Dante’s Inferno Dante Aligieris Divine Comedy marks the beginning of Renaissance period in European literature. Up until now Dante is counted among the greatest Italians that had ever lived besides being a masterpiece from strictly poetical point of view, Divine Comedy contains the ideas that were totally new to medieval perception of the world. In this poem, earthly passions enter heaven and hell something unheard of in European literature before Dante, which was largely nothing else but an extension of Christian scholasticism. The very essence of human soul, according to Dante, was the fusion between divine and animalistic drives within individual. Everyone radiates a creative energy and this gives the values of continuity to the physical nature of people. God is to observe the work of nature, not being the reason for its very existence, he rather coexists with men then rules over them. Dante comes to a conclusion that man is an intermediate stage between mortal and immortal, this brings him to consider every individual as such, that possess beastly and divine qualities at the same time.
The idea of every individuals dual nature was new to Medieval Europe, thats why Dantes work was being criticized by many contemporary Christian clerics. Christianity describes the natural human impulses as sinful. In a way, it is a religion of death it considers persons physical existence as something temporary and even accidental. Even for every contemporary Bible thumper, body is nothing but souls trap. After this sick religion took over, Greek and Roman ideals of beauty and perfection, embodied in their sculptures, yielded to midgets, hunchbacks, madman and impotents, whose motto was: no washing, no shaving, no marrying, no working. The same thing happened in the intellectual domain as well. The ancient science was replaced by so many pseudo sciences, that their brief survey would represent an encyclopedic task. Very hard and difficult was for the science and literature to break out of Christian imprisonment.
The Term Paper on Teachers' Understandings On The Nature Of Science
Abstract. This study investigates the conceptions on the nature of science (NOS) among new and experienced teachers in the Philippines. An in-depth analysis of the Likert and constructed responses revealed the participants’ understandings on six NOS themes. Findings suggest that the notions of both groups are generally in the uninformed state and essentially at the same level with each other and ...
Dante can be credited with popularizing the ancient Greek idea of logos on poetical level. He considers man as someone whose nature is essentially animalistic, yet since humans entitled with spirit, it brings them on one level higher, comparing to other living creatures. The essence of this Dantes idea is expressed in Canto VII: Man in himself had ever lacked the means Of satisfaction, for he could not stoop Obeying, in humility so low, As high he, disobeying, thought to soar: And for this reason he had vainly tried Out of his own sufficiency to pay The rigid satisfaction (Hell, Cantos VII) Divine Comedy consists of 3 large parts Inferno, Purgatory and Heaven. Let us concentrate our attention on the first part, as it is the one where Dantes humanist ideas are being expressed in the clearest manner. Inferno begins with author telling us about him getting lost in the woods. There he meets the ghost of Virgil, who tells him that he can help to find his way out of there, but for this hed have to be taken through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. Author agrees, especially that he is promised to be able to meet his beloved Beatrice at the end of his journey. Author describes Hell as consisting of nine circles.
The first one is reserved to pagans and children who died before being baptized. In second he finds those who committed the sin of lust. Third circle is for those who used to indulge in overeating. Those who used to be greedy during their lives, Dante places in fourth circle. In fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth circles author finds flatterers, bankers, sinful Popes, seducers and instigators of political unrest. Author does it for his personal reasons he was expelled from his native town of Florence because the political movement, which he belonged to, had lost.
The Essay on Dante’s Ninth Circle of Hell
The Ninth Circle of Hell or the Cocytus is the place for the traitors. This place is composed of glass-like frozen water which is known as the frozen Pool of Cocytus which is unimaginably cold wherein no warmth could stay. It symbolizes the coldness and emptiness of the souls damned in this lowest pit of hell. Cocytus is divided into four Regions characterized according to the order of level of ...
One third of his life Dante spent in exile and thats why he placed his political enemies in the eighth circle of Hell, among some of the most horrible sinners. The Hells ninth circle contains the worst of all sinners traitors. The traitor is eternally consumed assures us Dante and thats how we know that, the worst thing he suffered from in his life, was treachery of his closest friends. Authors vision of sin and punishment is best described when Virgil takes Dante to the ninth circle of Hell. They both descend to the frozen lake Cocytus where Dante finds those who had betrayed their kin, standing, while being frozen in ice. In the second ring of Ninth circle author meets Count Ugolino, which is to spend an eternity gnawing the head of his former enemy. He is the most tragic figure in the whole poem; even talking back to Dante he never stops doing this: With hateful eyes upon his murderer’s head, Again he seized it in strong teeth that bit Hard on the bone.
Ah, Pisa! (Inferno, Cantos XXXIII) In the depth of Hell author discovers those who betrayed their benefactors, he sees them being totally submerged in ice. The worst traitors of all – Judas and Cassius Brutus, are found being continuously chewed by Lucifer. What makes Dantes poem so great from philosophical pint of view, is authors logical predeterminism. The Christian motives in his poem are only skin-deep, as it is totally deprived of concept of Gods grace. Every sin has a price to pay for, according to author. Every action results in very concrete consequences.
Such approach betrays author as materialist, for whom poetical description of Hell is only the method to impose his own political and moral views onto the reader. Dantes mastery in expressing his ideas lies in the fact that he does it in indirect manner. His position, regarding moral issues he discusses in the poem, appears to be quite neutral, yet when it comes to discussing any practical aspect of it, author gets very personal. This is very unusual for the European medieval literature, which deals with theological issues. Another remarkable feature of Dantes poem is that he totally disregards the social stratification when it comes to establishing universal justice. According to him, Popes can be just as sinful as ordinary people this thesis couldve resulted in Dante being accused of heresy. Author emphasizes that freedom of choice is what differentiates people from animals. This humanist idea has always been presented in Christian doctrine formally God has given people the choice, yet hell punish those whore to chose to ignore him. Bible bases morality on allegiance to God alone, while Dante sees it from ethical prospective: The souls once theirs, for that which once they wore Of mortal likeness in their shades to show.
The Essay on Moral Society God Religion People
Belief in a God is necessary for a moral society Religion in the world has always been considered a rather important aspect of society. Although this is true, there are still people that question the existence of God. A survey done among 1000 people showed that 65 percent of Americans believe that religion is losing its influence on American life (Sheler, 8). Even so, Belief in a God is necessary ...
Waste was their choice, and this abortive strife And toil unmeaning is the end they are They butt for ever, until the last award Shall call them from their graves (Inferno, Cantos VII) The biggest human sin to Dante, is wasting Gods given opportunity to continuously strive to become better men. God remains on the background, without determining peoples choice. Dante sees God as providence rather than highly emotional deity. This, in hidden form, undermines Christianity as whole. According to Dante, the real sin is sin against nature. He bases his vision of unnatural deeds on his own personal understanding of it. Yet, the fact that Divine Comedy became so popular among great many people shows that authors ideas derives from the spirit of Western civilization, whose essence was never influenced by Christianity.
Dantes political thought is underlined by his idea of individuals independence. From there comes Dantes idea of separation between state and churchs authorities. The realization of this principle would lead to Church reconsidering its pursuit of wealth. Great poet considers the freedom of choice as such that doesnt allow individual to be freed from personal responsibility for what is going on in this world. This freedom, for Dante, is not just an abstract category but also a tool, which is meant to be used in very practical way to make life on this Earth better. Dante believed that human behavior is defined by two categories spiritual and physical. He thought that if they combine productively, itd make people to become demi-gods. But first people would need to realize their Earthly nature as moral This idea was far ahead of its time, yet Dante was able to saw the seeds of future universal discontent with Christianity, which will enable further European progress in the future. Dante suggests that only a heroic deed can be the purpose of individuals existence, as only this can elevate person to the level of God.
The Term Paper on Findleys God Noah Gods People
Bible And Literature: The Flood Narrative Analyzed In The Style Of Northrop e Frye (Timothy Findley Used As A Critic/Commentary) The flood as found in Genesis is a multidimensional and an archetypal source of metaphor and myth. The flood is an example of metaphorical and mythological language that provides foundational constructs upon which other aspects of the Biblical text and other works can be ...
Not the escape from the world is what glorifies individual, but active participation in social events. According to a poet, a logos is a real action, motivated by abstract reasons – a creative word. He strongly believed that peoples primary function is to make life better here on Earth and if they act otherwise, they oppose themselves to God: How the infallible Justice of God contrives The doom of those who use their earthly lives To give the face of truth to falsity. (Inferno, Canto XXIX) The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighiery can be read as manual to honorable existence by anyone whos in favor of active social position as the main principle that defines the value of every individual
Bibliography:
The Inferno: From the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. (2002) Translated by S. Fowler Wright.
Fowler Wright Ltd. 1928. 28 Nov. 2004 http://www.sfw.org.uk/books/inferno.html.
