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Literary analysis of Dante Alighieri the inferno
Literary analysis of Dante Alighieri the inferno
Literary analysis of Dante Alighieri the inferno
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Dante Alighieri's Influence on Italian Culture
Dante Alighieri was a very well known and influential poet in early literature. “He was not only a poet, he was also a philosophical thinker, an active politician, and a religious visionary'; (Holmes 1). Dante was born in Florence in 1265, into the Guelph political party, one of the two main parties in Florence. The Guelphs were aristocrats and nobles. They supported the church and papacy and were against the Renaissance. Their opposition was the Ghibellini Party who consisted of the rising merchant class. They supported the emperor and wanted to gain power from the pope (Holmes 22). During his earlier years Dante was neutral politically, but he eventually rose to become a high political figure in the Florentine government. He joined the White Guelphs, who split from the Black Guelphs. When the Blacks took over, Dante was banished from political office and exiled from Florence (Parish Internet). His life changed drastically during his exile, enabling him to concentrate on his writing.
Dante was one of the most influential individuals in early European literature, language, and politics. He influenced Italian society and culture through his poetry and his prose (Dante Internet). His writings helped to unify the Italian language. His opinions on politics were new and many of his ideas are seen in today’s politics (Holmes 23). These are the three key ar...
... a deep change. He is now hardened towards the sins of others and understands the meaning and presence of God's grace. He has overcome the perils of hell on his path towards paradise, and is well-adjusted for the next step of his journey. By gaining a new knowledge of God's methods of justice and punishment, Dante will be able to enter purgatory with a stronger, harder heart and an increased will to find God and His love. Inferno does well to teach Dante the pilgrim the importance of separating yourself from sin and entering into God's grace. The message of the piece can be applied to all mankind as well; that the ultimate goal of every man should be to overcome sin and to find God's love.
Dante was born during the time that Florence Italy were having political issue. One of the issue were that people supported the pope and the other side supported the Roman Empire. It created two factions called the Guelph’s and the Ghibellines. I was war between them. When the Guelph took over Italy created another fractions between the White Guelph and Black Guelph. Dante is part of the White Guelph
The forbidden wedding of Romeo and Juliet could not have happened without the Friar. First of all, the Friar impulsively agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, even though he knows it will cause later problems. In the beginning, the Friar thinks that "...this alliance may so happy prove; To turn your households' rancor to pure love." (II iv 91-92) Which shows that the Friar has a slight hope of their marriage possibly working. Consequently, at first, he shows no reluctance to marry the two controversial lovers. However, as time moves on, the Friar lets on that he has regrets about the marriage. The Friar feels that "Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow." (II vi 15) In other words, the Friar means that he senses that this whole wedding is happening too fast and he radiates a feeling of second thought. If the Friar had thought this crucial decision through he may have prevented many future tragedies. Accordingly, the Friar knows all along that "These violent delights have violent ends" (II vi 9) The Friar knows that this is an impossible situation, which if made possible by himself will without a doubt end up in tragedy in one way or another. Under these conditions, as the Friar predicts, Romeo sinks into a deep depression, as a result of the fact that he cannot see his wife. Romeo has a one-track mind that is focused on something he cannot have. Similarly, Juliet becomes depressed and is grieving over the reality of her and Romeo's separation. Without the Friar the two lovers would not have been married, which would have prevented both of these depressions and future problems to come.
...virtuous image, Dante is able to display his newfound self-mastery in moving beyond the company of pagan poets, and seeking confirmation of his autonomy as a Christian poet.
The Guelfs were composed of those who fully supported the pope while The Ghibellines supported the Emperor and the aristocratic families. Eventually, the conflict between the two political parties was overruled by The Guelfs. However, internal conflict between The Guelfs created the party to split between the White and Black Guelfs. Dante was known to engage in some of the political issues during this time. According to an article, Dante was involved in running for one of the highest public office positions in the city. However, the article goes on to point out that Dante’s involvement in the government eventually costs him his home when as the Black Guelfs returned to power and exiled him. Dante’s journey through exile acted as a reflection for his relationships he encountered in Florence (Kumar). His experiences greatly influenced his writing as they detailed the corrupt political and aristocratic leaders. According to English Professor Celia Easton, after the Black Guelfs exiled Dante, it led Dante to compose all of the writings in The Divine Comedy relating his experiences and containing prophecies to the people (Easton). Dante’s works are believed to contain prophecies which correlate to his experiences after exile. His feelings and emotions are believed to be what motivated Dante to create the allegory through a journey of Hell known as
Friar Lawrence takes the cake when talking about who is to blame for the death of Romeo and Juliet. The Friar's action of marrying Romeo and Juliet played a vital role in the outcome. Had this not occurred, Juliet would not be as free and loving towards Romeo. From the previous night, she adamantly stated they must marry in order for her to fully trust Romeo. If they never married, they would not be insanely in love because she would not be able to fully trust Romeo. Another mistake of Friar Lawrence was trusting Friar John to send a letter to debrief Romeo on the current situation. He never received the letter. Since Romeo did not read the letter, he believed his only love was dead and decided to embark on a suicide mission. Lawrence knew the immense importance of the letter and still decided against personally delivering the message. Giving the sleeping potion to Juliet was another mistake that lead to their death. Although it allowed her to avoid marrying Paris, Romeo thought his wife to be dead causing the suicide of himself and eventually of his partner. Actions of Friar Lawrence were for the benefit of the people, but ultimately they paved the road for their deaths.
Dante needed two main guides to help him take on the arduous task of changing his sinful ways to save him from himself, he needed both guides because each taught him very different but very valuable things. These guides where chosen because of various aspects that allow they to teach Dante to the best. The first of these guides is Virgil, a well-respected pagan poet. There are many reasons why Virgil was chosen
Rudd, Jay. Critical Companion to Dante: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York. 2008. Print.
Two important figures of philosophy and literature of the Renaissance era include Dante and Petrarch. In at least four of Dante’s works,Vita Nuova, Convivio, com media, and Timaeus, Neoplatonism shines through. In fact, Dante served as a well known initial predecessor of the Platonic Academy in Florence. Petrarch was inspired by Plato in even greater ways. He was the first to distinctively link Plato with the ideals of Italian humanism. Through his work, Petrarch foreshadowed the “central motive of the Florentine Neoplatonist’s: the deification of
“A thing like death to chide away this shame,/ That cop’st with death himself to scape from it;/ And if thou darest, I’ll give thee remedy.”(4.i.89-120) In short, Friar is telling Juliet what he is going to give her for her planned ‘death’. This is important because this is the main problem that leads to both Romeo and Juliet’s death. This proves that in the story, Romeo ends up seeing Juliet ‘dead’ it makes him want to kill himself. Of course he made a hasty decision at that point in time. In the story Friar tells Juliet the entire plan. “Take thou this vial being then in bed/ And this distilling liquor drink thou off;.../ And then awake as from a pleasant sleep.”(VI.ii.89-120) In other words, Friar is telling Juliet to drink the distilling liquor and she’ll be fast asleep for the plan to go as planned. This is important because the the dialogue proves that Friar planned Juliet’s ‘death’. As an educated adult, he shouldn't have made the decisions he
Friar Laurence, through his lack of good judgment, is largely responsible for the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet. Rather than being supportive of them and helping them disclose their loving situation, Friar Laurence took the “easy” way out. He succumbed to their desire to elope. He secretly married Romeo and Juliet instead of standing behind them and encouraging them to confront their families with the facts about their commitment to and love for each other. As a result, an even stronger bond between them was created through marriage: "For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone / Till holy church incorporate two in one" (2.6.36-37). Friar Laurence married Romeo and Juliet, hoping that their union would bring an end to the constant feuding between their two families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Though the friar’s intentions were good and above reproach, they were certainly missteps along a pathway to tragedy. None of the tragedies would have occurred if Romeo and Juliet were not married. When Tybalt challenged Romeo...
The Friar is responsible for many problems as well, as assisting Juliet with her "death" plan. When Romeo and Juliet realize they can’t be together, and Juliet is expected to marry Paris, she needs an escape plan. Juliet pays a visit to the Friar, who creates a plan for Juliet to fake her death with a sleeping potion. When Juliet asks the Friar to help her break free from her wedding with Paris, he replies that:
The Friar thought that this marriage will end an ancient grudge of two prominent families, when it will only separate them even more. Friar Laurence was helping Capulet and Lady Capulet mourn over Tybalt’s death. Paris says, "With these times of woe afford no time to woo!" . If everything was thought about clearly and not rushed through then none of this would have happened and Romeo and Juliet would not have died such a tragic death. Another example of the Friar lying is by not telling Montague and Lady Montague of Romeo and Juliet’s elopement. This only made matters worse, and now both Romeo and Juliet are dead. The Friar made this marriage a huge mistake, and he could have stopped the whole thing right there and then by just saying no.
“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.” This maxim applies to the poet Dante Alighieri, writer of The Inferno in the 1300s, because it asserts the need to establish oneself as a contributor to society. Indeed, Dante’s work contributes much to Renaissance Italy as his work is the first of its scope and size to be written in the vernacular. Due to its readability and availability, The Inferno is a nationalistic symbol. With this widespread availability also comes a certain social responsibility; even though Dante’s audience would have been familiar with the religious dogma, he assumes the didactic role of illustrating his own version of Christian justice and emphasizes the need for a personal understanding of divine wisdom and contrapasso, the idea of the perfect punishment for the crime. Dante acts as both author and narrator, completing a physical and spiritual journey into the underworld with Virgil as his guide and mentor. The journey from darkness into light is an allegory full of symbolism, much like that of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, which shows a philosopher’s journey towards truth. Therefore, Dante would also agree with the maxim, “Wise men learn by others’ harms; fools scarcely by their own,” because on the road to gaining knowledge and spiritual enlightenment, characters who learn valuable lessons from the misfortunes of others strengthen their own paradigms. Nonetheless, the only true way to gain knowledge is to experience it first hand. Dante’s character finds truth by way of his own personal quest.
The Friar has almost contributed to every major subplot that then leads to the death of Romeo and Juliet. As if that was not enough, he ran away from the responsibility which he created, which was the death of Romeo and Juliet. He asserts, “Come, go, good Juliet. I dare no longer stay.”(5.3.164) Here in this scene Juliet had just found Romeo’s pale body lying with a dagger pierced in his heart. But what did the Friar say….? He asserted trying to run away from the tomb that they should leave. {What more is there I ask?.... T-o-…[fidgeting] watch one’s love one die and yet hear someone callously rip you apart from them on their death