warns Dante that their hometown, Florence, will be destroyed. The fourth circle, avariciousness and prodigality, is known for housing those who lust for material needs and those who keep their riches all for themselves. The punishment for this circle is to carry around large boulders and shock against each other. The boulder represents property and the weight of the boulder represents its weight in their liv es (University of Texas). Here, Virgil and Dante come across Plutus, the God of Wealth.Dante uses Plutus to symbolize those that squander and gather money (foxtwin.com). The two Poets also come across Dame fact, the spinner of the world. As a result of her spinning wheel, things turn from good to bad. Dante uses Dame Fortune to represent chance in a humans life. The ordinal circle represents Wrath and Sullenness. Wrath is anger that is expressed and Sullenness is and that is reduce (University of Texas). Dante and Virgil are transported across the Styx by Phlegyas, the infernal employee. Phlegyas is in Hell because he set fire to the temple of Apollo. The sixth circle represents Heresy. In Heresy, the heretics lie in tombs made of iron and engulfed in flames. While in Heresy, the Poets are temporarily halted and must wait for the help from Heaven. While waiting for help, beastly Furies taunt and curse them. The seventh circle, Violence, is divided into three kinds of vehemence. The first is violence against neighbors on the bloody River Phlegethon.The river is not made of water, but of blood. Here, Virgil and Dante come across the Centaurs, the half-man and half-horse creature. The poets also come across the Minotaur. The Minotaur occasionally eats seven new-fashioned men and women, in which Dante uses to symbolize violence. The second violence is against self in the Woods of Self. The souls of those who destroyed their bodies or their substance are here to be made into thorny trees (foxtwin.com). Since the souls destroyed their own bodies, they were denied any resemblance to a body in Hell. The leaves of these trees were painfully eaten by the Harpies. The third violence is against God, Art, and genius on the burning sand. The eighth circle consists of the fraudulent sinners. This circle is cause similar to an arena with ten concentric ditches where the sinners are tortured (foxtwin.com). from each one ditch is composed with different types of fraudul ent sinners the Panderers, the Flatterers, the Simoniacs, the Fortune Tellers, the Grafters, the Hypocrites, Thieves, and Deceivers. In circle eight, the Poets meet the complex monster Geryon. Geryon would lurein his victims and then ruin them, allowing Dante to use him as fraud. Dante also uses Pope Nicholas II as a symbol as fraud. The final circle is known as The undependable or Cocytus. Cocytus is the coldest place in Hell (University of Texas). This circle consists of four small circles Caina, Antenora, Ptolomea, and Judecca. Dante uses three unnamed giants to symbolize pride and other spiritual flaws lie behind acts of treachery (University of Texas). Dante, in his work Inferno, uses several historical and mythological figures to show his Christian devotion and Greek mythological knowledge. He also used these figures to make the poem a better read and to make modern connections of the time.