Analysis of Inferno Authored by Dante - Essay Example

Dante’s Inferno At the beginning of the 12th century, northern Italy, and other cities of Tuscany like Florence, got organized mainly as free city states or communes. During this period of growth and formation in Italy, the city states constantly fought against the countryside feudal families in order to expand and consolidate their dominion and influence. These two factions came to respectively represent, the party of the Pope and the Emperor meaning that during this time the Italian cities sided behind the banner representing the Pope or the Emperor. In western Christianity, these two became the main symbols of moral authority. Florence concurrently during Dante’s time, was undergoing great demographic growth, mainly due to immigration of people from the countryside. This was the period of change, a time in which significant changes were happening in the people’s lives. The traditional feudal systems of governance had been quickly replaced, by the new more dynamic and open pre-capitalistic and bourgeois system. The cities’ rapid demographic growth presented various inevitable social and political conflicts among the inhabitants. For example, there was friction between the state and the church mainly due to obvious reasons. There were political issues between Florence and Italy. Examples of these issues included greed, fraud, and corruption. It was also pointed out that the interest of the citizens was mostly sidelined by those leaders in authority, while they concentrated on their own personal agendas. Among other factors, it greatly caused political instability, hindered development in most parts of the country, and influenced Dante to highlight them on the poem (Robert, 483). To Dante practically every non-Florentine and Florentine he encountered throughout his journey presented a golden chance for him to speak up against the moral, political and social decadence in Italy and Florence at the time. He continues to describe Florence as Satan’s city because it exports and coins the accused Florin that ended up corrupting the world (Paradiso IX). The decadence of Florence, according to Dante, was mainly connected to the degradation of Italy where hate, injustice, moral corruption, and violence were high. These are the issues that illustrated the political situation of medieval Italy during the poet’s time. According to the poet, the basis of this situation was the conflict between the Emperor and the Pope. Dante considers them responsible since they have politicized and divided the cities of Italy for their own benefits. First and more specifically was the fact that the then emperor did not abide by the role he had been given by God, which was a role of maintaining the regions and cities assigned to them. The corruption of the church was made possible by the weakness of the imperial power, which unjustly assigned itself power that rightly should belong only to the Emperor. Therefore, both the emperor and Pope failed in their temporal and spiritual roles respectively given to them both by God for the wellbeing and happiness of the people. Instead, they propagated political issues to their own benefit (Alighieri 140). Some of the characters in the poem actually help Dante portray the actual situation that was happening on the Florentine political scene. His life and the way some of these issues helped influence his decisions also come out through these characters. The way he describes, interacts and alliances with some of them help us understand his actual stand and feelings on the matter. An example of this is the harsh reaction Fillipo Argenti caused on Dante, the pilgrim after finding him in Hell (Alighieri 143). He wished that this person would be punished more severely and he actually was glad to find him there (Alighieri 140). He was considered as a member of the Black Guelphs, which was a political faction opposite Dante’s. Dante especially hated Fillipo because he took all his possessions when Dante was exiled. In addition, it is because of his hot temper that he was placed on the fifth level (Alighieri 163). Another character placed in level six is Farinata degli Uberti. Farinata was a noticeable Ghibelline party military leader a year before Dante was born. The description of a heretic is of a person that holds an opinion that directly goes against what is usually accepted, for instance in a Church. Because he held a leadership role for the more secure party, Dante regarded him as a person who had abandoned religion throughout his life and as such, he was a heretic. Farinata supported the wealthiest families in Florence, the aristocratic and the Holy Roman Emperor, while Dante supported the Pope and Catholic religion. Pope Anastasius II wast sent to serve forever in the sixth level by Dante because the poet held the wrong idea that the pope accepted the heretical doctrine by allowing a sinner into the church, something that the catholic found unacceptable (Alighieri 173). For those who were condemned like Ezzelino III da Romano for atrocities done against others, the poet sentences them to suffer for eternity in level seven of hell. During his reign, Ezzelino was famous for his extreme ruthlessness and cruelty and he led the Ghibelline party (Alighieri 183). The mere fact that he was a prominent figure in the opposing party made Dante choose to send him to hell. There are two Dantes throughout the period of the poem, namely Dante the pilgrim and Dante the poet. Dante as the poet can be described as a moralistic, stern individual who gets to choose who should go to Hell while acting the role of a supreme judge and just like the monster judge Minos, he decides which level a sinner should be in. Dante the poet is unwavering in his decisions and judgments. He can practically find little evidence for justification and the offender is sentenced by the harshest and strictest standards. On the other hand, Dante the pilgrim can be seen as a man who personally has lost his way, but is compassionate to others who have also lost their way and abandoned righteousness. He is, however, terribly frightened when he becomes aware that he is lost. Therefore, he remains very cautious, apprehensive and terribly frightened even when Virgil first arrives. This happens until he is certain of his true intentions. Initially as they started their journey, Dante the pilgrim shows concern for those people sentenced to Hell just like any sympathetic, humane person would when faced with such suffering as the sinners. However, there is an evolution experienced in Dante the pilgrim as the journey continues (Alighieri 178). The pilgrim’s attitude towards the sinners and towards their journeys end is more analytical in the sense that he seems to be more focused on the sin itself as opposed to the personal stories the condemned tell of the actual sin. This change can be attributed partially to the fact that as he continued to descend so did the sins seriousness increase. However, it can also be said that he actually came to view their punishments as being fair. Nonetheless, the authority with which Dante extracts the suffering and stories of the damned somehow contradicts the persuasion of the reader to the reality that with respect to the souls, the absence of mercy on the judgments should not be up for debate (Cunningham 68). It can be pointed out that the evolution of the pilgrim’s attitude towards the damned he met can show that his emotions were stirred by the effects their sin had on those left behind and not by the damned suffering. For the sentenced souls having this kind of awareness would have initially prevented them from sinning. The ability of tuning rational thought with one’s desires to accomplish them in ways that would please God for Dante is the key to being happy on earth. As the pilgrims guide, Virgil ideally embodies the balance between rational thought and feeling and offers some sort of goal towards which the pilgrim aims. To fully prove that Dante completely overcame unrestrained emotion would be hard, even though it is evident that by the end of the Inferno he had managed to change how he viewed the sinners (Alighieri 170). The poem perfectly fits into the religious beliefs of the medieval ages in the sense that the religious and spiritual teachings in the poem are the same as those taught in other religions that were in existent in that period. For example, the teachings are similar to those of the protestant and catholic teachings. Christians are taught and encouraged in both the protestant and catholic churches that, for their sins to be forgiven they have to repent first (Lawrence, 68). If a Christian repents his or her sin, he or she does not end up in hell like those who never repent. In addition, the teachings in the poem are similar to catholic beliefs and teachings. The Christians who are Catholics believe that there is no going to hell after death for those Christians who have lived a good life. Their souls instead go to purgatory. The architecture of hell as depicted and described in catholic teachings is also a lot similar to the architecture of hell that Dante paints. The medieval period and its religious beliefs are shown clearly within the poem. In today’s society, these beliefs are still common. The organization and geography of hell as described in the poem also confirms to the catholic theology practiced during the middle ages period (Sinclair 233). The conscious and deliberate disobedience to the will of God in the Christian understanding is what is referred to as sin. Disobedience is a moral problem, a function of human will. Therefore, since it is not inbuilt into us, it can be said that it is not natural, and generally, it never evolves into any form of goodness. Sin, however, as depicted in the poem is made possible by one aspect of our creation that is the gift of having free will in the sense that we are given the option of choosing whether to be obedient or not. This means that we are not programmed into being righteous. The issue of personal choices and wrong moral is illustrated in various aspects of the poem by the many characters. Bringing this into context, Dante’s inferno is in no way historical. However, it is still relevant in the current Christian society and it has profound truth that can still be used to address the different issues of sin. For example, just like the current Christian teachings, it shows that sinners will go to hell. The only way that one can go to heaven is by leaving a righteous life and repenting whenever he or she commits a sin. Dante’s work shows that humans in the medieval and present age find selfish pursuits and temptations more enjoyable, as compared to obedience in the short term (Dinsmore 38). Dante’s poem in the modern Christian setting seems to highlight the fact that currently people have taken up some of the vices that Dante wanted to rebuke in his time into the religious institutions and made them to normal behavior. Nowadays, corruption, homosexuality, greed and even immorality have found their way into the current religious teachings and have been embraced as not being sins. The real issue for Dante in the poem was not the ordinary people’s moral degradation but mainly the ruling institutions moral failure, which is currently a dilemma for many religious institutions. Currently, the churches have sullied and debased themselves and their sense of morality by having their secular and religious roles wrong. The poet uses these issues to influence the views and perception of the current generation of Christians towards sin and the religion, by stressing on the aspect of free will for each individual. In conclusion, Dante does a commendable job in the poem to outline the vices that existed in the society then. These vices reflect and resemble those that occur in the present day society. For example, in modern Christian setting, Dante’s poem is relevant in showing what people should do and that which they should not do. It also shows issues of sin and the expectations that people should fulfill to go to heaven without which they will go to hell. Dante has also showed his political views though certain characters in the poem as described above. Work cited Alighieri, Dante. Divine Comedy Volume 1: Inferno. New York: Penguin Books, 2003. Print. Sinclair, John. The Divine Comedy, Volume I. Inferno. London: Oxford University Press, 1961 Cunningham, Lawrence S."Roman Catholicism."Introduction to World Religions Communities and Cultures. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010. 67-79. Print. Dinsmore, Charles Allen The Teachings of Dante, Ayer Publishing, 1970, p. 38. Print. Robert F. "Dante and Politics." History Today. 20 July (1970): 481-88. Print. Read More

 

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