Overcoming one’s evils is no easy feat, and this is made especially clear as the reader is given a tour through hell, in which the main character has to face his sins and overcome them. Dante’s Inferno by Dante is widely hailed as one of the great classics of Western literature, detailing Dante’s journey through the nine circles of hell. Each circle in this depiction of hell acts as an inescapable prison (in most cases) where sinners are judged and placed into, having to be punished for their specific sin for all of eternity. Dante travels progressively into the depths of hell as Dante the Pilgrim, a sympathetic and morally weak individual who easily becomes overwhelmed by the sins that others have commited, and writes about his journey as
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When both are Dante’s are compared, it can be seen that the frightful Pilgrim does indeed undergo change and slowly becomes the strict poet, demonstrating how significant the effects are of perceiving hell on the individual. Throughout the book, it is seen that there are two Dantes; Dante the poet and Dante the Pilgrim. Dante the poet is a stern, moralistic individual who acts as the supreme judge and decides who belongs in Hell and, like the monster Minos who judges the sinners, decides which circle of hell each sinner belongs in (being the creator of this story). This Dante is unwavering in his judgment, and the sinner is judged by the strictest and harshest …show more content…
When he finds himself lost in the dark wood, the Pilgrim is terribly frightened, and when Virgil arrives, he is at first apprehensive, cautious, and scared until he is reassured of Virgil’s noble intentions. This is made clear in the way he address Virgil when they first meet, as he claims, “When I saw him in that vast desert, ‘Have mercy on me, whatever you are,’ I cried, ‘whether shade or living man (Canto 1, lines 64-66)!” It is after being convinced that the Pilgrim’s journey begins as he is guided by Virgil who states, “...I think it wise you follow me: I will be your guide, leading you, from here, through an eternal place where you shall hear the despairing cries and see those ancient souls in pain as they bewail their second death (Canto I, lines 112-117)”. Upon entering hell the Pilgrim shows all of the concern for the condemned that any humane and sympathetic person would show when confronted with the sufferings of the sinners, which is entirely unlike Dante the poet. If they are the supposedly the same person, then why are they so different? To answer this, an important note to
When both are Dante’s are compared, it can be seen that the frightful Pilgrim does indeed undergo change and slowly becomes the strict poet, demonstrating how significant the effects are of perceiving hell on the individual. Throughout the book, it is seen that there are two Dantes; Dante the poet and Dante the Pilgrim. Dante the poet is a stern, moralistic individual who acts as the supreme judge and decides who belongs in Hell and, like the monster Minos who judges the sinners, decides which circle of hell each sinner belongs in (being the creator of this story). This Dante is unwavering in his judgment, and the sinner is judged by the strictest and harshest …show more content…
When he finds himself lost in the dark wood, the Pilgrim is terribly frightened, and when Virgil arrives, he is at first apprehensive, cautious, and scared until he is reassured of Virgil’s noble intentions. This is made clear in the way he address Virgil when they first meet, as he claims, “When I saw him in that vast desert, ‘Have mercy on me, whatever you are,’ I cried, ‘whether shade or living man (Canto 1, lines 64-66)!” It is after being convinced that the Pilgrim’s journey begins as he is guided by Virgil who states, “...I think it wise you follow me: I will be your guide, leading you, from here, through an eternal place where you shall hear the despairing cries and see those ancient souls in pain as they bewail their second death (Canto I, lines 112-117)”. Upon entering hell the Pilgrim shows all of the concern for the condemned that any humane and sympathetic person would show when confronted with the sufferings of the sinners, which is entirely unlike Dante the poet. If they are the supposedly the same person, then why are they so different? To answer this, an important note to