Dante Alighieri Essay, Research Paper

The Inferno, Dante Alighieri gives his audience a clear vivid presentation of

what he as a follower of the Christian religion perceives to be hell. Dante

shows that human sin is punishable in various degrees of severity and that this

is dependent on the nature of one?s sinful actions. He sets forth what could

very well be the most fully developed Christian understanding of justice on

earth, and that is; that what we do as human beings will determine what happens

to us in the event of death based on God?s judgment. In writing his poem Dante

uses symbolism, allegorism and imagery among other literary effects to place his

poem analogically to life as it was during his day and age. Dante structures The

Inferno around thirty four cantos. Each of these cantos marks a steady

progression from the mildest to the worst of sins. The cantos depict sinners

under various forms of punishment which are commensurate to the nature of their

sins. Dante categorizes sin into three different categories of fraud,

incontinence and violence. In canto I he mentions three animals namely , a

leopard, a lion and a she-wolf. These animals act as symbolisms for the various

types of sins. The sin?s depicted in canto XVIII are symbolized by the

she-wolf which acts as a symbol for the sins of fraud. The sins of fraud are

placed the furthest from God in the deepest pits of hell, near Satan. In canto

XVIII Dante and his guide Virgil find themselves in the eighth circle, called

the Malebolge. It is in the Malebolge, that each of the kinds of simple fraud

are punished in the concentric ditches. In the first ditch, Dante sees two files

of naked sinners each running in opposite direction, whipped by demons. These

sinners are the panderers and the seducers. Dante recognizes Venedico

Caccianemico, a man he once knew. Venedico in this case is depicted as having

sold his sister, Ghisola to serve the will and lust of another man, Marquis.

Dante at this point uses a fellow contemporary to show what happens when one

goes against the will of God and sins. Venedico betrays his family ties and his

indifference in this act results in his eternal punishment of being whipped by

demons. Also mentioned as having been punished is Jason, who suffers punishment

for having seduced and abandoned Hypsipyle and Medea. For these two sinners

Dante?s allegory revolves around the law of retributive justice where both

Venedico?s and Jason?s psychology?s at the time of committing sin are tied

in with the punishment of whip lashing by demons. Both sinners place their

personal needs and interests above others and are now placed under the whip

lashing and oppressive command of indifferent demons. Dante and Virgil move over

to a bridge and below it, Dante sees the ditch of the flatterers. It is in this

trench that persons who had sinned as flatterers are punished by being made to

wallow in a river of human excrement from which emanates nauseating fumes. Dante

recognizes Alessio Interminelli da Lucca. Allesio is smeared all over with

excrement. Virgil alerts Dante of the presence of yet another sinner, Thas.

Thas is punished in the same way as Alessio, but is made to

alternatively rise and crouch in the river of excrement. Thas is

punished for being a prostitute and for a flattering lie that she told while in

the trade. The punishment that this two consequently suffer is the eternal

stench and filth of the ditch. Thas in this canto perpetuates the image

of ingenuine love which turns out to be a mere outlet for bodily urges and

needs. From the perspective of Thas? and Allesio?s punishment we see

that they both undergo the process of retributive justice. Flatterers, due to

their abuse of language wallow in excrement which metaphorically symbolizes the

words they used in flattering others on earth. In conclusion it can be seen that

Dante views fraud as a sin that separates human beings from God?s grace and

love. Dante presents to his audience a poem that creates a better understanding

of the consequences of sinful human actions. He bases The Inferno on the

teachings found in the Christian religion and offers to the audience a

typological reading that makes it clear that what will happen to each individual

in the after life will be determined solely by one?s actions on earth.

Consulted Faulie, Wallace A reading of Dante?s Inferno , The University of

Chicago Press, 1981 199-123 Alighieri, Dante The Divine Comedy. Inferno, The

Norton Anthology, World Masterpieces. General Ed. Maynard Mack 6th ed. W. W.

Norton and Company ,1992. 1273-1423