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Inferno (Italian: [iɱˈfɛrno]; Italian for 'Hell') is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century narrative poem The Divine Comedy, followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso.
In Dante's version of Hell, categories of sin are punished in different circles, with the depth of the circle (and placement within that circle) symbolic of the amount of punishment to be inflicted. Sinners placed in the upper circles of Hell are given relatively minor punishments, while sinners in the depths of Hell endure far greater torments.
The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice, Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven. [11] Beatrice was a Florentine woman he had met in childhood and admired from afar in the mode of the then-fashionable courtly love tradition, which is highlighted in Dante's earlier work La Vita Nuova. [12]
Inferno is the first section of Dante Alighieri's three-part poem Commedia, often known as the Divine Comedy.Written in the early 14th century, the work's three sections depict Dante being guided through the Christian concepts of hell (Inferno), purgatory (), and heaven (). [2]
Dante's orderly hell is a representation of the structured universe created by God, one which forces its sinners to use "intelligence and understanding" to contemplate their purpose. [15] The nine-fold subdivision of hell is influenced by the Ptolemaic model of cosmology, which similarly divided the universe into nine concentric spheres.
As described in the Inferno, the first twenty-four hours of Dante's journey took place on earth and started on the evening of Maundy Thursday, 24 March (or 7 April) 1300 (Inf. I and II), and the next full day (Good Friday) was spent exploring the depths of Hell with Virgil as a guide (Inf. III–XXXIV.69).
Cerberus in the third circle of hell, as depicted by William Blake. The presence of Cerberus in the third circle of hell is another instance of an ancient Greek mythological figure adapted and intensified by Dante; as with Charon and Minos in previous cantos, Cerberus is a figure associated with the Greek underworld in the works of Virgil and Ovid who has been repurposed for its appearance in ...
Thus the principal figures of Dante, Virgil and Beatrice often appear several times in an image. [16] There are two additional drawings, a map of Hell preceding Inferno, and a double-page drawing of Lucifer that depicts Dante's and Virgil's descent to Hell. [1]