Dantes Inferno and the Renaissance Essay - 2380 Words

It is one of the most known and referenced books of its time and is still a commonly read work of literature, but is Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno more that just one man’s interpretation of what hell is like? We know it now as a remarkable piece of literature, but some contend that it was a turning point in writing and how many viewed the world. Claims have also been made that it is an example of how man paved the road out of the Dark Ages and into the Renaissance, the period that shaped a lot of modern thinking. The book was received as a masterpiece and helped change the literary world of it’s time, but was it the book as a whole that helped lead the West out of the dark ages or was it the situations within? While the Divine Comedy was†¦show more content†¦This section of hell can be seen as contradictory to the sentiment that the Divine Comedy was a work that led humanity into the Renaissance. Here Dante is saying that whether or not you are a good pe rson, if you act for yourself only and do not accept God, you are destined to chase a blank banner for eternity and where as Virgil states, â€Å"These people have not any hope of death†¦They envious are of every other fate.† (Dante, 9) As they move onto the first circle of hell he comes to those who are in limbo, even though they aren’t actually sinners, they did not accept Christ or lived before his time. Some of the people who reside here are people like Virgil, Homer, Saladin, Socrates and Plato. There isn’t an active punishment on them per say, but they are punished by the fact they are separated from God. The Renaissance is always noted as a time when the people of the â€Å"modern† world of their time, looked back at the Greek and Roman philosophers and were guided by their teachings of reason. While Dante obviously has great respect for these men and their works, because they didn’t accept Christ as their lord (because they were before his time) they are sent to the first circle in the Land of the Damned. Like those outside Hell, this seems to go against most of the Renaissance ideas in that these great thinkers and philosophers of the old world, even though they weren’t si nners, would still be punished by being separated from GodShow MoreRelatedThe Tragedy Of Dante s Inferno1016 Words   |  5 PagesDante’s Inferno is heavily based on the social and political downgrade of Rome in the 14th century. The poet recognized that civilians in his own city-state were idolizing corrupt politicians and giving into their sinful temptations. Political and religious stability were crumbling and as a result order disintegrated, many started to claim to be the Pope, people were idolizing wealth and corruption, and a majority of relationships were stemmed from adultery. 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