Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri - Essay Example

Module Module ID: Dante’s Inferno Fourteenth century Italian poet Dante Alighieri has depicted his detailed journey into the hell out of his imagination, religious belief and information he had gathered during his study of the life Hereinafter in his work under the title “Divine Comedy.” The journey actually reflects the tales he had listened to from his elders and religious mentors, which describes the pains and sufferings inflicted upon the individuals who, according to his view, led a life of deviancy and sin on the earth. It is therefore the poet maintains feelings of sympathies and remorse for the few people burning into the flames of Inferno, while he is delighted on finding some individuals at such a horrible dwelling. Similarly, Dante also takes pity on a group of people because of their miserable plight. Actually Dante had sought inspiration from the Old and New Testaments, which elucidate the existence of nine circles of inferno created for keeping the transgressors, pagans and deviants. Since Dante was a devout orthodox, he finds every non-orthodox Christian in different circles of the hell. Somehow, he maintains different feelings for different people being tortured in the Inferno. Hence, the depiction partly based upon the personal liking and disliking of the protagonist character of the Inferno i.e. Dante, and partly because of his orthodox religious belief; on the basis of which, he categorizes the intensity of sin as well as nature of infliction upon the sinners out of his personal feelings for renowned personalities. The very first person Dante encountered with in the Inferno is distinguished Roman poet of B.C. era i.e. Virgil, who would serve Dante’s guide to Inferno, and would lead him towards all the nine circles. Since Virgin was born several decades before Jesus Christ, he is certainly a non-believer of the Christian faith. (Canto I, lines 79-130) Somehow, being a modest and virtuous person, during his life on earth, Virgil has been imposed with slightest torture in the hell along with other poets and philosophers of ancient and medieval era including great poet of all ages i.e. Sophocles, Homer, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, as well as the Muslim philosophers and poets including Avicenna and . (Canto II) Thus, Virgil informs Dante that the non-believers could not enter the Paradise because of their religious faith; even they had led a pious life on the earth. (Canto III) Dante feels extremely pity over the agony imposed on the poets and philosophers, as they had been the intellectual leaders of not only the society and culture of their times, but also the leaders of the future generations to come as well. Canto IV explains that the great personalities including Noah and Moses were also in the Inferno, which was granted pardon by Christ during his visit to hell and thus they were shifted from Limbo to Heaven on the basis of amnesty Jesus Christ bestowed upon them. (Lines 55-57) Here Dante displays his delight on the release of Adam, Eve, Abraham and other holy personalities because of the Christ’s special favors upon them. Dante encounters the adulterers and debauchers in the second circle of Inferno. Unique beauties of ancient times including Helen of Troy and Queen Cleopatra were also being punished in the second circle. Since sexual relationships, beyond one’s marital-knot, have been a strict taboo and come under the definition of sin according to the Abrahamic faiths, Dante vehemently condemns extra-marital sexual activities by taking them as great sin. Consequently, he condemns adultery and rebukes the adulterers on getting indulged into shameful activities of fornication and debauchery for the fulfillment of their carnal desires. Such nefarious acts, according to him, would invite the wrath of the Lord and would subsequently lead the adulterers towards the second circle of the Inferno. (Canto V) Hence, Dante applies the Christian doctrine on the people belonging to the pre-Christian era, and suggests different punishments for them on the basis of their sins in the light of his own faith. He has no sympathies for the debauchers, though he exhibits some pity for the beautiful women being tortured in the hell. Dante does not confine his displeasure to the people who observed a faith quite divergent to the one he follows. On the contrary, he also appears to be condemning his political rivals too in Canto VI, where he watches his political rival including Ciacco and others for observing greed and remaining gluttonous throughout their life. Consequently, third circle of hell consists of the people, who have led their lives in lavish and revelries. In other words, Dante has also included all his personal and political enemies and rivals in this circle, which include the politicians belonging to the Black Guelph party. Since Dante himself was the political supporter of White Guelph political faction of Florence, he declares Black Guelph as the accused the followers of this group responsible for inviting wrath and disarray within a political set up. Dante witnesses them in third circle of Inferno because of their running amuck behind pelf, power and possession. Thus, their love for worldly pursuits had made them forgetful of their religious obligations. As a result, they appear to be in agony in the Inferno, which brings joys and mirth on the face of the poet. Dante and Virgin carry on their journey and reach the sixth circle of Inferno, which has been described in Canto X. Dante comes across Heretics and pagans in this circle. The sight of the infidels crying bitterly with the severe pains and agony being inflicted upon them exhilarates the poet, and he declares the punishment as entirely justified one for disobeying the Lord and His noble commandments. Since they did not have any faith in God, Christ and Resurrection, and had entirely forgot their mission of worshipping God during their stay on the face of the earth, they know are undergoing punishments for their misdeeds. The political opponent of Dante’s ancestors Farinata can also be seen in the same circle. Additionally, Dante also found the great warriors including Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great and other kings belonging to ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. (Canto XII) Moreover, the people involved into exercising cruelties and committing suicides are also the part of the same circle. Since none of these kings followed the Christian doctrine, and stuck to waging wars and killing the people for their own purpose, they could be seen in the whirlpool of pain and agony in the first portion of seventh circle of Inferno (Canto XIII). Hence, presence of Dante’s all political rivals in various circles of the burning flames of hell for one reason or the other excites the poet, without having any remorse or compassion for them. Since homosexuality is seriously abhorred by the orthodox Christians, Dante comes across the sodomites during his journey towards the second zone of seventh circle. Here he meets with his opponent philosopher and scholar Latini as usual, who displays high opinion about Dante’s intellect and political affiliations. Zeus, Ubriachi and other sodomites and purported gods can be observed in the inner part of seventh circle. (Canto XV) Though Dante loves Latini so much because he was his mentor and guardian, and always treated others with kindness, yet being a sodomite, according to Dante, he certainly deserves punishment for breaking the law of God. Consequently, Dante laments on Latini’s miserable plight, yet he is helpless to save him from the state of agony. Consequently, he expresses his repentance and remorse on the plight of his spiritual father and mentor Latini. Dante also has encounter with thieves, fraudulent, traitors and cheaters during his journey (Canto XXI), who had betrayed their nation, political party or fellow citizens in one way or the other. (Canto, XXVI-XXVII) Ulysses also appears among the one who had betrayed his king during Trojan War. Dante also meets the members of Guelph political group in the eighth circle of Inferno. Dante comes across his alive rivals including Bocca degli Abati and Count Ugolino, as well as the dead Fra Alberigo and Branca d’Oria. Dante displays sheer sentiments of displeasure and abhorrence towards the deceivers, cheaters and traitors, because of their acts of misleading their rulers and nations. He also witnesses Beelzebub, Lucifer and Satan in the frozen circle of Inferno. It is reality beyond suspicion that Satan and his companions had played decisive role in distracting and diverting the humankind from the right path of glory, Dante has developed extreme feelings of hatred for all the three. Hence, by going through all the so called sanctified trip made by Dante, it becomes evident that he intends to fry his own fish by condemning respectable personalities like Virgil, Homer, Avicenna, Alexander the Great and many others just to scare and thwart his political and religious opponents. The presence of such an admirable personality like Socrates and a distinguished poet i.e. Sophocles reveals that he has just expressed his inner malice and vindictiveness against all the people, who do not see eye to eye with his religious, dogmatic and political views. Although he also appears to be justified in declaring punishment and agony to be announced on non believers as well as on avaricious, homosexuals, traitors and other sinners, yet the basic motif behind his nefarious portrayal of hell seems to condemn and harass his opponents in order to get pecuniary and political gains out of it. Although his condemnation of adulterers, sodomites, traitors, avaricious and satanic forces reflects his admirable religious exposure, yet censuring and rebuking his religious and political opponents does not seek any foundations in the Christian faith. Consequently, Dante’s trip to the next world and description of deplorable plight of his rivals entirely based upon his imagination, delusion, hallucination and belief with the intention of achieving worldly gains, fame and political position in his society. Work Cited Dante, Alighieri “Divine Comedy” (1321) The Literature Network. Retrieved from http://www.online-literature.com/dante/inferno/ Read More