Dante's "Inferno"

Paper Summary:

This paper provides an explanation for Dante's "Inferno". The writer shows how God's will is enacted in the "Inferno" through a carefully calculated hierarchy of punishment, depending on the severity of the sin. Hell is arranged into 9 levels, which are discussed and the type of punishment assigned to each is explained. The idea of "contrapasso" is also explained in reference to the "Inferno". Also, the role of Virgil in the story is explained.

From the Paper:

"The deep religious feeling that once ran deeply in society began to slowly perish in the time of Dante Alighieri. To rekindle the lost love of the divine and remind people of their less than immaculate nature, Dante wrote of his fictitious spiritual journey in The Divine Comedy. Broken into three parts, The Divine Comedy begins in hell, the Inferno, and continues into purgatory, Purgatorio, and then journeys to Heaven, Paradiso. In the Inferno, Dante used a hierarchical system to illustrate God's will and justify punishment for sinners. Dante removed the opinions of man concerning appropriate punishments in hell by showing that the ultimate judge of one's immoral acts is God. Dante also tried to evoke human compassion for certain persons found in hell. To contrast with arguments for punishment, he demonstrates how the emotion of man overshadows the ability to use reason in dispensing justice. Virgil also played an important role in defining God's will by being an active participant in Dante's spiritual journey as well as a physical reminder of God's hierarchy in hell."

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