inferno

             The Inferno, the first part of Dante Alighieri's poem, The Divine Comedy, written roughly around 1307-1308 chronicles Dante's figurative journey to God. In this poem, Dante is led by the ghost of Virgil, the Roman poet, who has come to rescue him from he dark forest and to lead him through the realms of the afterlife. Geoffrey Chaucer, who emerged as the leading poet in English literature during the late fourteenth century, some fifty years after Dante's supremacy as the primary bard, brought forth the creation of The Canterbury Tales. This compilation of twenty-four tales begins with a general introduction of each of the pilgrims making their journey to Canterbury to the shrine of Thomas a Becket. Although the latter work drew its inspiration from Dante's Inferno, the two works exhibit two distinct approaches to human transgressions.
             Dante's vision in The Inferno expresses his personal experience, conveying his interpretation of the nature of human existence. He takes the reader through the dark, and ghastly depths of hell using very striking, and grotesque imagery. Writing in the first person, he enables the reader to identify, to deeply understand the truths he wished to share about the meaning of life and man's relationship with God, and to follow his spiritual search of personal salvation. Dante uncovers theological truths-the reality of God, his love, and man's freedom of choice along the way of his journey. He shows life as a pilgrimage of the soul, which has lost its way, on its path to God. This path becomes frighteningly real as he enters hell and on his way, he encounters many who have chosen greed, lust, or have given into other human vices and turned away from God. Although this inner exploration proves to be a difficult one, full of temptations, disappointment and questions, Dante perseveres, realizing that he must face evil and rise above the iniquity of sin to come within the reach of the promise that is f...

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inferno. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 09:12, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/30111.html