Dante's Inferno Analysis

People in today’s world are more open-minded and opinionated than ever before. This has changed the way literature is viewed today. There are many social groups with different ideologies all who view works of literature in their own way. Although authors express their ideas in their own words the different types of readers can interpret it with their own meaning. In one piece of literature, Dante’s Inferno, the author’s trip through hell can be viewed and interpreted in many ways. An individual can perceive different meanings from Dante’s Inferno based on their beliefs and background. Dante’s Inferno, part of the epic poem Divine Comedy, was written by Dante Alighieri in the 14th century. Dante’s exiled from his home town of Florence was

Not just the readers of today but the readers of Dante’s time also had different views of Dante’s work. For example, Heather Webb of Academia.edu states, “Each sin in Dante’s Inferno is defined by a psychological state, or by a means of approaching life, rather than by a specific act. Such a treatment of sin is very different from others of Dante’s time, or in texts that he might have read, in which the lustful were considered to be guilty of a specifically sexual crime”. Webb explains how even the readers of Dante’s viewed his work differently than he did. During the 14th century the Catholic Church was running rampant. The church was very strict over living religiously and frowned on human desires such as lust. As a result, Dante’s Inferno was viewed negatively by the church but seen as groundbreaking by the general population. This contrast what is seen today as different social groups view respond to the poem different. Religious people see it as blasphemy and disrespectful to their religion. On the other hand, non-religious people see it as interesting and progressive and it helps to enlighten their thoughts and belief. Moreover, some people view the poem as if it were a law. The circles of hell, the punishments, and the creatures Dante meets are seen as the stable of what hell

Frank Davis has written an article in which he argues how absurd our view of obese people. He states, “So now they’re going to punish fat people for being fat. That’s what it boils down to. The exercise will do them no good, of course, and will most likely injure them, and may even kill them. But that’s the intention. The aim is to make the fatties sweat. Its pure spite and hatred that drives this. Just like it was pure hatred that drove smokers outdoors, to shiver and freeze.” Davis view over gluttony is similar to what most people view today and most likely Davis would view Dante decision to put gluttony in hell as wrong. The culture Dante grew up in was a very conservative one in which humility was important. This differs from the society we live in today in which freedom to pursue happiness is the priority. This affects how the reader of today perceives Dante’s Inferno differently than readers in the 14th century