Dante s Journey Of Salvation - 1648 Words

As Dante makes his ascent through hell and purgatory, he is guided by two figures. The first is Virgil, who saves him from peril and accompanies him, as a friend, through the layers of both afterlifes. The second is Beatrice, who inspired Dante’s journey of salvation in the first place, and who he longs to be reunited with. Yet although these guides are leading him towards God, Dante mistakes their guiding as the end itself. He makes a God of Beatrice, sees her as the ultimate good towards which one strives, and makes a Jesus of Virgil, the man through whom this ultimate good is reached. In this way, Dante creates his own trinity, much to the detriment of his ascent to the True God. His first mistake, through which the others stem, is equating Beatrice to God. While she was alive, her beautiful eyes and lovely limbs were the only things keeping him on the holy path. This is clear when he confesses â€Å"Things set in front of me, / with their false delights, turned back my steps / the moment that Your countenance was hidden† (Purgatorio.31.34-36). He could have avoided traveling through the afterlifes had he not overvalued her in the first place. In fact, even when he is promised redemption through his journey, it takes Virgil mentioning Beatrice as the end goal of his journey to persuade Dante to begin the undertaking (Inferno.2.57-126). Dante still sees Beatrice, rather than God, as the end towards which he strives. For her sake alone he goes down into the deepest pits ofShow MoreRelatedDante s View On The Existence Of Hell, Purgatory And Paradise1328 Words   |  6 PagesWho is Dante? He was a man that had a desire to find the truths of heaven and ear th even from a very young age; his goal was to understand the three worlds in his mind of hell, purgatory and paradise so that he could find the true everlasting happiness. In Dante’s age there was not really a separation between church and state. â€Å"Dante s philosophical view was also a political view. In Dante s time, there were two major political factions, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Originally, the GhibellinesRead MoreDante And The Nature Of Sin967 Words   |  4 Pages Dante and the Nature of Sin Often, we cannot see the good until we have experienced the bad. Dante Alighieri, a poet who makes himself the main character in his Divine Comedy, finds himself lost in a dark wood at the start of The Inferno. Though he sees a safe path out of the wood towards an alluring light, he is forced to take an alternate route through an even darker place. As the ending of the pilgrim Dante’s voyage is bright and hopeful, Alighieri the poet aims to encourage even the most sinfulRead MoreThe Role Of Identity In Dantes Inferno1186 Words   |  5 Pagesnarrative epic poem, The Inferno, by Dante Alighieri takes the reader with Dante on his journey through Hell and rediscovery of his identity. Dante’s journey commenced as a result to him falling into temptations whilst falling away from God. This led him to travel through the Dark Wood of Error which symbolizes the worldliness that occurs when one strays from the True Way, or God’s Way. The spirit of the poet Virgil, symboli zing Human Reason, appears and leads Dante away from the Dark Wood of Error andRead MoreAnalysis Of Dante s Divine Comedy 1362 Words   |  6 Pagesspiritual afterlife poem series. For example, he shows that any journey is full of trial and error, various beliefs, and hidden lessons. The divine comedy consists of three parts; ‘The Inferno’, ‘Purgatorio’, and ‘Paradisio’. The inferno is all different levels of hell and all of the seven deadly sins. Dante meets his guide virgil here who is with him throughout the entire Divine Comedy. Virgil is the one who takes him on the journey through hell. The circles of hell starting with circle one areRead MoreLewis And The Silent Planet1326 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Influence of Dante in Out of the Silent Planet All throughout Lewis novels there is evidence that clearly connects the themes and symbolism from other aspects of traditional Christian literature both during and before he began writing. One of the most distinct examples of this occurring within Lewis’ works is the influence that Dante had on the concepts that he reflects on while conveying thoughts to his readers. 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Yet, one of the most prominent works the Divine Comedy has impacted is C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce. Lewis’s book is greatly indebted to Dante’s work, as both try to teach the reader how to achieve salvation. Furthe rmore, Lewis and Dante’s protagonists discover the path to salvation through choices, and learning what causes one’s refusal of God. Both authors explore the path to righteousness and enquire about life’s most difficult questions. Therefore, the dialogue between Dante’s DivineRead MoreVirgil Analysis of Dante Inferno Essay example2202 Words   |  9 Pagespublication to the present day. 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