Dante's Inferno Application Of Religion Essay

Analogous Avenues and Diverging Destinations-

The Application of Religion in

Dante’s Inferno and de Pizan’s City of Ladies

Throughout history, religion has been an important and compelling component of storytelling. As such, it has been a dominant subject for many of the great philosophical and literary minds. Religion, for better or worse and in all its’ various iterations, has been an integral part of the human existence. When one compares and contrasts the religious aspects within Dante’s Inferno and de Pizan’s City of Ladies, it is apparent that each author utilized allegory and allusion to convey their thoughts, yet the articulation and assertion each author sought to convey to the reader contrasted greatly, as evidenced through the

For example, in The Inferno, Dante's entire story centered on an allegorical journey, made by a fictional version of himself, into the depths of hell. In turn, that journey detailed the various punishments ascribed by God for all sorts of sins and sinful acts and utilized references to numerous historical figures to embellish his storyline. One example of a historical figure’s presence was readily evident in The Inferno, in that the travel companion of the fictional Dante was Virgil. In many ways, the author Virgil was also a literal guide for the poet Dante because he revered the work of Virgil. In many ways, Dante sought to place himself on the same level as or above Virgil. By including Virgil in The Inferno, Dante was showing that he saw himself as both equal and superior to Virgil, in that he could create the greatest piece of literature ever written. As such, it seems fitting for the Dante to pay tribute to an individual he