First Circle Of Hell In Dante's Inferno

Dante Alighieri was once a White Guelph of Florence, who called for freedom from papal rule, until 1301, when he was banished from his home town due to the Black Guelphs. This banishment from his beloved home is what caused many of Alighieri's bias towards different people. This bias is clearly demonstrated towards some in Dante Alighieri's epic poem The Inferno through the author’s use of different literary devices. Alighieri creates a fictional character, Dante, who travels through different parts, or circles of Hell. In his travels, Dante is lead by the symbol of human reason, Virgil, who takes Dante to talk to sinners of each circle in Alighieri’s depiction of Hell. His bias is extremely evident towards three specific sinners in Hell.

As both Dante and Virgil leave the Vestibule of Hell, they enter into the first circle of Hell, which contains the virtuous pagans: those who believed in more than one god before the times of Christ. As Dante enters the first circle, which he describes as a glowing light, he is greeted with four prominent figures that appear to stand out from the rest of the sinners. As Dante sees them, Alighieri describes the encounter with them elaborating: “So I saw gathered at the edge of light the masters of that highest school whose song outsoars all others like an eagle’s flight” (IV, 64-66). Even before the readers are introduced, Alighieri's diction toward Homer and the rest of the figures help to construct an idea of a positive connotation. The phrase “masters of the highest school,” displays how Alighieri feels that Homer is the best writer of the “highest school,” or the world. Also, Alighieri’s use of the idea “like an eagle’s flight.” exhibits compassion to Homer and his crew through the word choice used. An eagle is a symbol of both freedom power, which juxtaposes the reason for why these sinners are in Hell. All sinners in Hell are there to serve the punishment for the sin they committed during their lives. Instead, in this circle, Dante sees four shining figures who are described like a god would be, displaying his immeasurable compassion for Homer and his crew. In addition to the implication of diction, Alighieri ties in imagery into his work in order to reveal his compassion towards Homer. After first seeing the figures in the first circle, Virgil describes to Dante how Homer leads the four, saying “That soul that leads the rest with a sword in hand as if he were their captain and champion” (IV, 86-87). Virgil’s description of Homer guiding the poets helps to create a vivid image, which readers can identify as