The Divine Comedy Essay - 728 Words

During the Middle Ages, the church was a powerful institution. It had its own government, courts, system of taxation, and laws. To live a good Christian life guaranteed access to heaven in the afterlife, and a life of sin was to be sentenced to hell. Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet, who had an admirable depth of spiritual vision and was known for his intelligence (Encarta, 1). Between the years of 1308 and 1321, Dante wrote the epic poem, The Divine Comedy,; which described a journey through the afterlife. It takes place during the three days of Good Friday, when Jesus died, and on Easter Sunday when he rose body and soul to heaven. It is a moral comedy, and was written to make readers evaluate their own morals. The journey was to†¦show more content†¦Only then will he join God in Paradise, rather then spend eternity in Inferno. Most people imagine hell as an evil, dark, and scary place, burning with fire. This is also how Dante depicts it, full of violence, gore, and blood. This horrid description is meant to scare people from sin. The inscription on the gate to hell read Abandon every hope, you who enter here. (Alighieri, 5); This inscription does not apply to Dante in the poem because he is still alive, but it does imply horrific despair for some. The inscription implies that anyone who enters this Inferno must abandon all hope of ever escaping. Inferno is for those who consciously choose an evil way of life. Most people believe that if you sin you go to hell, and if you do not sin, you go to heaven. Many people do not acknowledge the existence of Purgatory. Purgatory is a place of discipline, a place for people who either repented shortly before they died, or had not completed all seven sacraments. Purgatory is unlike Inferno because it is not eternal. If you work hard and cleanse yourself in purgatory, you will eventually enter paradise. It is not a place of punishment, and people are grateful to be there because they know they will eventually join God. Paradise is a very Holy and beautiful place, the way it is depicted in Greek myths and in the Bible. It is a place for all who led lives free of sin, it is a reward for their goodness. A person must be completely pure and must haveShow MoreRelatedThe Divine Comedy1705 Words   |  7 PagesCommedia, or more commonly known as The Divine Comedy remains a poetic masterpiece depicting truth and sin. The Divine Comedy, through the journey into the three hells, expresses a universal truth of good versus evil. 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A masterfully written poem that still serves as a preface for contemporary heaven/hell/purgatory imagery, the divine comedy brings readers along for the ride on Dante’s path towards salvation. Depending on how gullible one may be, interpretation of the legitimacy of the Divine Comedy is varied; that is to say, although a few might believe Dante actually did somehow travel