Dante Inferno

Book review of the inferno of Dante

In The Inferno of Dante’s Journey Through Hell, Dante allows the reader to experience his every move while traveling through the 9 circles of hell. Dante’s comprehension of language, exploration of the sights and sounds around him, expression of feeling and detail he experiences and his wide range of knowledge allows him to captures readers and draw them into the same hell he is experiencing. His passage allows him to see the suffering of sinners, many mythical creatures and loss. He describes his descent through Hell from the upper level, to the most evil, the unfaithful sinners, on the lowest level. Throughout this journey the truth is revealed about each soul and the sins they committed and the justice of their punishment.

A Theme that arises throughout the book is the perfection of “god’s justice”. Dante makes connections between the sins that souls have committed on earth and the punishment they receive when the reach hell and to what extent. God is showing his justice that while on earth, they should have made a choice between sin and choosing God. While reading the Inferno of Dante you can make the connection between God’s judgment of what degree of hell/torment people end up in based on their sins on earth. Dante believes God is one that knows all, “The law of Dante’s Hell is the law of symbolic retribution. As they sinned so they are punished”(Canto 3.) God is known as the creator of hell and because of this, people who have taken no side are called the Opportunist. When Dante is at the Entrance of Hell, he encounters these souls. “Whose lives earned neither honor nor fame…who neither rebellious to God nor faithful to him”(Canto 3 pg. 21) They are stuck in the middle that lived without moral choices; always looking out for there self interest, and because of this they are unwilling to do things for others, and in turn, their blood is shed to the ground for the worms. All of the sins committed throughout hell all tie...