Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Inferno
I am really enjoying Dante's Inferno. The Bible does not really give us a really a description of Hell, so Dante wrote an epic poem about it. He inserts himself in the poem to give it a personal aspect. His construction of Hell is very interesting. He includes Pagans in the first circle because they weren't really sinners; they just didn't believe in God because Christianity did not exist yet. The farther down in Hell, the worse the sin.
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I also find Dante's Inferno very interesting, but it can be confusing at the same time. I do not really understand why some people are in the circles that they are. For example, Dito is in circle 2 (lust), but she also killed herself. Although she did kill herself for love, there is another circle deeper in hell specifically designed for people who commit suicide so why isn't she in this one? There are some inconsistencies in Dante's Inferno that are confusing.
I think this is common question that comes up in Dante's Inferno. The "virtuous pagans" are in Limbo. This seems kind of strange that they are in Hell. Jesus existed after they were born, so they couldn't worship him. It's unfair that they are in Hell. They should be in Purgatory. They were good people, so they should have hope to get into Heaven. Vergil cannot guide Dante passed Hell because he is in Limbo. However, Beatrice is in Heaven and can descend into Hell. I agree with Bailey that there are some inconsistencies in Dante's Inferno.
It is true that there are some variances in the way people and punishments are described, but I think it is also important to look at things symbolically. For instance, Dido's suicide for love could hint at the virtue that suicide alone is worse that suicide with a specific purpose, especially love. This is because love as it relates to lust is one of the sins that is the hardest to avoid. Therefore, Dido had such a bad case of this lust that it led to her suicide. In addition, Beatrice logically can descend into hell because she is in Heaven and therefore has more rights and freedom than someone that is in Hell, such as Virgil. Virgil is unable to go past Hell because that is where God punished him to stay for eternally, where as Beatrice lived a good life and has been graced with the ability to live in Heaven.
I don't know how many of you guys read the Percy Jackson books when you were kids, but they also contained a somewhat vivid description of hell. It's really interesting to compare the two versions. They are actually very similar in a lot of ways, despite the fact that they are targeted for younger age groups.
I think Dante's Inferno is lacking in many ways. It combines a mix of Christianity and mythology which seems contradictory and almost like heresy which he punishes people. Also, it lacks in expanding upon its ideas because he doesn't state how people get to certain circles of hell after they are sentenced to it and the whole piece seems like something is missing to me.
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