Hell in Dantes Divine Comedy Essay example - 1364 Words

Hell in the divine Comedy and Aeneid In Dante’s Divine Comedy, Dante incorporates Virgil’s portrayal of Hades (In The Aeneid) into his poem, and similarities between the Inferno and Hades can be drawn, however Dante wasn’t attempting to duplicate Virgil’s works. Although the Hell depicted in Dante’s Inferno is essentially based on the literary construction of the underworld found in Virgil’s Aeneid, in their particulars the two kingdoms are quite different. Virgil’s underworld is largely undifferentiated, and Aeneas walks through it without taking any particular notice of the landscape or the quality of suffering that takes place among the dead. Aeneas’ first concern is with the fate of his friends, then with meeting his†¦show more content†¦And Dread, and Hunger that sways men to crime. And sordid want – in shapes to affright the eves And Death and Toil and Death’s own brother, Sleep†¦(Fitzgerald, p.169) But once Aeneas gets past these figures, and the on rushing horde of the dead and dying at the boatman’s shore, the underworld turns out to be relatively calm and stable setting. There are some further similarities between Virgil’s and Dante’s hells, no doubt due to Dante’s close reading of the Latin and his wish to make Virgil his guide and mentor. For example, there are periodic challenges to the living as they walk through hell, and the boatman warns Virgil, â€Å"It breaks eternal law for the Stygian craft to carry living bodies.† Virgil also conceived the idea of separating the dead infants wail in one area, the falsely accused and condemned in another, the suicides in yet another. But all Virgil’s dead are condemned to the same hopeless fate, and it is only the memory of life which torments them. Conscious of this, Aeneas apologizes to Dido for deserting her at the behest of the gods; unfortunately, Dido repudiates him and joins Sychaeus, her former mate. A central concern of many of Aeneas encounters is whether or not the burial rituals have been carried out; the unburied are not even allowed to cross the River Styx, and those whose rituals have not been properly performed seem toShow MoreRelatedDantes The Divine Comedy - Heaven and Hell Essay829 Words   |  4 PagesDantes The Divine Comedy - Heaven and Hell Where does a person who commits a heinous sin go? Where does a person who did legitimate things and prays all his life go? This is what distinguishes hell and heaven. Hell is to people, what school is to students, a place where souls of all morals, good or bad, were consigned after death. This is the place of punishment of Satan and the other fallen angels and of all mortals who die unrepentant of serious sin. 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All three parts are incredible literary feats with symbolism so complex and beautiful thatRead MoreThe Divine Comedy By Dante Alighieri1277 Words   |  6 PagesDante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy from 1308-1320. The story narrates Dante’s pilgrimage through hell, purgatory, and heaven while guided by Virgil a nd Beatrice. Throughout this journey Dante conforms himself to virtue, properly orders his passions, and conforms his conscience, â€Å"Dante s psychopoiesis operates through the mimetic deformation, reformation, and transformation of conscience† (Macready, 2). This essay will examine what a true conscience is according to the Catechism of the Catholic