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The Divine Comedy: Inferno by Dante Alighieri

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The Single significant work of the middle ages
This emphasizes in the importance of salvation and divine love that is inclusive and tightly structural
Genre: Narrative, Epic Poem, religious, allegory, fantasy
Language: Medieval, Italian, Vernacular
SYMBOLS · Inferno is an allegory; nearly every element symbolizes some aspect of the theme. Most notably, the punishments of the sinners correspond symbolically to the sins themselves.
- *Man´s sin is symbolized by the dark woods and night
NARRATOR · The character Dante recounts his trip through Hell, looking back on it after an indeterminate period of time.
POINT OF VIEW · As Inferno is an account of his own experiences, the character Dante speaks in the first person from a subjective point of view, giving the reader insight into his emotions and motivations.
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.
TENSE · Past
SETTING (TIME) · The evening of Good Friday through the morning of Easter Sunday in the year 1300
SETTING (PLACE) · Hell
PROTAGONIST · Dante, the character in the poem; on an allegorical level, humankind
MAJOR CONFLICT · Dante attempts to find God in his life, while those sentenced to punishment in Hell hinder him from the true path.
CLIMAX · Inferno constitutes only the first third of a much larger work, The Divine Comedy; for this reason, and because of its extremely steady linear plot, Inferno has no real climax. The most dramatically significant moment in the poem probably arises in Dante’s encounter with Lucifer, in Canto XXXIV, a scene that has struck generations of readers and critics as (deliberately) anticlimactic.
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
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. Count Ugolino’s gnawing on the head of the archbishop in Canto XXXIII may foreshadow Lucifer’s gnawing on Brutus, Cassius, and Judas.
WRITING STYLE Formal, Elevated:
The work is a complex narrative with many allusions to biblical stories, classical myths, history, and contemporary politics; however, the plot’s symbolism provides clarity in that it celebrates the ideal of universalism, where everything has its place in God’s world, and its ultimate goal of salvation triumphs over the contemporary reality of the power struggle between worldly and religious leaders.
The first canto of Inferno, is considered to be an introduction to the whole work because all three parts of The Divine Comedy are present in the first canto’s symbolic landscape.
Designed by: Ivon Mirit Molina Barrios-CAU Barranquilla
References: Video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/PGsuTJUL57Q INFERNO LITERARY ANALYSIS /ITALIAN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE Dante Alighieri: THE DIVINE COMEDY