ipl-logo

Role Of Punishment In The Inferno

1181 Words5 Pages

When someone commits several wrongdoings during their lives, it is very problematic to decide a specific punishment. In the novel The Inferno, Dante categorizes the sinner’s punishment by the severity of their crimes. As for Nero, the Roman Emperor, it is fairly evident that he would be placed in multiple circles of hell, due to the heinous crimes that he has committed while being in charge of Rome. Nero has been linked to several crimes including murders, homosexual acts, and even being directly linked as betraying Rome during the Great fire. Therefore, the Roman emperor is evidently placed in the seventh, eighth and ninth circles of hell, where he would ultimately subside into his rightful place in the inferno. Through Nero’s wide range …show more content…

(Aligheri p.92) In The Inferno, Dante sees the wrongdoers immersed in boiling blood forever, patrolled by Centaurs. Here, because Nero murdered many romans and even his mother, his punishment is being repeatedly thrown off a cliff of doom into an abyss full of swords and knives. As the swords and knives are thrusted upon his flesh, fishing hooks grasp onto his eyelids were he is risen to the cliff again for it to start all over. Being in that Roman era, Nero was fully aware that the killing of his mother would come back to haunt him. As David Shotter once said, “This was a crime that will have caused revulsion in the Roman world, for the mother was that most sacred of icons within the Roman …show more content…

“They have their heads above the ice, but cannot bend their necks.”(Aligheri pg. 261) Here, because Nero had committed treason against his country of Rome, his eternal punishment must be getting bound to a stake in a mock-like amphitheatre of Rome, in a blaze full of fire. Here, bounded by his extremities, (same way he murdered Christians) Nero’s soldiers would shoot arrows directly at his body, while lions gnaw at his dismembered carcass. He would forever live in the ultimate guilt of betraying his people, by forever being tormented in a setting where he profusely called home. Nero has become one of the most infamous men that ever lived. Although Nero has impacted Rome positively, he has done several charges that would inevitably send him to hell. Taking part in several murders, which include the killing of his mother, partaking in homosexual acts, and even betraying his beloved country, he will endure eternal punishment in hell where he will suffer for the heinous crimes he has committed throughout his

Show More
Related

  • What Is Nero's Cruelty

    635 Words  | 3 Pages

    He was very social with the emperors of surrounding lands and would often give them gifts. But all of these good deeds did not make up for the atrocities he committed beforehand. Nero’s family was known for being very harsh and he carried on this trait. He created brutal games for public amusement, often involving senators and high ranking officials competing in fights against animals. Nero loved money and he would create new laws that give him more money, and would often put Rome in debt.

    Read More

  • Nero Was Responsible For The Worst Roman Emperors

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    His mother and father were Agrippina, and Gnaeus Domitius. Some people believe that his cruelty was genetic, and that his father was the reason for his behavior. For example; one day his father was riding his chariot in the streets one day and purposely ran over a young boy. Even though the child was just playing he seemed to have some sort of happiness doing what he did. When Nero was born, in 37AD, his father stated that, “ Whatever comes from me and Agrippina will be unlikable and and a disaster”.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Contrapasso In Dante's Inferno

    606 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Dante's Inferno, Dante who is main character is getting a tour of hell by his tour guide Virgil. Virgil his tour guide presents to him all the nine levels of hell, including the punishments the sinners must suffer with for all eternity. In the ninth level of hell, the worst sinners are frozen in a giant lake. The sinners are then eaten alive by whom is so called satan. According to Dante, Satan is described as “Than do the giants with those arms of his; consider now how great must that whole, which unto such a part conforms itself… O, what a marvel it appeared to me, when i beheld three faces on his head!

    Read More

  • Examples Of Contrapasso In Dante's Inferno

    1207 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dante ensures this happens by using the concept of contrapasso, which describes the relationship between sin and the resulting justification in Hell. The literal definition of contrapasso is the 'counter-strike' or the 'counter-suffering which translates literally as "counter-penalty." And in Dante’s Hell, sinners are punished according to the nature of their sin, so that their punishment fits their crime. And as we see throughout the story, some sinners literally become the personification of their sins while others become victims in Hell of the crimes they committed while on

    Read More

  • Contrapasso In Dantes Inferno

    1345 Words  | 6 Pages

    I, 82-84). Dante uses powerful, graphic imagery to depict punishment and sin reveales behaviorally, the true nature of the sin of violence. The punishment is relentless, the reasonaing and moral rules are due to entity defined by human. In that Aligeri is responsible for not only punishment, but the qualities that deem them wrong. No punishment too specific, the tormented scrape and stab any prisoner they see.

    Read More

  • Comparing Dante's Inferno And Hamlet

    560 Words  | 3 Pages

    While the allegory “Inferno” by Dante and the play “Hamlet” by Shakespeare may seem like very different pieces, they both touch on the same central topic of sin. Dante uses a journey through the underworld that displays the punishments received by sinners in the afterlife, while Shakespeare shows the sinners before their death. Thus, both describe the widespread presence of sin and the power it has to consume someone. Dante and Hamlet start their stories out very similar-both are in the midsts of dark periods in their lives and in desperate need of intervention before they fall off the deep end. The only difference is that Dante had Virgil to lead him back to the light while Hamlet had no one.

    Read More

  • Comparing Tacitus And Suetonius The Fire In Rome In 64 CE

    1250 Words  | 5 Pages

    He describes how the fire allowed Emperor Nero to carry out his ambitious plans for rebuilding the city, but also how Nero was blamed for starting the fire and subsequently persecuted Christians as scapegoats (Tacitus, Annals 15). Tacitus is known for his critical approach to the Roman Empire and its ruler, Nero. For example, Tacitus describes how the fire began and spread, the efforts of the people to extinguish it, and the destruction caused by the flames. He describes the fire as a catastrophic event that lasted for six days and seven nights destroying much of the city. Tacitus describes the fire as a devastating event that destroyed much of Rome and left many citizens homeless.

    Read More

  • Satan In Dante's Inferno By Dante Alighieri

    618 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Dante’s Inferno it also says, “The sinner is the middle, whose feet are sticking out of Lucifer’s mouth, is the worst human sinner of all time: Judas, who betrayed the Son of God… The other two sinners, whose top halves are sticking out of Lucifer’s mouth, are Cassius and Brutus,” (34).This shows who the three biggest sinners were and shows how the punishment is way tougher for them. Since Lucifer flaps his wings eternally and has three faces, Judas, Brutus and Cassius are placed in Satan’s mouth to be chewed on eternally. Dante feels that he has also been betrayed by these sinners so that is the way in which he has those three sinners punished eternally in hell. Dante feels that they should spend an eternity in hell due to the fact that he has been betrayed .

    Read More

  • The Punishment In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

    880 Words  | 4 Pages

    All the punishments are awful. However, when Dante describes the punishments of those who committed violence against god he clearly shows his anger towards these people through the punishment he gave them. Those who are: simonists, fraudulent, magicians, diviners, and fortune tellers. The punishment for all the fraudulent is to be boiled in pitch and furthermore to have devils jab them with pitchforks. As for the other sins they have four punishments any of them could get such as: Face down in holes while their feet burn, being integrated with others forever, to wallow in ordure, and lastly being covered with sores and scabs from head to toe.

    Read More

  • How Did Christianity Change Over Time

    806 Words  | 4 Pages

    He set Rome ablaze and used the Christians as scapegoats. He accused them of arson and persecuted many by burning them alive or allowing dogs to tear them to pieces (Lunn-Rockliffe). Emperor Diocletian (284-305) was also notorious for the persecution of Christians. A fire broke out in his palace which caused him great anger. Like the Romans did to the Christians when Nero was in rule, they blamed them for the fire.

    Read More

  • Marcus Aurelius Influence On Roman Culture

    507 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Rome, personal virtues contributed towards each individual’s dedication towards their empire. They directly gave the Roman republic the moral strength and ideology to conquer the world. In some ways, the Romans assimilated their beliefs from the Greeks, which they had conquered. In fact they had created such a lasting impression with successful ideology, that George Washington wore a toga, to demonstrate how the old Roman values still had an affect on what was then modern day America. Nearly all of George Washington's actions while leading America took into account the history of Rome.

    Read More

  • What Are The Three Major Sins In Dante's Inferno

    1087 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the Inferno, Dante describes the different levels of hell and the punishment which corresponds to the sin. Dante categorize hell into three major sins consisting of incontinence, violence, and fraudulent. Fraudulent is portrayed as the worse sin in the Inferno while incontinence is seen as a less serious sin. Each category has sinners which have all been punished for their wrong doings in life. The three major sins consist of circles where Dante separates the different sinners.

    Read More

  • Christian Religious Beliefs In Dante's Inferno

    1247 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dante’s Inferno is an epic poem by Durante “Dante” degli Alighieri, written in the 1300s. He wrote a trilogy, known as the Divine Comedy, consisting of Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante was inspired by many events and issues happening at that time, such as the war between Guelphs and Ghibellines, the Battle of Montaperti, and Christian religious beliefs. In this paper, I will explore the first book, Inferno, on the topic of Hell and how the sinners had a significant impact on Dante’s journey through Hell. In Circle 5: Styx, Canto VIII, Filippo Argenti, a sinner of Wrathful, helped Dante to symbolize to readers his anger towards Black Guelphs, political enemies of the White Guelphs.

    Read More

  • The Epic Hero Cycle Of Dante's Inferno

    751 Words  | 4 Pages

    With Dante’s journey through hell he examines the sins of others, these supposed wrongdoings, such as murder are overall worse for the population, causing, over time, a

    Read More

  • Explain The Seven Deadly Sins In Dante's Inferno

    480 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within Dante’s Inferno, those with the sin of “Wrath/Sulleness” are either forced to fight each other, as they displayed their anger upon others, or they are forced to sulk within a boiling mud lake for an eternity as the others fight on top of them. Those who have committed the sin of Wrath are forced to fight and murder each other for an eternity due to their aggression expressed within their life. Those who committed the sin of Sulleness are forced to lay in the boiling mud lake for an eternity because, rather

    Read More

More about Role Of Punishment In The Inferno

Open Document