Dante\'s Inferno Dante\'s Journey Through

Dante's Inferno

Dante's journey through the circles of Hell with his poet guide Virgil is a phantasmagoric and hyperbolic demonstration of human sin and punishment. Although occasionally the punishments reflect exactly the nature of the particular crime committed, for the most part the punishments inflicted on the sinners are simply grotesque rather than symbolic. For example, in the second circle of Hell the Lustful are blown around in a terrible storm. The storm bears little resemblance to the sin of lust; however, the punishment is deemed just. In some cases, the punishment matches the crime. For instance, the man who ultimately sentenced Jesus Christ to the cross lays crucified on the ground, while the astrologers must walk with their heads on backwards, a symbolic reversal of their ability to "see" into the future. Therefore, the punishments in the Inferno are appropriate for their literary and symbolic intent, even if they are exaggerated.

Moreover, Dante's journey is designed to shock him; the imagery Virgil shows him affects him deeply on a personal level. The punishments Dante witnesses and which he imparts to the reader of his epic are appropriate in that they evoke a powerful psychological reaction.

If the punishments had been self-inflicted, the tone and meaning of the work would change dramatically. One of the underlying messages of the Inferno is of the absolute nature of God's power and of the nature of eternity. Hell in the Inferno is no temporary state of being but rather eternal damnation for sinners. If the punishments had been self-inflicted, the power of both God and Satan would have been undermined by the power of human will and repentance. The fact that Satan and his minion Minos exact these punishments on the human sinners proves the power of the divine over human beings. If the human sinners elected to punish themselves it would have demonstrated the power of human will can overcome the wrath of God and Satan. Moreover, the self-inflicted tortures would demand forgiveness, something that the sinners in the Inferno seem doomed to do without.