The Hero of Aeneid and the Non-Hero of Dante’s Inferno

2432 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dante's inferno analysis

The Hero of Aeneid and the Non-Hero of Dante’s Inferno

Although Dante bases much of Inferno's structure on the Aeneid, the central characters, the central voices in each, are used very differently. Dr. Andrew Bernstien, in his essay The Philosophical Foundations of Heroism, defines a hero as

... an individual of elevated moral stature and superior ability who pursues his goals indefatigably in the face of powerful antagonist(s). Because of his unbreached devotion to the good, no matter the opposition, a hero attains spiritual grandeur, even if he fails to achieve practical victory.

And that "... the four components of heroism: moral greatness, ability or prowess, action in the face of opposition, and triumph in at least a spiritual, if not a physical, form." The intrinsic conflict needed to create a hero also enhances the elements of rhetoric. Also, a hero needs moral stature, which is a strong appeal to pathos. The form of the tale itself, with the establishment of an antagonist the conflict itself, offers an orderly appeal to logos for the greater argument to take a hold of. Nevertheless, the ethical appeal is the most forceful element; the hero must hold fast to his beliefs and demonstrate courage and sacrifice. These actions are the basis for ethics and lend credence to the cause he is championing. Aeneas fulfils the role of hero, developing into an excellent rhetorical tool; however, Dante fails in this endeavor. While not being a hero does not forbid his use as a good rhetorical tool, Dante amplifies the comparative shortcomings by relying on his single voice and period specific details.

Virgil uses forceful diction that focuses on the actions of the Aeneas, and continuously develo...

... middle of paper ...

...ustify the existence of Rome and his audience; he is brave, valiant, loyal, and he defends these ideals against any odds. Dante creates himself, and then uses himself to justify nothing; he is timid, fearful, a hypocrite, and he never has to defend anything. The failure of Dante to create a hero, even though he relies on him as the mouth through which the tale is told, deflates the overall argument. Virgil, on the other hand, makes use of the main character, develops a hero, and enhances every element of his argument.

Works Cited

Alighiere, Dante. Inferno. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighiere: A Verse Translation. Trans. Allen Mandelbaum. New York: Bantam, 1982.

Dr. Bernstien, Andrew. "The Philosophical Foundations of Heroism." 2000.

http://www.mikementzer.com/heroism.html

Virgil. Aeneid. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Ventage, 1985.

Show More
Related

  • Comparing the Struggle in Dante’s Inferno and Book VI of The Aeneid

    4306 Words  | 9 Pages

    Does hell have its own history? For Dante, the structural and thematic history of ‘hell’ in the Inferno begins with the Roman epic tradition and its champion poet, Virgil. By drawing heavily from the characteristics of hell in Book VI of The Aeneid, Dante carries the epic tradition into the medieval world and affirms his indebtedness to Virgil’s poetry. Moreover, Virgil becomes a central character in the Inferno as he guides Dante, the pilgrim, who has no knowledge of hell, through his own historical model. Similarly, the protagonist of The Aeneid, Aeneas, lacks the foresight necessary to make the journey through hell on his own and thus places his trust in the mythological prophet, the Sybil. Because the Sybil and Virgil already have knowledge of the underworld, their characters in The Aeneid and the Inferno are associated with history, both literally through Virgil’s poetry and metaphorically through their enduring wisdom in eyes of the pilgrim and Aeneas. For Aeneas and the pilgrim, however, religious history evolves from an ancient world of paganism to medieval Christianity and these values are transposed onto hell itself--showing that its history changes over time. Furthermore, the living realities that the pilgrim and Aeneas take into the underworld prove unstable when juxtaposed with hell’s slippery and ever-changing ambience. In Book VI of The Aeneid, Aeneas enters an underworld filled with triple-hybrid beasts, sinners, heroes, and a transparent physical reality that foils his warriorlike instincts for conflict and resolution. Likewise, in Dante’s Inferno, the journeying pilgrim witnesses a horrific blurring of life and death, which in this case nega...

    Read More

  • Heroism in Beowulf and Frankenstein

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    The perfect image of a true hero is Beowulf. His courage and confidence seems to come naturally. He is the ideal man; he puts others before himself and has amazing physical and mental strength. He is so revered that he can boast about his achievements without seeming vain. “I had greater strength on the sea, more ordeals on the waves as any other man.” (Luizza 69)

    Read More

  • Virgil's Aeneid as Roman Propaganda

    2054 Words  | 5 Pages

    Putnam, Michael C. J. “Anger, Blindness, and Insight in Virgil's Aeneid.” Apeiron 23 (1990): 7-40.

    Read More

  • A True Hero in the Epic of Gigamesh

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    What makes a hero? A hero can be born into greatness and lead an ordinary life. A hero can achieve and glory greatness and carry a noble death to their name. What turns an individual into the characteristic of a “hero” will depend on the journey they set upon. From ancient Greek culture, the concept of a hero was built from idolizing a religious figure, a deceased person who received cult honors and was expected to return home bearing prosperity in forms of plants or animals, back to their people. The narrative of our literary heroes deals with a person who is mortal, unlike the Gods, and has to suffer the struggles of their fear of death during their journey to achieve glory and create peace in their world. A hero is supported by other characters, but ultimately fights against evil on their own. A hero's origin is merely the basis for leaving an everlasting impression on the world.

    Read More

  • A Tragedy's Hero

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    A tale of duplicity and impetuosity, William Shakespeare’s play Othello brings to life a cast of complex characters. The leading character, Othello, whose undoing the piece recounts, proves to be the quintessential tragic hero by fulfilling all required elements necessary to be labeled as such. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as one of a noble stature who experiences misfortune and commits a culpable act as a result of his own free will; however, the misfortune is neither entirely deserved nor does it result in an absolute loss, as the hero experiences an awakening to the disagreeable facts while accepting defeat (Arp and Johnson). Othello, a vanguard of his day, is beguiled by a confidant and ensnared by the lies that ensue. This causes Othello great mental anguish. He is plagued with the question: Is his love unfaithful, or does she remain true? Eventually, unable to discern fact from fiction, Othello repudiates his bride and their recent marriage. Misplaced trust and a jealous heart soon cause Othello to lose his composure, his dignity, his most loyal counterpart, and ultimately his life.

    Read More

  • Cancer

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    It has been difficult to develop an accurate definition for cancer. The reputed British oncologist Willis has defined cancer as "an abnormal mass of tissue, the growth of which exceeds and is uncoordinated with that of the normal tissues and persists in the same excessive manner after cessation of the stimuli which evoked the change" (Cotran et al., 1999).

    Read More

  • Comparative Character Analysis of Classical Vs. Modern Tragic Protagonists.

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    A hero/ heroine is described as the principal male/ female character in a literary or dramatic work or the central figure in an event, period, or movement. The classic tragic hero was defined by Aristotle in the fourth century as, “someone who is highly renowned and prosperous” (LATWP, 639), suggesting that there is a “natural right ordering and proportion of traits within the human being that if violated, produces calamity” (LATWP, 639). The book goes on to define classical tragedy as one that “involves the inevitable destruction of a noble person by means of character flaw, usually a disproportionate measure of a specific human attribute such as pride, jealousy or indecision” (LATWP, 639).

    Read More

  • Aeneas, the Anti-hero of Aeneid

    2032 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many people seem to be under the impression that the Aeneid is a celebration of Roman glory, led by the hero of fate Aeneas. I find these preconceived ideas hard to reconcile with my actual reading of the text. For starters, I have a hard time viewing Aeneas as a hero at all. Almost any other main characters in the epic, from Dido to Camilla to Turnus, have more heroic qualities than Aeneas. This is especially noteworthy because many of these characters are his enemies. In addition, Aeneas is presented as a man with no free will. He is not so much bound to duty as he is shielded by it. It offers a convenient way for hum to dodge crucial moral questions. Although this doesn’t necessarily make him a bad person, it certainly makes him a weak one. Of course some will argue that it takes greater moral conviction to ignore personal temptation and act for the good of the people. These analysts are dodging the issue just like Aeneas does. The fact is that Aeneas doesn’t just sacrifice his own personal happiness for the common good; he also sacrifices the past of the Trojan people, most notably when he dishonors the memory of his fallen city by becoming the men he hated most, the Greek invaders. The picture of Aeneas as seen in the end of the Aeneid bears some sticking resemblances to his own depiction of the savage and treacherous Greeks in the early books.

    Read More

  • Dante Alighieri Legacy

    2321 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dante Alighieri. The Italian poet, philosopher, and master. He is defined, like all men and women before and after, by his name, his identity, and his legacy. His name and his work was the light that truly signaled the end of the Dark Ages, and the light that illuminated the dawn of the European Renaissance. His identity is to be the mind behind the greatest poetic work of the Middle Ages, and to be the owner of the hand that wrote one of the great masterpieces of literature of Western culture. His legacy is to be considered one of the best poets to ever live, and the author of The Divine Comedy. Yet what made him? What inspired him? How could such a humble Florentine boy grow up to be one of the most renowned and revered writers ever? We look at his life in detail, with what little we have, and we ask what truly sparked the flame that came to be the Divine Comedy. We look at his life as a flame, building up to the inferno of the Divine Comedy. Dante’s life was filled with various elements that allowed for him to write his, and humanity’s, crown jewel. His experiences and influences in life are reflected in his works, through his words and his thoughts. Dante’s creations are the stories of his life and of the society that surrounded him: of a predominantly Christian society, with a fledgling Renaissance movement. His work expresses the past, the present, and the future; exhibiting classic Latin, Christian, and Renaissance themes. Yet separately and jointly, the more general, human element of his works is a gift. The gift Dant...

    Read More

  • Only A Surfer Knows The Feeling

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    Think about it for a moment, each time a surfer goes to a beach, waxes up his board, and surveys the waves from the shore, he is preparing to go into the water to do something quite amazing. This person is willing to test not only his limits, but also the limits of what the ocean can do to him. He wants to battle the power of the entity that covers over seventy percent of the earth, manifested in the form of a wave, and ride it for all its worth.

    Read More

  • Virgil's Aeneid - Is Aeneas Really a Hero?

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is a hero?  We would like to think that a hero is someone who has achieved some fantastic goal or status, or maybe someone who has accomplished a great task.  Heroes find themselves in situations of great pressure and act with nobility and grace. Though the main character of Virgil's Aeneid, Aeneas, is such a person, it is not by his own doing.  He encounters situations in which death is near, in which love, hate, peace, and war come together to cause both good and evil.  In these positions he conducts himself with honor, by going along with what the gods want.  Only then goes on to pave the way for the Roman Empire.  His deeds, actions, and leadership would never have come to be if it were not for the gods.  The gods took special interest in Aeneas, causing him misfortune in some cases, giving him assistance in others.  On the whole, the gods constantly provide perfect opportunities for Aeneas to display his heroism. Without them, Aeneas would not be the hero he is.  This gift does not come without a price, though; he must endure the things heroes endure to become what they are.  Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life, Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor.

    Read More

  • Gilgamesh: A Mythical Hero

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...teristics and literary devices. The general archetypical description of a hero follows an outline of a muscular figure and super abilities. Yet on the contrary, in myths, heroes may not possess any of those traits. Whether the so-called hero is learning their lesson, overcoming struggle or even descending into darkness, all heroes share some similar and almost identical characteristics. A vast majority of all mythological heroes share the same basic idea which, helps audiences identify whether or not the character is indeed a hero or not. From story to myth or fairytale to drama, the hero is one character who changes the plot entirely. Whether that hero may be saving a burning building, or discovering who they are themselves, our heroes all give us hopes and dreams that one day even our worth will be recognized by ourselves and others as our admirable hero’s are.

    Read More

  • Cancer Classification Essay

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cancer has become leading cause of death across world in the class of non-communicable diseases. This has led to massive research in cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Diagnosis of cancer in early stages could prevent its spread to other organs of the body and possible cure of the patient. More and more different types of cancers are being identified and mostly they have to be treated differently. Cancer classification plays a very important role in cancer diagnosis. Earlier strategies used for cancer classification: morphological and clinical had some limitations. They were not able to predict cancer subtypes accurately. It has been identified that giving treatment according to the tumor type is more effective for the patients. Tumors of a particular type of cancer differ at the molecular level, i.e. the genetic level.

    Read More

  • Divine Love In Dante's Inferno

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Dante is slow to learn these lessons, such as when he sympathizes with sinners or remains too long in one circle of Hell, Virgil often grows impatient with him, a trait that humanizes his usual impersonal nature. He is wise, commanding, and resourceful, but he is often helpless in protecting Dante from the true dangers of Hell and completing the journey. In Canto VIII, we see the inept side of Virgil when he requires assistance from an angelic messenger to enter the City of Dis. Allegorically, this trouble shows that even reason and wisdom cannot overcome every obstacle and that divine intervention is far more powerful than anything a human has to offer. However, reason is necessary in life to provide morals to a soul by helping him distinguish between and understand good and evil, explain the nature of moral law, and even lead him to the threshold of perfection, but reason cannot offer redemption. Only divine love provides the purification and final salvation. This is why in Purgatorio, Beatrice must take over as the guide in the Garden of Eden, where man is restored to

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Inferno of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    three foes and is stopped by Virgil, a Roman era poet. Virgil promises to show

    Read More

More about The Hero of Aeneid and the Non-Hero of Dante’s Inferno

Open Document