Differences And Similarities In Dante's Odyssey And Inferno

587 Words2 Pages

Differences and Similarities in The Odyssey and Inferno When going through the stories The Odyssey by Homer and Inferno by Dante, you get the feeling of how diverse, yet similar the two stories are. When reading The Odyssey, you find Ulysses trying to get home to his love, Penelope. He has been gone for twenty years, and through those years, he has struggled with good and evil, just like Dante in Inferno. Ulysses finds himself time after time fighting off gods and their children. Dante, struggling with good and evil, works his way through the nine levels of hell. He is struggling to find where his faithfulness lies. He also is trying to find his way to his love, Beatrice. When reading The Odyssey and Inferno, we find many similarities and differences, from the main characters characteristics, to the experiences within religion during Dante and Homer’s times. Ulysses, in The Odyssey, is the hero who has been trying to get home to his love, Penelope, and also his beloved country. He has found himself at war with many different gods and people, including Neptune, who is not yet ...

Show More
Related

  • Odysseus Hero's Journey Archetype

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Odyssey, by Homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald, is an epic poem written about 3000 years ago. It is essentially a sequel to the Iliad, as it tells of the story of a Greek man named Odysseus and his ten year journey back home to Ithaca, after the Trojan War. It also follows the story of his estate and his wife Penelope which are both being fought over by the suitors that have occupied his palace and are consuming his goods. Along with his son, Telemachus, who is set out on a journey to uncover the whereabouts of his father by the Greek goddess Athena. The epic also gives insight to many of the classic Greek ideals that Odysseus embodies and other Greek virtues and values that are explored through the story of Odysseus’s journey back home. A striking resemblance is seen between Odysseus’s characteristics and many of the characteristics we see in heroes in modern culture and entertainment today. Another striking resemblance is that of the journey of Odysseus and how closely it follows that of the Hero’s Journey archetype. Although some of these Greek ideals still maintain to be relevant, others are

    Read More

  • Similarities Between In The Beginning And The Odyssey

    405 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Odyssey and In the Beginning can be related because they are epics. In addition to that the authors are also similar in a way, Homer, the author of the Odyssey is unknown if he was real and if he ever existed. The author of In the Beginning is still unknown till this day, all we know is that it is found in the bible and talks about how it all started when God created the world. While in the Odyssey it has many gods and goddesses as well as In the Beginning but it only has one main god. The main characters are Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus, and in the other story, their is the god, serpent, Adam and Eve.

    Read More

  • Comparison of Odyssey, Divine Comedy, and Paradise Lost

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    heroes; they summarize and express the nature or ideals of an entire nation at a

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Aeneid And Dante's Inferno

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    The afterlife has mystified society since its conception, and many theories have attempted to speculate on what the underworld may look like. Vergil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Inferno both document the afterlife in vivid detail, but provide very contrasting settings, although some common characters are confronted in each tale. Throughout each myth, the two heroes encounter many obstacles, and are forced to summon courage that they didn't know they had, due to the ghastly sights and sounds they endure. In the Aeneid, Aeneas first crosses through they Elysian fields() before reaching the underworld, but by the time Dante writes Inferno, Heaven and Hell exist as separate entities, so Dante doesn't encounter Heaven in the Inferno. In “Mismapping the Underworld” John Kleiner discusses the “deceptive” and “ambiguous” nature of the underworld described

    Read More

  • Comparing Dante's Inferno, The Thinker, And The Gates Of Hell

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    Contemporary sculpture was brought into the art world during the 1800’s by French artist, Auguste Rodin.

    Read More

  • Odyssey And Dante's Inferno Research Paper

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    The common thing seen in heroic cycle narratives since the dawn of the literary revolution is that a bar was set when they first emerged and everything after that followed the same path. They all begun with heroes or anti-heroes that were exposed to some life changing event that placed on a journey either literally or metaphorically to achieve one universal goal. The odyssey and Dante’s Inferno are not excluded. The odyssey was the original literary narrative that set the standard that later inspire all other writing that preceded it. But one thing the odyssey and Dante’s inferno share a similarity, their journey was the focus of the story. They each spoke of one protagonist on a spiritual and physical journey each bent on achieving a personal goal.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Dante And Virgil's 'First Circle Of Hell'

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    The First Circle of Hell, contains the souls of those who were non-Christians and unbaptized pagans. Including those who were born before Christianity existed. The souls of those who are in this circle are not harshly punished physically, but instead grieve only their separation from God. They are punished with eternity in an inferior form of Heaven. They live in the noble castle of Limbo which has seven gates which symbolizes the seven virtues. In this circle Dante sees many recognizable people such as Homer, Socrates, Aristotle, Cicero, Hippocrates and Julius Caesar. A celebrity who would most likely end up here would be Tom Cruise because he is a Scientologist. Scientology has no connection to God which would result in Tom Cruise being

    Read More

  • Comparing the Underworlds in Dante’s Inferno and The Odyssey

    2100 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dante’s Inferno is a narrative poem, with a very complicated rhyme scheme, originally written in Italian. It documents the author’s, Dante, trip through hell, where he learns how hell is organized and the way in which sinners are punished. Dante is guided by the great poet Virgil, who leads him throughout hell. The Odyssey, is an epic authored by the Greek, Homer. The epics centers on Odysseus’ protracted journey home. The protagonist, Odysseus, visits the underworld for a very short amount of time. The two literary works contain many common elements, such as characters being punished, the protagonists interacting with those in the underworld, repeating characters, and the misery of the underworlds. There are also differences between the two works including the types of interactions between the protagonists and those they encounter, the reasons for each protagonists visit to the underworlds, and how the underworld operates. These differences and similarities can be attributed the Dante’s and Homer’s religion, the time period and culture in which they wrote their respective works, and the purpose for the visits to the underworlds in each work. Although there are many similarities between the underworlds in Dante’s Inferno and The Odyssey, the two works ultimately offer two different visions of the underworld due to the authors’ different religious beliefs and culture, as well as the role of the underworld in each literary work.

    Read More

  • The Odyssey Literary Analysis

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.

    Read More

  • Odysseus Personal Qualities (f

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Odyssey, by Homer, is about Odysseus, the king of Ithaca. Odysseus fights in the Trojan War and wins. He travels towards Ithaca but does not reach it because he is not in favor of Poseidon, god of the sea, who prevents his return. For many years, Odysseus wanders the seas and has many adventures. Meanwhile, suitors attempt to marry Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, but she remains faithful to her husband. The gods pity Odysseus and assist in his safe return to Ithaca. Odysseus’ personal qualities of bravery, self-discipline, and intelligence also help him to survive. Though Odysseus has the help of the gods, his personal qualities contribute to his survival in the seas and the return to his family in Ithaca.

    Read More

  • Essay On Odysseus Being A Hero

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    It has created the basis of modern heroism, a person of unwavering morality and ability, who defeats countless foes in service of the greater good. Odysseus, or Ulysses as he’s known in Latin, does all this and more. The two poems analyzed above add to his timeless story and further cement his status as one of history's greatest heroes. The poets do this by detailing his heroic traits of compassion, eloquence, and resolve and by describing the lengths he goes to complete his epic

    Read More

  • Comparative Analysis Of Dante's Inferno And Purgatorio

    2919 Words  | 6 Pages

    The role of Virgil in both books is not always the same. The character of Virgil in the Inferno is more confident and reassured than he was in Purgatorio, wherein he is often insecure and uncertain.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis: Dante's Inferno

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dante’s work Inferno is a vivid walkthrough the depths of hell and invokes much imagery, contemplation and feeling. Dante’s work beautifully constructs a full sensory depiction of hell and the souls he encounters along the journey. In many instances within the work the reader arrives at a crossroads for interpretation and discussion. Canto XI offers one such crux in which Dante asks the question of why there is a separation between the upper levels of hell and the lower levels of hell. By discussing the text, examining its implications and interpretations, conclusions can be drawn about why there is delineation between the upper and lower levels and the rationale behind the separation.

    Read More

  • Comparing Ulysses In The Odyssey, By Tennyson, And Dante

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    In both works of literature the fateful tale of Ulysses and his unique demise is depicted. Ulysses while alive was a Greek king of Ithaca known for his many seaward voyages, and even now in his afterlife the king’s reign lives on for he is the subject of the great epic The Odyssey. Both Tennyson and Dante portray the character of Ulysses as exceptionally passionate through their interpretation of his feelings and actions toward adventure as well as their romanticized portrayal of exploration.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Ulysses

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ulysses will never sit there waiting for something to come to him, he will live life to the fullest and search for a new opportunity every chance he gets. Every day you have two options when you wake up in the morning. Will you sit in bed and dwell on the previous days occurrences, or will you get out of bed put a fresh pair of clothes on and observe all the possibilities of the day? There should never be a dull moment in your life. Every opportunity you have in your life you should take, because there is a chance that you will never receive that opportunity again. Never have a dull outlook on life each day is a new chance to do something

    Read More

More about Differences And Similarities In Dante's Odyssey And Inferno

Open Document