The Trinity in The Inferno
Dante's Inferno, itself one piece of a literary trilogy, repeatedly deploys the leitmotif of the number three as a metaphor for ambiguity, compromise, and transition. A work in terza rima that details a descent through Nine Circles of Hell, The Inferno encompasses temporal, literary, and political bridges and chasms that link Dante's inspired Centaur work between the autobiographical and the fictive, the mundane and the divine and, from a contemporary viewpoint, the Medieval and the Modern‹Dante's recognition of the Renaissance as our millennium's metamorphic period and of himself as its poetic forerunner (until deposition by Shakespeare).
The Inferno is a work of transition between two points, as attested by the opening lines: "When I had journeyed half of our life's way,/ I found myself within a shadowed forest,/ for I had lost the path that does not stray" (I, 1-3). Echoes of these famous lines can be heard in Robert Frost's "The Road Less Traveled"; whereas Frost's poem concerns itself with the duality and firmness of decision, Dante's tercet implies an interval of great indecision and limbo. Indeed, he is anything but entrenched in position: "I cannot clearly say how I had entered/ the wood; I was so full of sleep just at/ The point where I abandoned the true path" (I, 10-12). Dante is nearly sleepwalking, yet another fusion of two worlds, the conscious and unconscious. This division of self can best be explained by Dante's exile and his loss of national identity. He examines this alienated state through a geographic metaphor: "And just as he who, with exhausted breath,/ Having escaped from sea to shore, turns back/ To watch the dangerous waters he has q...
... middle of paper ...
...ts notion of a "third way" as an ambiguous compromise. What is most fascinating is the degree to which one of the more stable metaphors, that of past, present, and future, has come true. The Inferno repeatedly invokes past epics, especially Virgil's Aeneid, with such cries as "O Muses, o high genius, help me now," and Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan welcome Dante and Virgil into Limbo. Now many modern poets, most notably T.S. Eliot, allude quite frequently to Dante's work. It seems that The Inferno will forever be canonically in the terza rima‹originally written as a centerpiece to the Italian epic, now accepted as a framer of world literature.
WORKS CITED:
Brucker, Gene A. Renaissance Florence. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969.
Mandelbaum, Allen. Inferno (translation). Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980.
Presley grew up in an era where racism was strong; his music brought all races together. His music had Caucasians singing black R&B despite the racism. Teenage girls all over the world would go hysterical over Elvis and his crude moves. Elvis received one of his nicknames “Elvis the Pelvis” with his sexual moves that could not be recorded on television. 1955 and 1956 was when Presley exploded in his musical careers with his single “Heartbreak Hotel” which sold over one million copies. As I listened to this single that sold so many copies I can hear the different genres and the way his voice was so different compared to other artist in this era. The main instrument being played in this single is a guitar. There is actually a hotel named after Elvis’s first hit single. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. Unfortunately, the hit song was inspired behind a suicide note that one of Pre...
In Miller’s “The Crucible” the pride of the people of Salem leads to a massacre of innocent lives. Pride is delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship. One of the main characters, John Proctor, has pride in his beliefs of purifying the Church of England. His wife, Elizabeth, has pride in her ability to use the trials as an ultimate revenge against Abigail Williams. John Hale is the “expert” on witches his pride springs from his extensive knowledge, but later in the play he recants and loses all his respect. Hale is the chemical that cause the conflict to come into full swing between Elizabeth and John Proctor.
first step to discovering the truth. The men are ignorant and pay no attention what so ever.
On January 8th, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, the “King of Rock and Roll” was born. His name was Elvis Presley. He was the son of Vernon Presley who was a truck driver, and his mother was Gladys, a sewing machine operator. He had a twin brother named Jesse, but he was still born, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. His father was hardly around, and he was imprisoned for three years for forgery. Surrounding him as a child though, was the gospel music of the Pentecost church, where his love for music first took roots in his heart. In the fifth grade his teacher Oletta Grimes asked Elvis to participate in the talent contest on Children’s Day at the Mississippi – Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. At age ten, he donned his cowboy hat and slipped into a cowboy suit to sing in the talent show, but he was in need of a chair in order to reach the microphone. He sang his personal rendition of Red Foley’s “Old Shep”; it won him a second prize and a free ticket for all the numerous rides in the park. His following Birthday, he received his first guitar from the Tupelo Hardware Store and took lessons from his dad’s brother. In 1948 his family picked up their life and moved to Memphis, Tennessee. It was there that he was exposed to the rhythmic sound of the blues, as well as Jazz on Beale Street, where he grew up...
Pride does not only cloud ones judgement, but it also can cause worse situations such as death or unnecessary punishment. In the play, The Crucible, a lot is caused because of a characters pride; for instance, when all was coming to place: Abigail running away, no one willing to confess to witchcraft, and three well known people in line to be hung, Danforth would not postpone nor completely stop the hangings of Proctor, Rebecca, Goody Nurse because if he did the other twelve hangings that were for the same reason would not be “just.” Danforth’s “pride” was not only to be “just,” but to not look like a weakling in front of the town’s people. Danforth did not “yield” because he did not want to but because if he did it would not seem like the “right” thing to do. Pride overpowered Danforth’s judgement and made him arrogant all he wanted to do was to seem fair and please the townspeople; which caused the death of innocent people and the freedom of t...
All through the play of Crucible, pride showed to be an overwhelming factor that lead to persecution. John Proctor was a man that was accused of witchcraft and for his life to be saved he needed to confess. The awful thing was he needed to confess in writing and for that Proctor didn’t want to ruin his name and pride forever. In result, Proctor ripped the confession and got hung for it. Another example of pride in the play was when Giles Corey had gotten pressed to death because he wouldn’t tell the name of the man that accuses Thomas Putnam for trying to steal people's land. I thought that Proctor’s pride was really important because after he signed his confession, Proctor rips up the paper and defies Danforth’s plan to nail the confession
In 1955, Presley began to develop a huge following with fans being drawn to his unusual musical...
It wasn’t easy to get to where he was. Mississippi born and raised, Presley didn’t live in luxury. His wealth and fame was a massive step from his struggling Mississippi life (Stones). This influenced others to pursue their dreams as well. Since he was raised this way, and grew up as a generous and kind person, he would always donate to the needy, which sparked the role model in him (Bergmooser). Only ten years old, Presley finally made his first public performance. He sang “Old Shep” for a contest and received fifth place (Stones). Later in his life, he made his first record working with Sun Records in 1953 (Stones). This eventually led to exposure in the music industry. More and more people listened and bought his albums as the years flew by. Added up, Elvis Presley sold more than a billion records worldwide (RIAA). Throughout his career, he performed many times and at countless different locations. In 1972, he sold out four Madison Square Garden shows (McShane). This is the place many artists only dream of achieving. Step by step, Presley grew his fame and aspired others to strive the same way. Without har...
Pride is often viewed as a positive characteristic. However, in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller the protagonist’s, John Proctor, pride stands in his way making him a tragic hero.
As ''Elvis has now left the building'' forever transformed the meaning of popularity and fame in American pop music culture since his death, this icon was regarded as the turning point in the revolution of the rock and roll era.⁵ Elvis Aaron Presley's rise to fame in 1956 and fall, later in 1977, embodied a touchstone period in the youth of an entire generation by its economic, political, social and cultural consequences, and still pertains in today's modern age as one of the most important characters in History. Through this essay, the death of Elvis will touch on these elements by outlining the extent to which he changed the face of music as people knew it.
Dante’s Inferno presents the reader with many questions and thought provoking dialogue to interpret. These crossroads provide points of contemplation and thought. Dante’s graphic depiction of hell and its eternal punishment is filled with imagery and allegorical meanings. Examining one of these cruxes of why there is a rift in the pits of hell, can lead the reader to interpret why Dante used the language he did to relate the Idea of a Just and perfect punishment by God.
Alighieri, Dante. "The Inferno." The Divine Comedy. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: First New American Library Printing, 2003.
“Midway along the journey of our life” (Canto 1) Dante the Pilgrim says at the beginning of his journey. Through out the comedy and the Pilgrims vision of hell, I believe he was truly on a journey of self-discovery. Dante encountered a guide to help him in his journey throughout the nine circles of hell. Going deeper and deeper into hell Dante realized many different sins that he could have committed in his life and realized the things that he did not need anymore. Base on the end of his journey I believe that Dante truly found himself and found a new person within himself.
The first conflict Dante encounters in the story is person against self. Throughout the entire story Dante is trying to find a way to get on the right path. Dante opens the story by saying, “Midway on our life’s journey, I found myself in dark woods, the right road lost.” (Canto 1.1) The dark woods symbolize sin and the right road symbolizes the path that leads to the gates of heaven and God. So when he gets lost in the dark woods that means he is lost in sin and cannot find th...
Elvis didn't play out his final years alone. There were other actors in the drama. The Colonel. His father, Vernon, and his daughter, Lisa Marie. The women -- his former wife, Priscilla, and his girlfriends Linda Thompson and Ginger Alden. His bodyguards, Red and Sonny West, and his aides, Joe Esposito and Charlie Hodge. And his doctor, George Nichopoulos. But by 1974, Elvis was a very sick man. And it seemed that none of the people he gathered around him could do anything to stop him from slipping away. Elvis' health plummeted as...