Diction In Dante's Inferno

While many may be surprised that Dante never addressed idolatry in his Inferno it can be found in the overlaying scheme of his book. Although Dante does not specifically address idolatry, each of these examples show how idolatry is at the root of many sins. Each soul put their idol whether it was food, money, or love, in front of God, and each of these acts of idolatry are what lead them to

Despite the fact that both Dante and Perceval are epic heroes that leave home and have special weapons, they also have differences within these characteristics that make them epic heroes. Dante leaves home to go to Hell. His reason for being in Hell was to recognize his sins and then be forgiven, so he could get to Heaven. At the beginning of his journey, he said “Midway in our life’s journey, I went astray / from the

Dante’s Tour through Hell Dante’s Inferno is a narrative, poetic adventure through the nine different layers of Hell. With Virgil as Dante’s guide, Dante encounters all sorts of suffering, “[E]xpect to see to see the suffering race of souls who lost [God]” (Puchner et al. 1607), while interacting with those which are called ‘shades’. Some of these shades Virgil urges Dante to have limited, to no conversations with for various reasons; yet, many are recognizable to Dante and their lot is understood. While reading Dante’s Inferno, the reader experiences that Dante was unaware that he was redirected from a righteous path, “Midway along the journey of our life I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight path” (Puchner et al.

If man was never tempted to turn away from God, nothing bad would ever happen. True, life would be extremely different and marvelous, but how would God know if mankind truly loved him? Emma Hughes states, “Paradise Lost illustrates God’s creation of man and free will as evidence of His perfect nature, not as a contradiction of His benevolence,”(Hughes). God creating man with free will was no mistake. Milton states, ¨In the beginning how the Heavens and Earth rose out of Chaos,¨(1, 9).

He continually humbles himself as he chooses a righteous profession of a parson and withholds judgements of even the most sinful of men. The Parson has nothing but love for others in his heart. Only a man of great compassion is willing to travel by foot in the midst of horrendous weather to the houses of his parishioners. While the Friar and Pardoner are both men of the church, their dedication to their position is nothing in comparison to that of the Parson. The Parson does not guilt people for their sins or rely on repeating the same text like the Friar and Pardoner.

Throughout the story, Babo never leaves Captain Cereno’s side, and Captain Delano admires their relationship that appears to him more like a loyal companionship. He is so moved he even offers to buy Babo asking, “What will you take for him? Would fifty doubloons be any object?” highlighting how his racial bias totally blinds him from the fact that Babo’s attentiveness is not motivated by good intentions (61). His incapability to see Babo as anything other than an attentive servant warps his perception of the situation overall. Had he not possessed racist views, he might have picked up on the dysfunction of the ship early

Whether this was a prophetic revelation given by God, or retribution to his enemies’ Dante’s Inferno challenges the political and religious powers of the day and putting them in the worst possible light. Dante gives himself the liberty of being the protagonist as he assess his victims of Hell. One cannot help at times in taking pleasure in watching the David’s overcome the Goliaths. The problem with Dante’s Inferno is the setting of Hell is so vivid and graphic it leaves the reader feeling sympathetic to all involved. Some of Dante’s biases are clearly shown by placing certain sins committed by people in different levels.

“I speak of them because of their ethics revolving the soul, they pursued pleasure in life because that they believed that the soul died with the body.” “Unaware of the importance of the soul as a entity but because the soul is something you cannot see the Epicureans disregarded the soul within us.” “This circle is the circle of the heretics submerged deep within the sixth layer of hell were until judgement day these souls shall burn in these tombs”. Then suddenly a voice emerges from the distance, and then it's soon realised a shade has submerged from the depths of a tomb. The shade mutters, saying that it knows of that accent, the shade knows Dante and recognized him through his voice while the two were talking. Uneasy of the situation Dante is reluctant to respond or even get near but Virgil beside him reassures him telling Dante to speak with the decrepit soul. He walks closer step by step as the voice gets louder Dante starts to realise that the shade that was speaking was actually someone he knew.

Dante portrays human nature as inherently prideful, seeking only to benefit ones self. As we journey through The Inferno, we are introduced to a multitude of souls. Despite of the differences in the sins committed, there is a common thread running through the whole of hell; not one soul admits to having done wrong; the sorrow and agony expressed by these souls is not due to the gravity of their sin, but the gravity of their punishment. Choosing to indulge in selfish desire will inevitably lead to destruction without the intervention of God. Although The Inferno can seem very negativistic, it unveils a truth of human nature that is often swept under the rug.

Virgil answers Dante’s questions, some simple and others quite profound. Every time, Virgil has an eloquent response to the question. Virgil is the perfection of the human intellect, capable of understanding so much of the world without God. He seems to know all that could be known about Hell, and the sinners within. A good government will allow science and philosophical thought flourish.