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The Inferno Essay Prompt
Dante Alighieri is responsible for the best literary works in Italian literature. In Dante’s poem
Inferno he gives his readers a new way to look at Hell. Instead of the traditional fiery lake they
are used to Dante describes a Hell that includes; a hell with nine circles for different types of
sins, and a purgatory which lies just outside of hell. Dante’s hell follows a rule known as the
“law of nature” called the contrapasso, which gives sinners an equal and fitting punishment for
the sins they have committed. Dante stays true to the already known history of the characters in
his poem, but many components that Dante included are very interesting and can be argued if
Dante has just reasons to place people in certain circles of his inferno. Dante Alighieri’s love for
Beatrice, his religious beliefs, and his political life were major contributors in his judgment of
where people belonged in hell.
The compassion Dante felt for the suffering lustful souls was a critical reason why they
were placed in the 1st circle of hell. Dante knew sinning for love is still a sin regardless so these
sinners still belong in hell even though their sins are understandable. His love for Beatrice was
no secret, he expressed his feelings for her in one of his poems “vita Nuova” so Dante could
easily relate to these sinners. Nobody realizes how crazy their actions are when they are in love;
if someone is in love they would do anything for that person. Dante completely understood that
and is the reason why he places Dido in with the lustful instead of deeper into hell with the
suicides. If it was not for Francesca’s story in Canto V “One day, for pleasure,/ We read of
Lancelot, by love constrained:/ Alone, suspecting nothing at our leisure…All the while the one
shade spoke,/ The other at her side was weeping; my pity/ Overwhelmed me and I felt myself go
slack:/ Swooning as in death, I fell like a dying body.” Dante would have not felt the compassion
that he did. H.A. Mason who wrote “A Journey through Hell: Dante’s Inferno Revisited: Love
and Courtesy” tells us, “Dante is filled with pain and pity but cannot restrain his desire to learn
how Love presented itself to them. Francesca reveals that the critical moment came when they
were reading together the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, and reached the moment of the kiss.”
Dante was obviously touched by this story because it spoke to him and reminded him of his love
for Beatrice. Dante places these sinners in the first circle because he believes he could possibly
sin for the same reason if he was put in the same situation these sinners found themselves in. His
compassion for the lustful, because of his love for Beatrice, is the reason why Dante places Dido
in the 1st Circle of hell instead of deeper into hell with the suicides.
Dante made his religious beliefs known to the readers throughout Inferno. His beliefs
contributed to where certain historical and mythological creatures were placed in Dante’s hell.
Inferno also gives an interesting insight to what the people in Florence, Italy believed through
what Dante expresses in his writing to the reader. Dante introduces several biblical, Greek and
Roman myth, and historical figures. The appearance of Minos who acts as a judge in the
underworld tells us that Florence was well aware of Greek mythology. By including Virgil, and
not letting him accompany Dante the pilgrim to heaven since he died before the birth of Jesus
Christ, Dante demonstrates to the reader that he was a believer of Christianity. Dante’s belief in
Christianity is an important factor in why Judas Iscariot has the worst punishment in hell. As
shown in Canto 9, “That upper spirit,/ Who hath worst punishment,” so spake my guide,/ “Is
Judas, he that hath his head within/ And plies the feet without. Of th’ other two,/ Whose heads
are under, from the murky jaw/ Who hangs, is Brutus: 1 lo! how he doth writhe/ And speaks not.
The other, Cassius, that appears/ So large of limb” Lucifer has 3 faces, and each of is mouth’s
hold one sinner. Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus Christ, has his head covered by ice with only
his legs unfrozen. The other two mouths hold Brutus and Cassius for murdering Julius Caesar
who was the Roman leader responsible for the rise of the Roman Empire. Their placement in the
9th circle of hell demonstrated that Dante was a great supported of Rome and the Catholic
Church. Judas, Brutus, and Cassius are all chewed up by Lucifer’s mouths but they are never
killed in order to continue suffering. Dante’s judgment on where Judas, Brutus, and Cassius
belong in hell can be controversial for someone who is not Christian. Joseph Kameen believes
that Dante’s writing is just because, “Dante does not reinvent or change the classic stories but
only augments them as is necessary. Rather than attempting to redefine hell, Dante is trying to
explain hell.”(Darkness Visible: Dante’s Clarification of Hell). Although Dante is correct
historically, not everyone can agree on where these three men belong. In other religions Judas,
Brutus, and Cassius might not even be considered as severe sinners. Even though non-Christians
would not agree with Dante completely, his writing gives a fascinating insight on how Dante and
other Christians feel about these three men. It is thanks to Dante’s religious beliefs that these
traitors are in the 9th Circle of hell.
Dante was not afraid of letting people know how he felt about them. He did not leave out
his personal and political life out of this poem. This is another example that people may not
agree on with Dante, but Dante took the liberty to condemn his biggest public rival to hell
regardless. Pope Boniface VIII made an appearance in Canto XIX, “And he cried, "Are you
already standing there,/ Are you already standing there, Boniface?/ By several years the record
lied to me!” which was very unexpected since Pope Boniface was still alive at the time this poem
was written. Pope Boniface was a corrupt pope who attempted to increase the political power of
the Roman Catholic Church. Dante completely disagreed with Boniface’s plan because he
believed the Church and the state should be separate but equal in power. Boniface was placed in
the 8th Circle of hell by Dante because he committed a sin of simony which is a crime of paying
for holy office or positions in the hierarchy of the Church. Pope Boniface VII was also believed
to be responsible for Celestine V’s renunciation since he was the successor to Celestine’s
position. If someone else other than Dante were to write Inferno it is not likely that Pope
Boniface would have made an appearance in hell, this comes to show just how much Dante’s
political life also influenced his writing.
Dante’s Inferno is one of the most well-known pieces of literature, and it deserves to be.
It gives the reader a sense of awareness in what was going on in in the 1300s in Florence, Italy,
and an interesting view of how Dante felt about certain historical figures. Even though there was
some controversial elements in this poem, Dante’s love for Beatrice, his religion, and his
political life made his poem unparalleled to any other one.
Works Cited
Kameen, Joseph. "Boston University Arts & Sciences Writing Program." <i>Writing
Program Darkness Visible Dantes Clarification of Hell Comments</i>. Boston University Arts
& Sciences Writing Program. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.
&lt;http://www.bu.edu/writingprogram/journal/past-issues/issue-2/kameen/&gt;.
Mason, H.A. "Cambridge Quarterly." <i>A Journey Through Hell: Dante's Inferno
Revisited: Love and Courtesy – Canto V</i>. Oxford University Press, 1 Jan. 1988. Web. 16 Jan.
2015. &lt;http://camqtly.oxfordjournals.org/content/XVII/1/28.abstract&gt;.