Nine Circles of Dante's Inferno - Essay Example

Module Module ID: Nine Circles of Dante’s Inferno The present paper aims to eluci the consequences of committing various sins within the Dante’s perspective on the one hand, and its association with the passion and ambitions of the bikers some anonymous writer has elaborated by declaring them as the traits of a typical biker of contemporary times. Fourteenth century Italian politician and poet Dante Alighieri has created his book Divine Comedy by declaring it to be his purported journey from the earth to the hell, where he clams to be examining the nine circles of inferno on the basis of his orthodox religious views about the fate of the sinners in the life hereafter. Franke (2009) is of the opinion that Dante’s Inferno is conceived primarily as an expansion of the ancient epic motif of the katabasis or “going down” of the protagonist to the underworld for a revelation of his destiny from beyond the threshold of death. The poet’s contemporary political and literary circles criticized the work by viewing it as the reflection of Dante’s hatred for his political opponents. In addition, the journey also portrays the tales he had listened to from his elders and religious mentors, which describes the pains and sufferings inflicted upon the individuals who, according to his view, led a life of deviancy and sin on the earth by breaking the law o religion and morality. It is because of his adherence and commitment with the same faith that Dante demonstrates feelings of sympathies and remorse for some sinful individuals burning into the flames of Inferno, while he is delighted on finding a few of them on finding them at such a horrible dwelling. Similarly, Dante also takes pity on a group of people because of their miserable plight by stating them as not the guilty of the sins they are being punished. For instance, during his visit of the first inferno, he laments over the pitiable plight of renowned poet Virgil, who appeared to be undergoing punishment in the first circle of inferno along with other non believers. Since Virgil belonged to the era before Christ, he could not develop faith in Jesus. As a result, he was kept in the first circle attributed to the non-believers (Canto I, lines 79-130). Hence, having no belief in Jesus Christ is a minor in Dante’s eyes. Surprisingly, the holy personalities, including Adam, Noah, Abraham and others are also seen in that very circle by Dante, which were bless with salvation and pardon by Jesus Christ (Lines 55-57). The purported visionary Dante found debauchers and adulterers in the second inferno; because of the sinful life they spent while their stay on the earth. Since the kings, queens and other people associated with the royal family or court remained in revelry making with or without the consent of the other. Consequently, both adulterers and rapists fall in this category of sinners being inflicted with pains and sufferings in the hell. Colossians (3:5-6) also condemns in these words: “put to death whatever in your nature is rooted in earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desires and that lust which is idolatry. These are sins which provoke God's wrath.” Dante finds gluttonous and voracious people in the third and fourth circles of inferno; since the poet had found his political rivals as greedy and ravenous, he personally attacked the rivals including Cisco, the politicians belonging to the Black Guelph party, and others and vehemently condemned their lust and greed. Consequently, he views greed as more heinous sin than fornication. Similarly, he finds the offenders of observing anger and heresy as in fifth and sixth circles of the hell, because of displaying cruelty upon others as well as declaring the mortal world as the end of life respectively. Furthermore, violence, chaos and ruthlessness are greater sins in the eyes of Dante. The poet has included the oppressors, seizers of the wealth and properties of others and homosexuals in this very category. He is of the opinion that the individuals practicing aggression, violating the law of religion, and promoting disorder are of lower category within the religious and spiritual viewpoint. The proud and envious fellows also fall in the same seventh circle of inferno because of looking down upon the poor fellows, and for demonstrating pomp and snobberies in order to prove them superior to others. Hence, he suggests circle seven for the violators. Somehow, the fraudulent, betrayers and treacherous are the worst people, according to the poet, who deceit others, play mockery with their companions, and leave the poor fellows in the lurch. Dante includes the seducers, flatterers, panderers, sorcerers, witchcrafts, hypocrites, thieves and perjurers in this circle. As a result, Dante proposes different portions of the circle eight and nine for the fraudulent and treacherous. However, instead of including the real sinners in this category, the hypocrite and obnoxious Dante has included his religious and political opponents in this circle just to conceal his personal wickedness and lust for pelf, power and possession. Some of the above traits can also be found in the bikers. The anonymous writer has stated bike driving as a wonderful phenomenon, where the bike rider remains in travelling on the road engaged in exploring the realities of life by coming across hundreds of people on his way. Since Dante also sets out on a long journey to the hell, he could also be compared to the biker of contemporary era, as both of them have encounters with the people belonging to divergent communities, regions, religious faiths, ethno-racial groups, genders and socioeconomic statuses. The biker maintains the qualities including protecting the weak, walk tall and stand proud. The same characteristics could be found in Dante, who goes on to a long and tiresome journey to the inferno, to witness the fate of the people after their departure from the mortal world. Like the biker, Dante also takes pity on the deplorable state of affairs the virtuous non-believers of Jesus Christ including even the holiest and sacred personalities born and died before the arrival of Christ. Hence, the poet does not feel any guilty in declaring the great persons as sinful ones. Somehow, he appears to be determined to protect them from the flames of inferno. It is therefore he has taken Virgil along with him while his excursion to the nine circles of hell. A biker stands proud, which is a great sin according to the Bible. The Scripture turns down any possibility of observing pride, and declares the proud and envious as sinful ones, who imitate the footprints of Satan. Satan seduced Adam and Eve due to the very fact that he considered himself as a superior creature, which was created out of the flame of fire. However, observing self-respect and grace are considered as virtues according to the law of religion and morality. The second trait attributed to a biker includes his commitment to his words, and sticking to the same subsequently. The Scripture lays stress upon sticking to one’s words and keeping the commitments made with others in social life, professional activities and corporate engagements; and violation from sticking to one’s words is seriously condemned by the Scripture, as Psalms (37:5) reiterates on committing the people’s way to the Lord, developing trust in Him, as He also observes the same. Here, the anonymous writer indirectly condemns the liars and deceivers committing frauds with others by telling lies and making misrepresentation of the actual state of affairs. Consequently, they draw out a wrong and incorrect scenario of the entire state of affairs, which could result into very hurt and harm of the people. Thus, they detract the people from the right path, and push them towards the state of misery and agony just for their personal gains and benefits. However, it is not the case with a true motorcyclist, who, instead of detracting the other travelers, helps them at the hour of need, and protects them from any untoward happenings. A prudent motorcyclist does not hurt or harm other travelers on the road; on the contrary, he remains cautious of offering maximum possible space to others while driving the vehicles. A responsible motorcyclist applies for the driving license, and does not ride on it before reaching the age of getting license. He undergoes complete medical check-up necessary for his personal safety as well as for the safety of others. The driving test determines whether the driver has the skills necessary to progress to being a full driving license holder. It includes questions on the Rules of the Road and how your vehicle works and then assesses your driving skills while you drive in different road and traffic conditions (Bhoithre, 28). A biker is not a coward fellow altogether; on the contrary, he is a brave and courageous person determined to explore new realities of life through his journey tot he yonder lands. He runs his bike swiftly on broad motorway, high mountains, vast deserts and even deep waters, but never whines or laments over the problems and accidents he meets during the course of his journey. Works Cited Bhoithre, Udaras Um Shabhailteacht Ar “Road Safety Authority” web. Dante, Alighieri “Divine Comedy” (1321) The Literature Network. Web. Franke, William “Philosophy and Literature” Volume 33, Number 2, October 2009 252-266 Psalms 37:5 “Importance of Commitment” web. Read More