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Examples Of Allusions In Dante's Inferno

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“ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE.” a morale destructing statement which spirits deep within the circles of Hell abide by. To demonstrate the certainty behind this bold statement, Dante Alighieri uses prominent allusions to provide the reader with concepts that they can relate to for overall better understanding. Dante incorporates allusions within the circles of Hell such as Pope Celestine V, Dido, and Judas. To begin, one of the very first allusions introduced is Pope Celestine V for his abandonment of religious hierarchy and hate towards God. As Dante enters through the Gates of Hell, he is surrounded by a thick mist engulfing spirits who had no place in Heaven nor Hell, they aimlessly chase a forever eluding banner in a field of, “Loathsome …show more content…

As Dante finally reaches, “the torments of Hell proper”(Narration) he and Virgil find themselves in a location, “stripped bare of every light”(Line 28). The spirits within this circle of Hell are banished here because they chose to pursue worldly passions rather than Godly ones. For this reason, they are swept up into an eternal storm which constantly inflicts pain upon the fatigued souls of the sinners. While admiring this storm, Dante recognizes many familiar faces with Dido being one in particular, he states, “Dido; faithless to the ashes of Sychaeus, she killed herself for love.”(Lines 61-62) Here he refers to the widowed queen of Carthage for her infamous affair on her deceased husband which she vowed to remain faithful to through life or death. Queen Dido fell in love with Trojan war hero Aeneas after Sychaeus was killed by his brother Pygmalion for his overabundance of wealth. After word of this affair spread, a prayer is prayed to scorn their marriage, ultimately forcing Aeneas to move to Italy without her and further Dido then ordered her sister to build a pyre in which she jumped into with one of Aeneas swords fatally wounding her. This allusion was ideal in explaining that marital vows are through life and death and violation of them will lead to ultimate pain and

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