Dante's Inferno | Summary & Analysis

[Music] Inferno is an exceptionally imaginative poem of immense scale and emotional power it's an adventure story a metaphysical epic of mind and spirit that takes the reader through purgatory the monster steps of hell and out again into the elevated glow of the heavens it was written in the 13th century by Dante Alighieri who was born sometime between May 21st and June 20th 1265 in Florence Italy Dante married when he was about 20 years old but the real love of his life was another woman be at reach a port denarii a woman Dante claimed to have only met twice in his life the exact nature of Dante's love for Beatrice is unclear though she is critical to the plot of Inferno she is the one who sends Virgil the poet guide to put Dante on the true path toward heaven Dante's prominence in the politically divided city of Florence led to the once powerful man's exile all of his money and property were seized leading to bitter sentiments toward his city and the people this fact is evident in the writing of the Divine Comedy which Dante began during his exile by writing an Italian instead of Latin as was the custom Dante wanted to make his works available to a wider audience not just the educated political elites who had cast him out dante passed away on September 13th or 14th 1321 in Ravenna all of these life experiences feature prominently into the context of Inferno which is crucial to understanding the epic poem now Inferno was informed by divided Florentine politics classical philosophy and mythology and the teachings of the Catholic Church because of his exile dante composed the inferno in a way that used the text not only to unpack political and church systems and areas of corruption but to grind axes with the powers that be in Florence the Catholic Church's teachings are found all throughout Inferno especially Catholic perceptions of God's will dictating morality and virtue the harrowing of hell and the Last Judgement which occurs at the end of time when Christ returns to judge all who have ever lived determining their eternal fates in a way Dante's inclusion of characters and references from works written by Greek and Roman philosophers and poets makes Inferno relatable and accessible to readers across time familiar with popular epics it also helps transpose some of the values of Dante himself poet guide Virgil is the author of a famous Roman epic the Aeneid Dante's hell is structured according to the categories of sin in the Nicomachean ethics of Aristotle and all manner of creatures and he rose from Greek and Roman mythology inhabit the entirety of Hell also one must understand cantos for sections of a long poem and the Turks are Emma form which Dante invented for this work as for the work itself in the plot of Inferno the introduction presents the narrator and central character Dante Alighieri lost both in life and literally in the woods during the rising action poet guide Virgil arrives and says he will guide Dante together the two main characters journey through the circles of hell sinners are punished in different sections of hell's nine circles and the poets observe their behavior and punishments and occasionally speak with them learning their sins crimes and misgivings a number of figures in Hell are Florentines or mythic figures from Greek and Roman mythology repurposed for Dante story as the poet's descend the circles of hell were smaller with each punishment growing more brutal and vicious than the last as the distance from God grows wider and the distance to Lucifer himself Hell's King grows narrower Hel's final circles aren't full of fire and brimstone but our frozen icy landscapes in the climax dante and virgil reach lucifer the King of Hell himself a giant whose torso protrudes from the ice chewing three traitors Cassius Brutus Judas Iscariot the poet's must climb down satan's huge body to escape during the falling action virgil explains to dante that hell was formed when satan fell from heaven which created a bastard hit that reached the center of the earth which the poets are now emerging from in the resolution dante emerges from hell and sees the stars overhead now this establishes continuity leading the way for the next book in Dante's Divine Comedy trilogy purgatory Oh inferno is a deeply representative text whose central symbols the path itself darkness and the duality of ascent and descent all speak to tremendously powerful themes that still resonate today sin and punishment love physicality and the human condition all of these themes represent the relationship between humanity and God between divine justice and mortal foibles about nature and the purpose of life itself and spiritual Redemption Dante's hell is a vast sprawling place some parts are terrifying and painful summer tragic some are just plain hilarious an epic journey that is literature influential poetry a study of class power and morality history mythology Dante's Inferno truly has something for everyone you [Music]

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Keywords: Inferno, divine comedy, Dante's Inferno analysis, dante's inferno, dantes inferno, Dante's Inferno summary, Dante

Id: DOmnzy_GRAE

Length: 5min 52sec (352 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 13 2017