who is speaking in the poem of inferno

Who is the narrator of the poem Dante's Inferno?

Dante – The author, protagonist, and narrator of the poem. Dante the character is believed to be a simplified version of Dante the poet. Dante the character is sympathetic, fearful, and shaken by his experience in Hell.

How does Dante present Virgil in the Inferno?

Dante is the protagonist and narrator of The Inferno. He presents the poem as a true, autobiographical recollection of his miraculous journey. He is a good man who strays from the path of virtue… read analysis of Dante Virgil was the greatest and most famous poet of ancient Rome, revered by Dante and other medieval readers.

What is the canto of Inferno in Dante's Inferno?

Inferno, Canto I Dante Alighieri- 1265-1321 Midway upon the journey of our life   I found myself within a forest dark,   For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Ah me! how hard a thing it is to say

What is the first part of the Inferno about?

Inferno ( pronounced [iɱˈfɛrno]; Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri 's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. The Inferno tells the journey of Dante through Hell, guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil.

Who is the speaker in Dante's Inferno?

DanteDante is the protagonist and narrator of The Inferno. He presents the poem as a true, autobiographical recollection of his miraculous journey. He is a good man who strays from the path of virtue, finding himself in the dark wood at the beginning of the poem.

Who are the poets in Inferno?

Dante encounters the poets Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan, who include him in their number and make him "sixth in that high company".

Who is the poet of the famous poem Inferno?

Dante AlighieriDante Alighieri | Poetry Foundation.

Who are the characters in Dante's Inferno?

CiaccoThomas AquinasSt. BernardJames the GreaterCato the YoungerApostle PeterDivine Comedy/Characters

Who are the main characters in The Divine Comedy?

CiaccoThomas AquinasSt. BernardJames the GreaterCato the YoungerApostle PeterDivine Comedy/Characters

Who is homer in Dante's Inferno?

Homer is singled out: he is the only one who speaks; he carries a sword, signifying his esteemed Iliad (86); and he is called “master” and “sovereign poet” (sire, 87; poeta sovrano, 88), “the lord of highest poetry, / soaring above the others as the eagle flies” (segnor de l'altissimo canto / che sovra li altri com' ...

What is the setting of Inferno?

Dante's Inferno is set both in medieval Italy and in an imaginary, intricate version of Hell designed to warn against sin and encourage readers to have faith in God.

Why did Dante write the Inferno?

9. He wrote the poem in order to entertain his audience, as well as instruct them. 10. He wrote the poem for an audience that included the princely courts he wished to communicate to, his contemporaries in the literary world and especially certain poets, and other educated listeners of the time.

What language is Dante's Inferno in?

ItalianDivine Comedy / Original languageDante's masterwork is a 3 volume work written in Italian rather than Latin. It embraces human individuality and happiness in a way which suggests the beginning of the Renaissance.

Who is the main character in Dante?

Dante – The author, protagonist, and narrator of the poem. Dante the character is believed to be a simplified version of Dante the poet. Dante the character is sympathetic, fearful, and shaken by his experience in Hell.

What is the plot of Dante's Inferno?

The Inferno is about the poet's journey into Hell. Guided by the poet Virgil, Dante descends through the Nine Circles of Hell, eventually arriving at the center where Satan himself resides. After escaping Hell, Dante and Virgil will go on to Purgatory and then Dante will go on to Heaven.

Where is Judas in Dante's Inferno?

Judecca, named after the apostle who betrayed Jesus (Judas Iscariot), is the innermost zone of the ninth and final circle of hell.

How did frozen and powerless become?

“How frozen I became and powerless then, Ask it not, reader, for I write it not, Because all language would be insufficient. I did not die, and I alive remained not. Think for thyself now, hast though ought of wit, What I became, being of both deprived.”

How do you cite the inferno?

APA (7th ed.) Citation. Dante Alighieri & Ciardi, J. (2001). The inferno. Signet Classic.Chicago Style (17th ed.) Citation. Dante Alighieri and John Ciardi. The Inferno. New York: Signet Classic, 2001.MLA (8th ed.) Citation. Dante Alighieri and John Ciardi. The Inferno. Signet Classic, 2001.

Were he as fair once as he now is foul?

Were he as fair once, as he now is foul, And lifted up his brow against his Maker, Well may proceed from him all tribulation. O, what a marvel it appeared to me, When I beheld three faces on his head!

What is Dante the character?

Dante the character is believed to be a simplified version of Dante the poet. Dante the character is sympathetic, fearful, and shaken by his experience in Hell. He goes through moral and intellectual conundrums about some of the situations in which he finds himself on his journey.

Who is Dante's mentor?

Virgil – The character of Virgil plays the classic mentor role by being a guide to Dante as he makes his way through Hell. Virgil resides in Limbo, the part of Hell reserved for good people who did not know Crist. Virgil is wise, resourceful, and level-headed. Although he ultimately cannot protect Dante against the evils found in Hell, he helps Dante get through it with reason and faith.

Who are the Sinners in the third ring?

Fra Alberigo and Branca D’Oria – Sinners in the Third Ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell. Their bodies live in Hell possessed by demons because devils had already snatched their souls from their living bodies on Earth.

Who is Lucifer in Dante's Inferno?

Lucifer – The prince of Hell who lives at the very bottom of Ninth Circle of Hell. He has three faces. Each mouth chews one of the world’s worst sinners: Judas, Cassius, and Brutus. Contents [ hide] 1 Dante’s Inferno Character Analysis. 2 Dante’s Inferno Characters. 3 Dante Character.

What does Dante perceive in the distance?

In the distance, Dante perceives high towers that resemble fiery red mosques. Virgil informs him that they are approaching the City of Dis. Dis, itself surrounded by the Stygian marsh, contains Lower Hell within its walls. Dis is one of the names of Pluto, the classical king of the underworld, in addition to being the name of the realm. The walls of Dis are guarded by fallen angels. Virgil is unable to convince them to let Dante and him enter.

What is the name of the circle in Canto IV?

Canto IV#N#Dante wakes up to find that he has crossed the Acheron, and Virgil leads him to the first circle of the abyss, Limbo, where Virgil himself resides. The first circle contains the unbaptized and the virtuous pagans, who, although not sinful enough to warrant damnation, did not accept Christ. Dorothy L. Sayers writes, "After those who refused choice come those without opportunity of choice. They could not, that is, choose Christ; they could, and did, choose human virtue, and for that they have their reward." Limbo shares many characteristics with the Asphodel Meadows, and thus, the guiltless damned are punished by living in a deficient form of Heaven. Without baptism ("the portal of the faith that you embrace") they lacked the hope for something greater than rational minds can conceive. When Dante asked if anyone has ever left Limbo, Virgil states that he saw Jesus ("a Mighty One") descend into Limbo and take Adam, Abel, Noah, Moses, Abraham, David, and Rachel (see Limbo of the Patriarchs) into his all-forgiving arms and transport them to Heaven as the first human souls to be saved. The event, known as the Harrowing of Hell, would have occurred in AD 33 or 34.

What is the name of the first part of the Divine Comedy?

Canto I from the Inferno, the first part of the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. v. t. e. Dante 's Divine Comedy. Inferno ( Hell) Purgatorio ( Purgatory) Paradiso ( Heaven) Inferno ( Italian: [iɱˈfɛrno]; Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri 's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy.

What are the nine circles of Hell?

Virgil proceeds to guide Dante through the nine circles of Hell. The circles are concentric, representing a gradual increase in wickedness, and culminating at the centre of the earth, where Satan is held in bondage. The sinners of each circle are punished for eternity in a fashion fitting their crimes: each punishment is a contrapasso, a symbolic instance of poetic justice. For example, later in the poem, Dante and Virgil encounter fortune-tellers who must walk forward with their heads on backward, unable to see what is ahead, because they tried to see the future through forbidden means. Such a contrapasso "functions not merely as a form of divine revenge, but rather as the fulfilment of a destiny freely chosen by each soul during his or her life". People who sinned, but prayed for forgiveness before their deaths are found not in Hell but in Purgatory, where they labour to become free of their sins. Those in Hell are people who tried to justify their sins and are unrepentant.

How many circles does Dante have in Hell?

As a Christian, Dante adds Circle 1 (Limbo) to Upper Hell and Circle 6 (Heresy) to Lower Hell, making 9 Circles in total; incorporating the Vestibule of the Futile, this leads to Hell containing 10 main divisions. This "9+1=10" structure is also found within the Purgatorio and Paradiso.

Where do Canto V#N#Dante and Virgil enter the second circle?

Canto V#N#Dante and Virgil leave Limbo and enter the Second Circle – the first of the circles of Incontinence – where the punishments of Hell proper begin. It is described as "a part where no thing gleams". They find their way hindered by the serpentine Minos, who judges all of those condemned for active, deliberately willed sin to one of the lower circles. Minos sentences each soul to its torment by wrapping his tail around himself a corresponding number of times. Virgil rebukes Minos, and he and Dante continue on.

What does Dante say about the gate of hell?

Dante passes through the gate of Hell, which bears an inscription ending with the famous phrase " Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate ", most frequently translated as "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Dante and his guide hear the anguished screams of the Uncommitted. These are the souls of people who in life took no sides; the opportunists who were for neither good nor evil, but instead were merely concerned with themselves. Among these Dante recognizes a figure implied to be Pope Celestine V, whose "cowardice (in selfish terror for his own welfare) served as the door through which so much evil entered the Church". Mixed with them are outcasts who took no side in the Rebellion of Angels. These souls are forever unclassified; they are neither in Hell nor out of it, but reside on the shores of the Acheron. Naked and futile, they race around through the mist in eternal pursuit of an elusive, wavering banner (symbolic of their pursuit of ever-shifting self-interest) while relentlessly chased by swarms of wasps and hornets, who continually sting them. Loathsome maggots and worms at the sinners' feet drink the putrid mixture of blood, pus, and tears that flows down their bodies. This symbolizes the sting of their guilty conscience and the repugnance of sin. This may also be seen as a reflection of the spiritual stagnation in which they lived.

What is the tone of Dante's poem?

Tone Dante uses a largely moralistic tone when portraying the figures and events in his poem. At times he also comes across as sardonic or ironic. With his elaborately designed retributions, Dante expresses a belief in, and awe for, the perfection of divine justice.

What are the themes of the book of Motifs?

Themes The perfection of God’s justice; evil as the contradiction of God’s will; storytelling as a vehicle for immortality. Motifs Political arguments; allusions to classical literature and mythology; cities; the role of fame and prestige in human life.

Does Inferno have foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing Virgil occasionally makes references to events that occur later in the poem, and the Italian characters often prophesy Dante’s exile from Florence, but, on the whole, Inferno contains little foreshadowing.

Language ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Language appears in each section of Inferno. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.

Language Quotes in Inferno

Below you will find the important quotes in Inferno related to the theme of Language.

What is the only entity with absolute power?

In the end, the only entity with absolute power is Heaven itself . Dante states clearly that “divine omnipotence created” Hell, and now, divine power gets Dante through Hell, as even the mention of Heaven’s will is enough to silence the monsters who threaten Dante.

Why did Dante write the Inferno?

Dante wrote the Inferno to encourage readers and teach religious truths. In the Inferno, Dante imagines himself traveling through Hell to reach “the nation of the blessed” (Heaven). He then writes about that journey, despite how dark and unpleasant it was, “to reveal the good that came to me.”.

What is the Hell in Dante's Inferno?

Hell in Dante’s Inferno is a series of concentric rings— “small and smaller / as you go down”—and sinners are placed in particular rings based on the kinds of sin they committed. The upper rings contain sinners guilty of a lack of control in relation to things such as sex, food, and money.

Who has the final say over what happens in Hell?

While Hell seems to be ruled by the demons and monsters who dwell there, Dante is clear that Heaven has final say over what happens in Hell. Lucifer is described as “emperor of the reign of misery,” and the breeze from his wings freezes the lowest levels of Hell.

Who was the Roman poet who lived in the Inferno?

Virgil (70-19 BCE) was a Roman poet living during the reign of Caesar Augustus and Dante’s guide in the Inferno.

What is the first verb of the Commedia?

The pilgrim’s story takes place in the past, and thus the first verb of the Commedia is in the past absolute ( passato remoto in Italian), the past tense that describes a specific occurrence: “ mi ritrovai in una selva oscura” (2).

What tense does the poet write in?

The poet writes in the present tense of his writing (which occurs long after the experience of the vision in 1300) and writes in the past tense of his journey through the afterlife in the spring of 1300. The protagonist or hero or pilgrim is the voyaging-self within the fiction, as described by the writing poet.

What is life=voyage?

life=voyage: Aristotle’s definition of time as a “middle-point” (“mezzo”) mythic binaries in a visionary landscape. the universe governed by love: “divine love” (“l’amor divino”) caused the stars to move in the moment of creation (verses 39-40); this passage effectively constitutes the Commedia ’s first Creation discourse.

What happens between Inferno 1 and Purgatorio 30?

Between Inferno 1 and Purgatorio 30, therefore, Dante-poet moves Dante-pilgrim from a poetic enthusiast who does not care that Virgilio will ultimately leave him to the man whose sorrow at his loss of his father-guide will momentarily eclipse the arrival of Beatrice.

What book does Dante use to translate Aristotle's morals?

As we saw, Dante explicitly translates Aristotle on the virtuous “mezzo” in the early canzone Le dolci rime (1294), a canzone to which he returns more than ten years later in Book 4 of the Convivio, devoted to a discussion of Aristotle’s ethical system in which virtue is the mean.

How old was Dante when he was born?

Very conveniently, Dante was born in 1265 and in 1300, the year he stipulates for his afterlife journey, he was precisely 35, midway through a lifespan of 70 years (see Psalm 90:10: “Our days may come to seventy years ” ).

What is Dante's Mezzo?

Dante’s “mezzo” reprises the Aristotelian definition of time from the Physics, in which time is “a kind of middle-point, uniting in itself both a beginning and an end, a beginning of future time and an end of past time” ( Physics 8.1.251b18-26). This Aristotelian passage was already cited by Dante in his prose treatise, Convivio.

Overview

Prelude to Hell

Nine circles of Hell

See also

Notes

External links