Analysis of Dante’s Inferno and Purgatorio:
For your writing for Dante, you will have to analyze the relationship between Virgil,
representing Human Reason, Beatrice, representing Divine Love, and Dante,
representing the Everyman, the human sinner who must overcome his own nature
to do God’s will. In addition, you will have to evaluate the sins and punishments of
hell and purgatory, deciding how they serve God’s justice.
Start by analyzing each of these Characters:
Virgil – Human Reason
What is human reason? Where is it usually applied? Is it a positive or negative
trait? What are its strengths? What are its limitations?
Knowing all this, why would the author of the Inferno choose him for Dante’s guide?
Dante – Everyman
What traits does Dante possess that show him to be like every man? What does
this say about human nature? Where is it usually applied? What is positive and
negative about human nature? What are its strengths? What are its limitations?
What is human nature supposed to aspire to?
Why would Dante need Human reason to show him hell and purgatory? That is,
how is reason supposed to help human nature, Everyman, to be successful in God’s
eyes?
Beatrice: Divine Love
What are the qualities of Divine Love? Why can Divine love reside in heaven but
not Human reason? What is Dante supposed to learn about reason and faith (love)
from this?
This is the whole journey of human life, the Everyman. With these two guides,
what is the author’s message about what human nature needs to be successful – to
attain God’s grace?
The Balance of Hell and Purgatory: Another aspect to Dante’s imaginative universe
is balance. He attempts to show that the afterlife enacts God’s justice. In this
work, he tries to show God’s perfection, even in punishing those that deny his
existence and laws.
How do these sinners and punishments balance each other out?
How do the punishments reflect the gravity of the sins the farther down in hell they
are? Concomitantly, how do the purging of sins in the purgatory reflect justice?
How does the entire construction of hell and purgatory and the placement of the
sins show balance and perfection?
Your Final Write On Dante’s Inferno and Purgatorio:
Your final write will be a treatise. A treatise is a formal and
systematic written discourse on some subject, concerned with
investigating or exposing the principles of the subject.
What is and what is not in formal writing?
What does systematic mean?
What is a discourse?
What would the principles of a subject mean?
How is this different from an essay?
YOUR SUBJECTS: Your treatise will consist of two separate
points:
1. What is the relationship and message of Virgil/Human Reason
guiding Dante/Everyman through hell and purgatory as well as
Beatrice/Divine Love, providing the final message of Dante’s God?
2. How does Dante’s hell and purgatory embody his idea of God’s
balance, justice and perfection?
Your paper will be graded on:
3 pages typewritten minimum (that would be 6 pages, front
and back, handwritten)
Deep and relevant analysis! This would mean always
getting to the level of why? as well as symbolic meanings
and their interactions. Avoid summary! Brief examples are
sufficient to support your points.