NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Dantes Inferno Written in the first person, Inferno tells of the poets journey through the realm of afterlife: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. It deals with the ideas that actions and practices taken up in this life will determine the punishment or salvation attained in the next. In the poem, Dante describes circles of hell of which these levels are assigned according to the severity of the sinner. Dante uses setting to display the different circles and further exemplify the ironic qualities associated with the damnation of the sinner.
Various characters are also used to display the different levels of sin and also to point out individual sinners that Dante sees as the most severe. Dantes idea is to deliver the understanding that for the sinners there will be no loyalty in the afterlife. Dante displays to the reader a story of damnation and, through the use of setting, irony and implication of general cultural aspects, allows the reader to fully comprehend and relate to the story. Major theme of this poem illustrates that the things one does in life shall hurt that person in death.
Blasphemers and sinners alike commit sins against God and do not worry for their damnation does not occur in the present but seemingly far off in death. The Inferno displays to the reader the reality that their sins will someday come back to damn them. Examples of this can be seen in the circles of hell. Through various characters Dante illustrates this eternal suffering received for mistakes in life. Dante uses various literary devices like allegory and irony to display the sinners and the damnation they receive for their specific sins.
Inferno illustrates irony in setting, such that there are no second chances in life. Through symbolism, representation, and physical details Dante establishes in, yet als reinforces his theme. Symbolism in related t the setting exhibits the nature f Dante t be very inc when it cme's t explaining the general nations, like loyalty f Gds rules towards the sinners wh end up in hell. Fr example, thought Inferno Dante makes many direct references t the light and the heavens: Therefore, if you win through this gloomy pass and climb again to see the heaven of stars when it rejoices to you... (145). These references reveal the concept of loyalty, in such a way, that none of the inhabitants of hell can ever see the light of God and will always remember choice they once made. Dante infers that in hell you will be constantly reminded of the path you chose not to take.
Last illustration of the absence of loyalty in Dantes Inferno is the creatures of hell. Dantes creatures of hell disclose their symbolism in regards to loyalty in the guarding of the different circles of hell. For example the Minotaur, once a great beast who guarded many, is now guardian of circle seven and will forever remind him of his sins on earth due to the fact his is the guardian of those who can never escape and his presence is a struggle of unending hell. Inferno is a detailed description of sin and its relationship to degrees of punishment. Example identified in the story reads, ... for the face was reversed on the neck, and they came on backwards, staring backwards at their loins for to look before them was forbidden.
This quote describes the punishment fr future-tellers. In life the future-tellers fresh the future, while in death they are does t exist with their heads n backwards and their eyes verflwing with tears s that nt nly could they nt see what happened in from f them, but als they could nt see at all due t verflwing amounts f tears. This is a great example f Gds punishment f people that were unwilling t remain local t His rules during the earthly lives. Sinners of hell in The Inferno exemplify the notion that the sin you committed on earth becomes also the punishment you shall receive in hell. This notion, the basis of the irony, that what you could not live without on earth becomes the root for your damnation in hell. For example, the Inferno circles of hell have punishments for each of the sins committed and for such sins, as lust, the violators of this sin are bound together in all eternity never able to contact with the flesh only the mind: Love, which permits no loved one not to love, took me so strongly with delight in him that we are one in Hell, as we were above.
Love led us to one death (61). Another instance of the atmosphere, which deals with the description of loyalty, is the silence that constantly maintained throughout Limbo. In all the other circles of hell there is constant reference to the wailing and ugly noise of hell; yet, in Limbo like those who could not decide, the noise neither happy nor sad. Setting reinforces the theme that the loyalty of the sin committed will become the punishment received.
This can become realized when Dante stated, What I was living, the same I now, dead (109). There are numerous characters in the Inferno. Sinners are arranged in a hierarchy. In each grup f sinners, Dante distinguishes a few characters and acts as a men fr sme f the sul's in Hell. He informs them as t what happens in the land f the living. Sinners als function as months by telling Dante abut themselves, their sins and abut Hell.
Sinners have experienced life upside f Hell, and are curious abut it. Dante criticizes the world this way frm a religious perspective. In Inferno Dante specifically criticizes believers f Judaism and Islam. Dante criticizes these religions because f his loyalty t Christianity. Example f this when Dante meets Mohammed and gruesomely describes him: Between his legs all of his red guts hung with the heart, the lungs, the liver, the gall bladder, and the shrivelled sac that passes shit to the bung.
Bibliography: Dante Alighieri. Inferno. London: Penguin Books, 1978.
Free research essays on topics related to: sinners, inferno, dante, dantes inferno, example f
Research essay sample on Dantes Inferno Example F
