Sarah McAllister
The Inferno
Dante Alighieri
Originally 1320; novel published 2003
Fiction
Italy/Catholicism
Summary:
The Inferno is detailing the adventure of Dante while he traverses the Nine Circles of Hell with Virgilio, his guide. Dante travels through the levels of Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice and Prodigality, Wrath and Sullenness, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery in order to bring Dante away from the paths of darkness that he has found. The reason why Dante was able to go through the many levels of Hell was due to his deceased loved one, Beatrice, who saw him struggling in the land of those who are alive. While Dante struggles with Virgilio to traverse these Circles of Hell, he learns valuable things about those who committed the sins that landed them in their respective circle, as well as discovering those whom he thought to be wise, great people in Circles of Hell that he would not expect.
Reflection Questions:
“The Inferno” gives a lot of insight into the culture of Italy during this time period. The culture of the time is strongly shaped by Christianity and Catholicism, as seen by the new thoughts on the Nine Circles of Hell. During the time period that Dante Alighieri wrote this, Italy was going through a time of corruption, especially within Florence, where Alighieri is from. It gives a solid root to the government corruption that has plagued Italy even in modern days, and goes to show the impact that the 1300s and earlier had on the development of Italy. Educationally, only a select few people were allowed to continue going to school after the primary levels, and those were people who made developments in technology, and those who had money. Intellectuals who attempted to criticize the government, explain parts of Christianity and Catholicism, and taught new and different ideas were quickly shunned by those who did not agree with them in their intellectual community, and then by those in the general public.
There are not many parallels between my culture in the United States and pre-Renaissance Italy; however, the only parallel that occurs between the two cultures is the quick condemnation of people for their perceived sins, and the condemnation of people that are thought to be bad based off of their actions. Within “The Inferno,” many public figures in Dante’s local government are condemned to the deepest depths of hell to atone for sins and actions that may have only been mild compared to what others have done. With the condemnation of local government figures, there is the condemnation of prominent historical figures like Brutus,
I could not connect with any of the characters in the novel, as Dante was often quite judgemental and uncaring towards those suffering for all eternity. Virgil did not have a large presence within the novel, and so his personality and actions did not stick out to me, and therefore did not have an impact on me.
The central conflict in the novel is that Dante needs to get to Paradiso, but first has to navigate through the depths of Inferno to get to his passed beloved, Beatrice. There are Nine Circles of Hell that Dante has to first go through, but he finds himself unable to navigate Inferno without a guide. Virgil then guides him through the Nine Circles of Hell, leading him past suffering people doomed to the same fate for all eternity. This main conflict was resolved, but the smaller, more internal conflicts that Dante has over the course of his journey are often not resolved. The causes of Dante’s smaller internal conflicts are often a result of being sheltered for the majority of his life, and not fully understanding the severity of the sin he was witnessing in that specific circle. In some cases, Dante handled the conflicts well, engaging in conversation with the damned and making sure then that he watched himself so that he would not suffer the same fate in his eternity. In other cases, the conflict was handled quite poorly by Dante, as he told the damned to get away, kicking them on accident and then on purpose, and ignoring their pleas for help and conversation with Dante and Virgil. These conflicts are universally based, as it is clear to see the sins demonstrated in the Nine Circles of Hell within daily life today. These events in the Nine Circles of Hell were also prominent in all of daily life within Dante’s time as well, as Italy was still suffering through corruption, and wars were occurring within all countries.
This culture of Italy during the 1300s changed my world view only a little, as “The Inferno” demonstrates the importance that religion had throughout all of Italy. The importance that religion has played in Italy has been drastically reduced from when it was a collection of papal states, but the lessons and sins that Dante witnessed that people in Inferno have committed are lessons that should be applied throughout life today. This drama overall has global lessons that should be applied to all governments and people.
The preconceived idea within Christianity at this time was that there was one level of Hell, Purgatory, and then Heaven. This idea was not widely contested, and nor was it questioned as to if there could be more surrounding these ideas in the afterlife. Only after Dante Alighieri was exiled from Florence did he begin to delve deeper into what these places could be made up of. Thus, The Divine Comedy was created, and chronicled Dante the Explorer’s adventure throughout the three places. This comedy was able to change people’s perception of these places, and explained what they could face for certain sins and crimes. This had little impact on the corrupt government of Florence at the time, but slowly the general public became more aware of the situation around them.
The Inferno
Dante Alighieri
Originally 1320; novel published 2003
Fiction
Italy/Catholicism
Summary:
The Inferno is detailing the adventure of Dante while he traverses the Nine Circles of Hell with Virgilio, his guide. Dante travels through the levels of Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice and Prodigality, Wrath and Sullenness, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery in order to bring Dante away from the paths of darkness that he has found. The reason why Dante was able to go through the many levels of Hell was due to his deceased loved one, Beatrice, who saw him struggling in the land of those who are alive. While Dante struggles with Virgilio to traverse these Circles of Hell, he learns valuable things about those who committed the sins that landed them in their respective circle, as well as discovering those whom he thought to be wise, great people in Circles of Hell that he would not expect.
Reflection Questions:
“The Inferno” gives a lot of insight into the culture of Italy during this time period. The culture of the time is strongly shaped by Christianity and Catholicism, as seen by the new thoughts on the Nine Circles of Hell. During the time period that Dante Alighieri wrote this, Italy was going through a time of corruption, especially within Florence, where Alighieri is from. It gives a solid root to the government corruption that has plagued Italy even in modern days, and goes to show the impact that the 1300s and earlier had on the development of Italy. Educationally, only a select few people were allowed to continue going to school after the primary levels, and those were people who made developments in technology, and those who had money. Intellectuals who attempted to criticize the government, explain parts of Christianity and Catholicism, and taught new and different ideas were quickly shunned by those who did not agree with them in their intellectual community, and then by those in the general public.
There are not many parallels between my culture in the United States and pre-Renaissance Italy; however, the only parallel that occurs between the two cultures is the quick condemnation of people for their perceived sins, and the condemnation of people that are thought to be bad based off of their actions. Within “The Inferno,” many public figures in Dante’s local government are condemned to the deepest depths of hell to atone for sins and actions that may have only been mild compared to what others have done. With the condemnation of local government figures, there is the condemnation of prominent historical figures like Brutus,
I could not connect with any of the characters in the novel, as Dante was often quite judgemental and uncaring towards those suffering for all eternity. Virgil did not have a large presence within the novel, and so his personality and actions did not stick out to me, and therefore did not have an impact on me.
The central conflict in the novel is that Dante needs to get to Paradiso, but first has to navigate through the depths of Inferno to get to his passed beloved, Beatrice. There are Nine Circles of Hell that Dante has to first go through, but he finds himself unable to navigate Inferno without a guide. Virgil then guides him through the Nine Circles of Hell, leading him past suffering people doomed to the same fate for all eternity. This main conflict was resolved, but the smaller, more internal conflicts that Dante has over the course of his journey are often not resolved. The causes of Dante’s smaller internal conflicts are often a result of being sheltered for the majority of his life, and not fully understanding the severity of the sin he was witnessing in that specific circle. In some cases, Dante handled the conflicts well, engaging in conversation with the damned and making sure then that he watched himself so that he would not suffer the same fate in his eternity. In other cases, the conflict was handled quite poorly by Dante, as he told the damned to get away, kicking them on accident and then on purpose, and ignoring their pleas for help and conversation with Dante and Virgil. These conflicts are universally based, as it is clear to see the sins demonstrated in the Nine Circles of Hell within daily life today. These events in the Nine Circles of Hell were also prominent in all of daily life within Dante’s time as well, as Italy was still suffering through corruption, and wars were occurring within all countries.
This culture of Italy during the 1300s changed my world view only a little, as “The Inferno” demonstrates the importance that religion had throughout all of Italy. The importance that religion has played in Italy has been drastically reduced from when it was a collection of papal states, but the lessons and sins that Dante witnessed that people in Inferno have committed are lessons that should be applied throughout life today. This drama overall has global lessons that should be applied to all governments and people.
The preconceived idea within Christianity at this time was that there was one level of Hell, Purgatory, and then Heaven. This idea was not widely contested, and nor was it questioned as to if there could be more surrounding these ideas in the afterlife. Only after Dante Alighieri was exiled from Florence did he begin to delve deeper into what these places could be made up of. Thus, The Divine Comedy was created, and chronicled Dante the Explorer’s adventure throughout the three places. This comedy was able to change people’s perception of these places, and explained what they could face for certain sins and crimes. This had little impact on the corrupt government of Florence at the time, but slowly the general public became more aware of the situation around them.