Essay - Dante's Canto Vi in Canto Vi, Dante Mixes and Weaves...

Dante's Canto VI

In Canto VI, Dante mixes and weaves ancient stories and mythology into his Christian portrayal of afterlife, such as the three-headed dog Cerberus.

However, by placing the pagan gods into ***** Christian concept of Hell, his intention reflects that he believes Christianity as the supreme moral order and the ultimate authoritative system.

Much like the punishments in ***** prior circles, here they too are equally grotesque as the sins themselves (Alighieri 1983). Those who lusted pay dearly in Dante's circle of hell for their ***** and obsessions of the bodily flesh. Although, he laments for t*****m, Dante's condemnation of the lovers, Paolo and Francesca, are harsh ***** appear unequal to their sins.

Dante places those who derived excessive pleasure from sex were thrown into the mire of excrement along with ***** other sinners ***** gluttony (Alighieri 1983). ***** souls, such as Paolo and Francesca, were forced to lie prone in the dark, having their nerves stimulated by the s*****rm, unce*****ingly, for eternity. Just as the act of sexual contact stimulates ***** ***** of the *****, ***** is usually conducted in the dark while lying down, Dante recreates *****se conditions in h***** inferno for t*****e lovers (Alighieri 1983). Moreover, because they could not restrain the temptation ***** their emotions, their bodies are bludgeoned. Dante is telling his audience that ***** who enjoy pursuing ***** in life will lie ***** eternity in disgust, using excrement to represent the product of ***** greed. "New torments I behold, and new tormented, Around me, whichsoever way ***** move, And whichsoever ***** I turn, ***** gaze" (Alighieri 1983).

*****, ***** la*****nts the *****' fate, he condemns t*****m nonetheless based on Christian morality. "And I, sad soul, am not the only one, For all these suffer the like penalty, For the ***** sin" (***** 1983). It is almost as if he feels that by denying earthly passions and romance on earth, no matter how tempting, would help one achieve Godly perfection. However, he does show sympathy for Paolo ***** Francesca, and the mythical queen, Dido, who committed suicide for unrequited love. Dante punishes Dido, for loving too much, a lesser sin than suicide (Alighieri 1983).

***** ***** passage, "Return to thy science, which declares that the more perfect a thing is ***** more it feels the good, and so the pain. Though this accursed people never can attain to true *****ion, ***** expects t*****after to be more than *****w" (***** 1983). Dante seems to be setting forth truths so that men should turn to Christian righteousness. He categoric*****y places sins side ***** side with equal punishments. To punish adulterous lovers for their greed for flesh the same as those of political and material greed seems ***** be not only unfair, but moreover, punishment from an un*****giving God.

Works Cited

*****, Dante. Divine Comedy: The Inferno. Viking Penguin. October