Monday 29 December 2014

How is Dante’s Inferno an allegory?

An allegory is meant to be interpreted with a hidden meaning.  The Inferno is meant to give Dante's view of sin by showing the punishments of sins.  Dante points out the corruption of various popes by placing them in Hell.  Dante's take on the punishment for the Seven Deadly Sins is rational, thus implying that God is rational as well.  Dante begins his story in a dark wood--the deeper meaning here is that the author...

An allegory is meant to be interpreted with a hidden meaning.  The Inferno is meant to give Dante's view of sin by showing the punishments of sins.  Dante points out the corruption of various popes by placing them in Hell.  Dante's take on the punishment for the Seven Deadly Sins is rational, thus implying that God is rational as well.  Dante begins his story in a dark wood--the deeper meaning here is that the author was going through a crisis in life.  Dante's trip through Hell allowed him time to examine life and that all of humanity was guilty of some sort of sin.  To Dante, the greatest sin of all was disloyalty, which explains why he placed Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius in the middle of Hell.  Dante's native city of Florence was going through religious and civil strife.  Dante's version of Hell serves as a commentary on what he witnessed in Florence.  

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