The Purpose of Dantes Inferno - Essay Example

The Purpose of Dante’s Inferno The Inferno is the first part of Dante’s famous work, Divine Comedy, which, in its entirety, is a lyrical narrative ofman’s journey towards God. This part is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso, respectively. With this in mind, it is easy to understand how the section aims to outline or depict the first stage of such journey, which is all about the recognition and rejection of sin, in a logical and thematic flow of the story and message he wished to convey. The poem is full of allegories that sought to represent the topography of sin with a kind of rhetorical style that tried to evoke a detailed depiction of a locale, destination and state through a clever play of thought and emotion. For instance, Dante tried to describe for the reader the overview and the fantastic terrors of hell and with it, he was outlining seven sins wherein: the first circle was limbo); second circle was lust, third circle was gluttony; fourth circle was avarice and prodigality; fifth circle was wrath and sullenness; sixth circle was heresy; seventh circle was violence; eight circle was fraud; and, the ninth circle, treachery). Each description of the circles of hell represented how a specific sin consumes man. The case of the second circle (lust) is a case in point. Those souls being punished in this area were being blown about by the ferocious winds – back and forth, symbolizing the overpowering influence of lust in men who, like the wind are blown aimlessly and needlessly. The only person allowed to speak here was Francesca (an allegory for Eve), who first testified the sheer pain of the punishment when she said: “There is no greater woe than to remember days of happiness amid affliction” (48). Then, there was Dante himself who represented man as he was being presented with choices – either to sin or to reject it. He was first seen in Canto I lost in the woods and unable to find the right way (diritta via). He had a realization of his predicament and accepted the help of a guide, the poet Virgil even when it meant going another way, leaving a wasteful life behind, and passing through an eternal place with fantastic peril. Here Dante was like all men who must choose his way to salvation or damnation. In this area, another symbolism emerged to depict man’s faculty in his journey through sin, the poet Virgil. Virgil led Dante on a tour through Hell and this represented not just what the character immediately represented as poet, but as a guide, which immediately brings the reader to the element of the human reason. Dante, the guide, was an objective element, having a wealth of insights not just on Hell itself but in the nature of man, such as his self-delusion, his greed and ignorance, his selfishness and tendency to wound others and the natural world. His guided tour through hell – with his explanations on the punishments and their gory details, including the history of those suffering from each – were a comprehensive study of human nature and its interaction with sin, particularly, its consequences in the event that a sinner succumbs in it with wild abandon. The introduction of Virgil into the journey brings forth the intertwined connectivity that Dante has created in ‘The Divine Comedy.’ The conscious fusion of familiar characters instigates the familiarity with which the reader is provoked into searching the undercurrents profoundly entrenched into it. The undying theme of human reason prevailing over all obstacles had been perfected by Dante long before its trite conception prevalent in this day and age. In the beginning, Dante was reluctant to push through as he feared what he might see and lacked the courage to go on. Virgil served as the voice of reason and the source of his strength to continue on the journey through hell despite his apprehensions. Dante was overcome by fear in the beginning of the journey as he reads the inscription on the gate of hell: “Through me you pass into the city of woe: Through me you pass into eternal pain: Through me among the people lost for aye. Justice the founder of my fabric moved” To rear me was the task of power divine, Supremest wisdom and primeval love. Before me things create were none, save things Eternal, and eternal I endure. All hope abandon, ye who enter here.” (Alighieri, Canto III, Lines 1-9) The warning at the entrance gate summarizes what lies beyond those who enter it, whether by choice such as Dante or by fate as those who are bound to be imprisoned by it. Inferno symbolizes eternal suffering. It serves as punishment for those who have not lived their lives accordingly. It is without question that the visions of hell that are affixed in us have seen its roots in the long tradition of the catholic religion and appropriately brought to letters by writers such as Dante. This has continued on down to others including John Milton of the English literary tradition. They have created a vivid illustration of the proverbial places and events which have been passed down through the scriptures, especially the bible and proliferated through the faith. Justice is perhaps among the definitive words that cultivates what Inferno is as an experience. It is such that was contained in the previously cited verses that gives life to how it is. Justice in its simplified sense is proportional. The punishment must be directly proportional to the crime committed. There must be concrete relativity between the two to be able to realize its end. This is what the nine circles of hell contemplate by its very foundation. Even at first glance it is already perceptible the reason behind the differentiation provided for each circle. It is an exact manifestation for each kind of sin man has committed while he was on earth. The circles of hell encapsulate the warrant to what the sinners are enslaved with. It was symbolic and literal to an extent how each was chastised fittingly. The first circle, limbo, was for those who lived righteously but died without being baptized. The second circle was for carnal sinners being blown furiously by unending wind much like their insatiate lust for pleasure. The circle for gluttons, guarded by Cerberus, suffers innumerable weather changes where the souls are reduced to insignificance. The fourth circle of prodigals and the greedy where great weights torment them. The following circle in the Stygian Lake is filled with wrathful souls. After entering the city of Dis, they saw heretics being burned at the tombs with intense fire in the next circle. The next three sins differentiated from all the others, the two descends into the seventh circle where the violent is guarded by the Minotaur and the pool of blood they had to go through. In this circle all types of violence are punished in different chambers, including those who committed suicide and those against art and nature. The eight circle contained sinners of fraud of varied kinds and degrees. Among the punishment include being immersed in dirt and being maimed for all eternity. And the final circle, divided into four rounds, comprised of traitors of various sorts. Thus, signifying the afflictive characteristic of sin as a repercussion of actions in accordance with the extent of what was committed. Reason now presupposes the question of the moving force that created Inferno and to what end it is created for. The gate itself reveals to us that it was made by God through his wisdom and because of his love. It is by its very nature a product, or rather a by-product, of the sins man has committed in the material world. The gift of eternal life is not a promise granted to anyone who demands it. It is the culmination of the righteous path one must take to be able to enter the gates of Paradise. The prospect of perpetual afterlife endured through eternal suffering instigates a dismal future no one would ever wish on anyone much more unto himself. Dante’s work introduces a relatively subjective concept of the journey with the inclusion of Beatrice. The woman who served as his muse for the longest time in his writings is the epitome of unattainable and forlorn love that had not reached its fruition. Mention of her was made in Dante’s treatise ‘Vita Nuova’ where it said that their first encounter was through her father, Folco Portinari’s banquet in their home. It was nothing short of love at first love according to him. This happened even before he became a soldier and the impact of their meeting imprinted on him amorous feelings that transcended further to the time of her death and even through his marriage and subsequently abundant famly (Cary, p.v). The appearance of Beatrice in the beginning of the journey and consequently being the guide of Dante in Paradiso portrays the association made by the author between his real life and his work. The personal life and how he injects into the allegory yields a rational and appealing concept of life after death. The projected possibility of an existence diverse from what is known makes it a dreadful thought to fathom. These places; inferno, purgatorio and paradise, are notions that confronts the religion and conforms it. Passing through Inferno, the first part of the voyage ends with the sight of stars in the sky. The stars are representation of better things that are to come their way. It is the light that glimmers into the night and provides a luminous path that enables travel. After the state of disbelief that Dante went through with what he saw in Inferno, the day of the reckoning seemed not to be the only possibility. That the promise of paradise could be realized because the way to get there is not easy but the reward is more than one could hope for. Reason imparts that freedom comes with responsibility. Focus is delineated to man and his ability to resolve his choices and everything that comes with it. The creation of man in the image and likeness of God makes his creation supreme above all others. But through man’s existence was also when sin sprung forth. All in all, Inferno was the realization of Hell (or sin) and how man, with all his sins, wound up in each of the nine circles. With this objective in mind, and with Dante’s journey and the guidance of Virgil, there was a clear message of the capability of man to achieve perfection and attain fellowship with his creator but most would squander it and would eventually suffer in the process. Bibliography Alighieri, Dante trans. Cary, Rev. H.F. Dantes Inferno. Chicago: Thompson & Thomas, 1966. Cary, Rev. Henry Francis. "Life of Dante." Alighieri, Dante. Dantes Inferno. Chicago: Thompson & Thomas, 1966. v-viii. Read More