Dante's Inferno Analysis
1. In the epic poetry, The Inferno of Dante translation by Robert Pinsky (1320), Dante Alighieri claims that a person’s inability to restrain their emotions with reason leads to the person becoming a sinner in one way or another. Alighieri supports this thesis by introducing the different types of sinners that there are as well as telling their backstory as to how they became sinners and ultimately ended up in hell. The author purposely emphasizes the back stories of the different types of sinners in hell in order to show how their decisions and emotions were the factors most involved in their final destination which is hell. Virgil even goes as far as to say that the sinners in hell are just people who have lost the good of the intellect or
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in other words reason which is the point the author is trying to make. The intended audience appears to be those who think of sinners as the stereotype of being awful people who only commit murders and violence as Alighieri shows that there are different levels of sinning and hell and that the sin does not necessarily have to be so grave to be punished for.
2.
–Factual: What is the bigger picture/meaning behind the leopard, lion, and she-wolf blocking Dante’s path towards the light of morning? What do they represent?
-Interpretive: Is Dante considered lucky and the chosen one as he gets to experience what hell is like while still being alive or was this a sort of wake-up call for him?
-Evaluative: When Dante first arrived hell he could only hear sighs, lamentations, and cries and not any form of words. Could this lack of ability to talk suggest that the sinners in hell are no longer human?
3. “Together, we have arrived where I have told you: here you will behold the wretched souls who’ve lost the good of intellect.” (III, 12-15)
Dante sees the mind and reason as one of the best gifts that God has given humans. God bestowed this gift on humans so now it is their responsibility to decide how they want to use it either for good or the bad. Obviously there are those who use it for good just as how there are those that simply disregard this gift and decide to simply use it for evil. Humans who decide to use this gift for evil lose the good of reasoning and understanding which is ultimately what everyone uses to make decisions so when they decide to use it for evil their actions will follow and thus will be condemned to Hell. This breaks the stereotype that many people have about sinners being really bad people as they think their sins usually consist of violence and murder but Dante shows that not all sins are the same and no matter
what a sin is still a sin and needs to have a consequence.
4. One particular part in Canto IV caught my attention which was when Virgil turned white and Dante confused it with fear. Virgil quickly explained that it was not fear the cause of his pale face but sympathy for the sinners in Hell as he was about to reunite with some of his companions. Virgil had so much pity for the sinners that you can literally see how much it affects him. Virgil has so much compassion for the sinners that one can argue that he is suffering alongside the sinners even though he is not literally feeling any physical pain. Dante seems to be confused at first but manages to catch up.
in other words reason which is the point the author is trying to make. The intended audience appears to be those who think of sinners as the stereotype of being awful people who only commit murders and violence as Alighieri shows that there are different levels of sinning and hell and that the sin does not necessarily have to be so grave to be punished for.
2.
–Factual: What is the bigger picture/meaning behind the leopard, lion, and she-wolf blocking Dante’s path towards the light of morning? What do they represent?
-Interpretive: Is Dante considered lucky and the chosen one as he gets to experience what hell is like while still being alive or was this a sort of wake-up call for him?
-Evaluative: When Dante first arrived hell he could only hear sighs, lamentations, and cries and not any form of words. Could this lack of ability to talk suggest that the sinners in hell are no longer human?
3. “Together, we have arrived where I have told you: here you will behold the wretched souls who’ve lost the good of intellect.” (III, 12-15)
Dante sees the mind and reason as one of the best gifts that God has given humans. God bestowed this gift on humans so now it is their responsibility to decide how they want to use it either for good or the bad. Obviously there are those who use it for good just as how there are those that simply disregard this gift and decide to simply use it for evil. Humans who decide to use this gift for evil lose the good of reasoning and understanding which is ultimately what everyone uses to make decisions so when they decide to use it for evil their actions will follow and thus will be condemned to Hell. This breaks the stereotype that many people have about sinners being really bad people as they think their sins usually consist of violence and murder but Dante shows that not all sins are the same and no matter
what a sin is still a sin and needs to have a consequence.
4. One particular part in Canto IV caught my attention which was when Virgil turned white and Dante confused it with fear. Virgil quickly explained that it was not fear the cause of his pale face but sympathy for the sinners in Hell as he was about to reunite with some of his companions. Virgil had so much pity for the sinners that you can literally see how much it affects him. Virgil has so much compassion for the sinners that one can argue that he is suffering alongside the sinners even though he is not literally feeling any physical pain. Dante seems to be confused at first but manages to catch up.