Abstract This essay compares and contrasts the classic poets, Dante Alighieri and John Milton. It first details the time periods during which each lived, Dante in the medieval era and Milton in the Renaissance. The writer looks at the similarities and differences in their lives. Then the essay takes a short look at Dante's 'Inferno' and Milton's 'Paradise Lost' to further see issues on which they thought alike, despite the time and geographic differences between them.
From the Paper "In these modern times, this modern era of literature and thought, it is easy to lump all ancient writing together. Chaucer, Milton, Dante, even Shakespeare, are so long dead that they all seem to have come from the same distant, canonized, unreachable time. Yet, each of these old writers lived in his own time and wrote for his own reasons about specific and relevant themes. This essay looks at Dante Alighieri and John Milton, two famous writers from differing time periods and differing circumstances. A work from each writer, Dante's 'Inferno' and Milton's 'Paradise Lost', each similar in theme, will be studied in order to better compare and contrast these two heroes of Western literature. Dante Alighieri came from medieval Florence, Italy. Born in 1265 to a family of money, Dante was raised within Florence's intricate political network."
Abstract This paper analyzes Cantos 18 through 23 from Dante's Inferno. Canto 18 of Dante's Inferno describes the eighth circle of hell. This circle is surrounded by ten concentric rounds surrounded by grey stony peaks and cliffs. There is a big pit in the center of the rounds, and bridges connecting the rounds, so that it all looks like the spokes of a wheel with a hollow pit in the center of it all.
Abstract This paper considers whether the punishments meted out in Dante's "Inferno" are appropriate for the sins in question. The paper discusses Dante's layout of a complete system of justice and the severity of the penalties imposed upon sinners.
From the Paper "In the "Inferno" by Dante Alighieri, readers are introduced to the various rings of Hell and the sinners who inhabit them. Dante works to layout a complete system of justice so that those who have sinned are punished in an appropriate manner. Indeed Dante demonstrates quite an imagination as he seeks to establish a correlation between the sin that has been committed and the punishment that takes place. In most cases there is a sense that the punishment fits the crime."
Tags:dante, inferno, punishment, sin, lustful, violence, moral
Abstract This eight-page undergraduate paper considers the role of magic and the supernatural in Dante's Inferno and the Epic of Gilgamesh. The author considers magic not only in the literal sense but as a metaphor for different forces within human beings or nature that shape human behavior and destiny.
Abstract The paper examines both the structure and poetic symbols in Dante's epic poem "The Divine Comedy." The paper explains how he utilizes both in expressing the poem's themes.
From the Paper "Dante's masterpiece, "The Divine Comedy" is an epic poem which traces man's quest to reach God and discover a true world order. Indeed as Dante travels through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven he undergoes a spiritual transformation as a result of his journey and finds answers to the moral questions that have nagged him. The poem functions as an allegory as it allows Dante to express both his political and religious views while teaching his readers a lesson in spiritual and moral matters."
A discussion of Dante's struggle between pity for the sinners condemned to hell and affinity with the justice of his Creator in condemning them, in his poem "The Inferno."
2,267 words (approx. 9.1 pages), 0 sources, 2008, $ 70.95
Abstract This paper discusses Dante's vacillation between supporting or challenging God's justice during his journey among the dead sinners in "The Inferno." The writer discusses first the argument that there is a decreasing trend of pity in Dante for the sinners, and the texts on which it is based, and then shows how Dante alternates between pity and loathing throughout much of "The Inferno". The writer shows that Dante's personal biases and municipal and political loyalties remain the deciding factor in his interaction with the sinners, not the nature of the sin committed. Dante's pity or lack thereof is also influenced by the words and actions of the sinners he encounters. The writer analyzes Cantos XXXII and XXXIII and concludes that Dante remains as indecisive in the end as he was in the beginning of his journey. The paper includes figures.
From the Paper "Before launching into an argument against Dante's decreasing trend of pity for the sinners, let us take a moment to consider the merits of this stance. At first glance, the character Dante seems to become increasingly merciless towards those agonizing in Hell. Early on in his venture, he weeps at the very sound of the suffering souls: "Now sighs, loud wailing, lamentation / resounded through the starless air, / so that I too began to weep" (III.22-24). Without even identifying the sin behind their cries, he grieves at the justice commanded by God and so, as Virgil warns, affiliates himself with the sinners instead of with heavenly sanction."
Abstract This paper details two cantos from the tale of Dante's "Inferno" and attempts to derive how accomplished a writer Dante actually was because of his use of imagination and reality through a review of Cantos Five and Thirteen. It assesses Dante's skill in telling his story by tying together his vivid imagination with his ability to describe people realistically. It shows how, in Dante's hell, the sins of the individual souls describe both how the individuals lived their lives before death and how they will spend eternity after death and how Dante's imagination mixed with reality made his tormented characters believable and opened a window into their lives.
From the Paper "Dante had a definite interplay between reality and imagination. For example, one would think that with the many tortures and the constant torment, these levels of hell would reek horrendously. Although not from either Canto five or thirteen, this example demonstrates how the author combined real and imagined to describe the smell of hell and his imagination makes it very real. ?Dante arrives at the verge of a rocky precipice which encloses the seventh circle, where he sees the sepulchre of Anastasius the heretic; behind the lid of which pausing a little, to make himself capable by degrees of enduring the fetid smell that steamed upward from the abyss, he is instructed by Virgil concerning the manner in which the three following circles are disposed, and what description of sinners is punished in each.? (DANTE) Dante captures the stench precisely."
Abstract This paper examines the scholars and the de-contextualization of Dante's "Inferno" - with special emphasis upon canto III. The paper summarizes the scene when a fearful Dante first enters Hell and discusses its significance in terms of understanding Dante and his world. The paper also looks at how intellectuals view Dante's "Inferno". The writer believes that the work stands out as a classic example of the medieval allegory play taken to new rhetorical heights. The writer concludes that it is also an example of how even the simplest works, if powerfully wrought, can spark wide discussion among academics who seek out meanings unimagined by the author.
From the Paper "Ultimately, the canto, like the rest of the cantica, is a potential mirror into the world in which Dante Alighieri lived as well as a mirror into his own inner turmoil as a devout Christian seeking a purpose to his life as well as answers to questions that presumably many devout Christians were asking in the fourteenth century. To start with, the canto (in the original Italian, anyway) was written in the demanding terza rima rhyme pattern (Scott para.2) and, even in English translations, the text can be difficult to follow as Dante tries to bend the language into shapes and forms to which it does not adhere willingly."
Abstract Dante's "The Inferno" paints an incredibly vivid picture of what Hell is like. The journey Dante undertakes in order to progress pass his "lost" stage and escape Hell can be likened to the 12-Step Program a recovering alcoholic must complete in order to finally escape from the clutches of drinking to excess. This paper explores Dante's journey through the perspective of this 12-Step Program. By going through each step, one can witness the introspective and emotional self-examination Dante goes through, with a little help from his support group, in order to get out of Hell.
From the Paper "The first step that every recovering alcoholic must take involves the process of admitting his or her problem. Alcoholics must acknowledge that they are helpless when battling their addiction and they must admit that this addiction to drink has wreaked havoc on their lives to the point where they have lost control (Alcoholic Anonymous, 1955, 59). Dante's predicament is no different to that of an alcoholic struggling to regain control over his or her life. At the beginning of the poem, Dante is portrayed as having gotten lost on the path of life and trying to get back on the right path. Using imagery, Dante recalls that ?in the middle of his life, he [finds] himself lost in a dark forest, having lost the right path while half asleep.? "
Abstract This paper examines the relationship between Dante and Virgil as depicted in Pinsky's translation. Their relationship throughout poem is filled with symbolism. The epic poem is about Dante who journeys through the underworld and Virgil, the Roman poet, serves as his guide. The paper shows how Virgil symbolizes knowledge and safety to Dante, who is at times uncertain and timid about traversing such treacherous terrain.
From the Paper "Robert Pinsky is a distinguished poet and translator of "The Inferno of Dante" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994). The "Inferno" -- which is the first part of Dante's "Divina Commedia" -- remains a popular and compelling poem for modern readers; there have been at least fifty English versions of the "Inferno" in this century alone. Of course, any translator must rely on previous translations and commentators in undertaking such an ambitious task, and Pinsky has said that he depended largely on Charles Singleton's scholarly, painstakingly literal prose translation (1970), and on the best-known nineteenth-century American verse translation, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1867). "
Abstract This paper explains that, in the "Inferno", Dante states that people are evil and cannot change and that the punishment people receive is fitting to their crime. The author disagrees with Dante and believes that punishing people in a way that is fitting to the crime will only work to reinforce the kind of behavior that led to the crime and will lead to people being defined by their crimes thus reinforcing the idea that people cannot change. The paper stresses that a system, such as Dante's, where the punishment fits the crime does nothing to make the person be responsible for their own actions.
Table of Contents:
Crime and Punishment in Dante's Era
Crime and Punishment Today
From the Paper "In the Inferno, Dante travels through the ten levels of hell. In each level, he sees people that have been guilty of certain crimes. In each case, the people are being punished in a way that is fitting to their crime. The people who sinned via wrath are seen to be attacking each other. The thieves have been turned into snakes. The people who committed suicide have to spend their lives as trees. This suggests that people do not change. In this way, a person who does wrong is seen as evil with this not able to be changes. With this belief, there is no suggestion that people can learn from their mistakes and become better people. The punishments describe also suggest that people will continue to act as they did on earth if they are given freedom."
Abstract In this article, the writer studies the writings of Dante Alighieri and notes that he makes comment of the current political and religious world in which he lived. The writer points out that in so doing, Dante created a likely unintended controversy, with regard to the way in which things were done in the church and politics. Further, the writer notes that Dante disagreed with this in many ways, but attempted to pacify this controversy through his works, especially with his 'Inferno'. The writer concludes that through Dante's inclusion of many ideals and standards of his faith, some have seen his works as spiritual and worthy quests, yet his emphasis on self-determination and self-judgment was contrary to the validity of the central authority of the Catholic faith, regardless of his desire to embrace it.
From the Paper "Dante, traced his own personal economic and political trials through his experiences in a system, not unlike that described by his Catholic faith, and yet in so doing he must have known that he would challenge the Catholic ideal of centralized authority and power. Though some say his intention was to make sense of his problems and his seeking of salvation through this exercise with no intention of harming his faith or its standards but he hesitated in his debates, as if uncertain that he held any or all of the answers he was seeking in his pilgrimage of the mind."
Abstract This paper suggests that, while the notion of Heaven and Hell perhaps has its origins in Dante's "Inferno", there is, in actuality, a far more intimate duality to be examined: the paternal relationship between a father and son. The paper relates that Dante establishes Virgil the guide as a father figure to the pilgrim Dante. Yet, as in all father-son relationships, there is a metamorphosis. Virgil progresses from a strict father to becoming tempered by love and maternal instincts, while his son Dante, progresses from a helpless child to a rebellious teenager. The paper discusses this metamorphosis and concludes that the tender and affectionate relationship the two characters share is a counter-point to the nightmarish discourse of heaven and hell.
From the Paper "However, as in most parenting relationships, children grow to the rebellious stage of adolescence. Dante begins to experience great fear and doubt concerning Virgil's power. In the beginning of Canto IX, Virgil is unable to open the gate of Dis. The all-knowing Virgil has failed. Dante thinks to himself, "the colored cowardness displayed in me when I saw that my guide was driven back..."(9.1-2), "Nevertheless, his speech made me afraid, because I drew out from his broken phrase a meaning worth- perhaps-then he'd intended" (9.13-15)."
Abstract The paper states that in Dante's "Inferno" the personality characteristics of Dante and Virgil and their relationship is extremely important to the context of the story. The writer uses examples and character analysis to present this relationship.
From the Paper "Dante is not a gifted man intellectually. He is a bit of a bumbling guy who seems to need a lot of supervision and guidance to get through life. He was however, a firm spiritual believer who followed his heart when it comes time to believe in Virgil."
Abstract The paper looks at the compelling epic simile used in Canto 12, in which Dante compares a bull on the way to slaughter to the dreaded Minotaur, that Dante must face on his way to Paradise. The paper explains how using a bull as the symbol of the beast allows the reader to immediately understand the violence and force of the Minotaur. It also discusses the knowledge that Dante must gain during his journey in order for him to achieve victory.
From the Paper "Another analogy also fits the image of the bull that gains strength in the last minutes of life, and fits the image of the Minotaur, half bull, and half man. Bulls are notoriously violent, they charge at the least little thing, and are not known for their brains. They are also hopelessly lost outside of their element, as the "bull in the china shop" analogy clearly shows. Thus, this "bull man" that is the Minotaur can be overcome when it is outside its element, where it is no longer comfortable. Remove this ultimate beast from its position in the labyrinth, and you will have the upper hand, as Dante and his guide discover. Therefore, the Minotaur serves yet another purpose in Dante's growing knowledge as he moves along the pathway toward Paradise. The Minotaur shows that the violence of the Minotaur is a result of his environment and his comfort level, and if these are removed, the Minotaur is vulnerable. This is a valuable lesson in life, for it shows how even the most violent among us use their environment as a shield to hide their vulnerability."
