The Journey of the Inferno

The state of Hell thematically represents a state of spiritual stagnation that bound whoever entered. In the beginning of the poem Dante’ is initially trapped in the “midway point of his life” (Inf I, 1). A midway point can also be seen as a turning point it is important to understand where the story begins, because it holds importance. At this midway point Dante is encountered by three demons that ultimately scare him to his path of entrapment. Here Alighieri uses words such as “impeded, barred the way” (Inf I, 35) that ultimately sets the tone for the reader as Dante decides to enter into the trap of hell.

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In the Inferno we follow the journey of Dante as he wanders off the path of moral truth and into Hell. The Virgin Mary and Santa Lucia ask Beatrice, Dante’s deceased love, to send some help. Thus, Virgil comes to the rescue and essentially guides Dante through Hell and back to the mortal world from which he came. However, things begin to seem kind of odd. When reading the Inferno one may begin to question the way Dante describes Hell and the things that occur within, or even the things we have always believed about Hell.

The reason that Virgil helped Dante was because of the woman in heaven who was Beatrice Dante’s departed love. The journey through the hell had began, Dante enter the gate of hell that marked the inscription “ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE”, it means that people who enter the gate will be hopeless. I think Dante was scared after he read the inscription. In addition, Virgil told Dante that the hell will have ninth circles of punishments that based on the crime. This concept of punishment is the belief of ancient world.

The levels of Hell were often sub-divided allowing for even more discrimination depending on the severity of your sin. Dante completes his journey through hell when he and Virgil reach the deepest pit of hell, where they climb down the body of Lucifer to emerge in the southern hemisphere. „«     Tie to the middle ages and/or transition to the renaissance o     The Inferno in some ways follows the mold of the middle ages, but the o...

Dante’s Inferno has lasted the test of time, and though its writer didn’t necessarily believe this to be the true representation of Hell, he shows the world what his personal Hell would consist of. Throughout the text, Dante the Pilgrim is lead through Hell by one of the greatest poets the world has known, and Dante’s personal motivation for becoming a poet, Virgil. At one point, toward the end of their journey, when the pair reaches one of the lowest levels of Hell, Dante feels as if he can travel no more. He sinks to the ground in despair. This angers his guide, who reprimands Dante.

Dante Alighieri's The Inferno is a poem written in first person that tells a story of Dante’s journey through the nine circles of Hell after he strays from the rightful path. Each circle of Hell contains sinners who have committed different sins during their lifetime and are punished based on the severity of their sins. When taking into the beliefs and moral teachings of the Catholic Church into consideration, these punishments seem especially unfair and extreme. Souls residing in Purgatory receive punishments despite the fact that this level is not considered part of Hell. As Dante and his guide, Virgil, enter Ante-Inferno (also known as Purgatory), Virgil explains to him that this is where the souls of those who did not take a side between God and Satan or did not do anything during their lifetime that would determine whether they would go to Hell or Heaven (III.

At the commencement of his journey into hell, Dante says to Virgil, "lead me to witness what you have said . . . and the multitude of woes" (Inferno 9).1 Dante’s purpose is to witness and learn from the perils of hell so he can li... ... middle of paper ... ...to become an active learner. Alberigo is an inverted mirror image of Dante because his body on earth is overcome by a devil and he is a living shade in hell.