Essays On Dante

Comparison of Dante from 'Inferno' and King Lear from Shakespeare's 'King Lear'
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In 5 pages the author discusses the similarities and differences between Dante and King Lear. ''King Lear' is a tragedy that was written by William Shakespeare. 'Inferno' is part one of a three-part story, which was written by Dante Alighieri. Although both stories are tragedies and contain great suffering, Dante is without a doubt the stronger of the two characters. The men share a commonality of fate stepping in and deciding their actions for them. Dante's fate, however was a much better one than Lear's was. Dante thought himself unworthy and Lear thought himself great. They were both wrong. Both men had eye-opening experiences. In Lear's case, it was too late.'
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Comparing Dante's Divine Comedy and Virgil's Aeneid
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On first reading, the impression of similarity between Dante's Divine comedy and Virgil's Aeneid is focused on the structure: they are both done in a series of three, both are considered epic tales and they share a similarity in theme and plot. Virgil, is represented as one who had walked a similar path and seen it to the end. Like Dante, Virgil was a poet. Like Dante he had tried to put his environment, philosophies and religious beliefs into prose. Dante acknowledges that Virgil has died, but places him in a position of teacher and guide in a manner that leads the inquisitive individual to seek the patterns of Virgil in the writings of Dante. This 5 page paper examines the similarities between the two epic poems. No additional sources are listed.
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Dante And Homer: Relationship With Audience
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5 pages in length. When comparing the audience's relationship with Dante and Homer, one can easily recognize the fact that Dante reaches into the innermost soul of his audience, while Homer remains on the distant outskirts of his audience's existence. To say that there is a distinctive difference between the two writers' ability to effectively relate with their respective audiences is to say that each man's literary contributions are significantly divergent, as well. Within the confines of Homer's writing exists unadorned text; however, Dante's is just the opposite, leaping to life with virtually every single written word. Dante's success as a poetical writer resides not only within the knowledge of his literary craft but also upon his accessibility to the audience. The writer discusses whereas Homer's 'The Odyssey' composes dryly and without passion, Dante's 'Inferno' strives to address itself to a broader, more emotionally-based audience. No additional sources cited.
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Dante's 'Inferno' / The Characterization Of Dante In His Own Divine Comedy
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A 6 page paper dealing with the question of why Dante chose to use himself as the protagonist, and shows how the four levels of meaning in the story all come together in the characterization of Dante. Bibliography lists five sources.
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Distinctions Between Dante Alighieri and his Fictitious Poet Dante in "Inferno," Part One of "The Divine Comedy"
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A 5 page paper which considers three distinctions between the real Italian author and poet Dante Alighieri with the fictitious character Dante he created in "Inferno," part one of his classic epic poem, "The Divine Comedy." Bibliography lists 6 sources.
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Canto XXIV of Dante’s “Inferno”
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A five page paper looking at this particular canto of Dante’s classic work in terms of its political overtones. The paper explains the political situation in Dante’s home city of Florence during Dante’s lifetime and how this is reflected in this particular canto. Bibliography lists two sources.
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Francesca da Rimini in Dante’s “The Inferno”
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This 5 page report discusses Dante Alighieri's classic that tells of the poet’s journey into hell. The report focuses on the structure of hell and then examines the character of Francesca da Rimini who is in hell because of her adulterous affair. Her story gains the sympathy of both Dante and the reader but the point is that it is God who determines justice, not humans. Dante also applies a specific system of ethics to classify the sins and punishments of hell. No secondary sources.
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Comparing the Underworlds of Dante and Virgil
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A 3 page paper discussing the two authors' views of their conceptions of an underworld. Virgil's is merely the location of the souls of those who have finished with physical life; Dante's is the final destination of those who die separated from God. The similarities are more striking than are the differences, but then Virgil himself is Dante's guide through the underworld. As he is guiding another through a location he has already visited, it is reasonable that Dante's portrayal of hell is similar to Virgil's description written generations before. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
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Dante's 'Inferno' / The Divine Comedy -- Characterization Of Beatrice
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A 6 page paper discussing the most famous epic poem of the Middle Ages, The Divine Comedy by Dante. The paper answers the question of why Dante chose to use his departed beloved as the central female figure of the poem, and shows how the four levels of meaning in the story all come together in the characterization of Beatrice. Bibliography lists five sources.
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Dante's 'Inferno' --Applied Essay / Hell in the Twentieth Century
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A 5 page speculative paper updating Dante's Divine Comedy to the twentieth century, and choosing three 20th well-known century figures to represent each of three of Dante's levels of Hell -- Incontinence, Violence, and Fraud. The paper also assigns an appropriate punishment to each, based on the sin committed. No sources except book.
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Sir Gawain & Dante As Heroes
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a classic medieval tale of the hero and his quest. Dante and his adventures in the underworld, as depicted in The Inferno, on the other hand, is more like the hesitant heroes Joseph Campbell describes as those who are reluctant to heed the call to adventure This 5 page paper argues that both Dante and Gawain are heroes; both meet the basic criteria of being a hero; however, they both fail to completely live up to the hero role and end their tale being unhappy with their quest and it’s conclusion. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
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Dying for Love in Dante's "Inferno" and Shakespeare's "Othello"
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A five page paper looking at two female characters from these works by Dante Alighieri and William Shakespeare in terms of their submissiveness to the principle of love. The paper concludes that in Dante, Francesca's poignant defense of her adultery actually redeems her to modern readers; while Desdemona's total submissiveness -- which Shakespeare seems to have considered her greatest virtue -- seems to us her most damning quality. Bibliography lists five sources.
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Dante's 'Inferno' / Role of Women
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A 2 page paper looking at the fact that women's sins as depicted by Dante tend to be overwhelmingly of a sexual nature as compared to men's. The paper concludes that this may be because women in Dante's time were considered to have a limited sphere of influence, and their role was seen as primarily procreative. Bibliography lists 1 source.
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Contrapasso in Dante's "Inferno"
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A three page paper on contrapasso, the Italian term for selecting a punishment that perfectly fits the crime. In Dante's Inferno, Dante tried his best to come up with unique punishments that would convince his readers that sinners are really held accountable for their very specific sins in the afterlife, and they should thus do whatever they could to avoid sinning while they were still alive. No additional sources.
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Robert Pinsky and Dante’s Inferno
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This 5 page report discusses the ninth U.S. poet laureate,Robert Pinsky, and Dante’s “Inferno.” Drawing on information from an online discussion with The Atlantic Monthly in April of 1995, Pinsky’s ideas as they realte to Dante are examined.Pinsky’s translation of “Inferno” won several awards which called special attention to this American’s view of one of the world’s great literary classics. No secondary sources.
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Dante's 'Inferno' / Applications to Life
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This 8 page paper discusses how Dante's The Inferno depicts real life specific to the recovering alcoholic. It compares the process of admitting to alcoholism, deciding to journey outside the boundaries of the familiar, confronting the beasts of a previous lifestyle, choosing a guide, giving their life and will over to a power greater then themselves and making the journey of honest and fearless self-examination with the story of Dante's journey through the Inferno with the help and guidance of Virgil.Bibliography lists 2 sources.
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Visual Imagery in Dante’s Inferno
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A 5 page paper looking at the types of imagery used in Dante’s classic poem as well as the way they relate to the spiritual meanings of the poem. The paper concludes that Dante demonstrates in his symbolic and yet graphic imagery a desire to reform his own life and help his readers do the same. No additional sources.
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Dante's "Inferno," Canto XXXII: the Frozen Sinners
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A three page paper looking at a short passage in Dante's "Inferno," describing the fate of a group of sinners frozen in a lake of ice. The paper shows how Dante, intending to invoke our revulsion, succeeds only in invoking our pity. No additional sources.
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Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' vs. Dante's 'Divine Comedy' / Evil
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An 8 page paper analyzing the way evil is portrayed in The Canterbury Tales and The Divine Comedy. The paper concludes that whereas Dante sees evil as being a catastrophic impediment toward man's attainment of the divine -- and thus something to be taken very, very seriously -- Chaucer sees its human manifestations in what we would actually consider a more 'modern' sense: as irony. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
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Dante's 'Inferno'
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A 2 page discussion of Canto V in Dante's 'Inferno.' Please call for more information. No bibliography.
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Dante & The Bible -- Temptation & God's Directive
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A 5 page paper that provides a creative look at the issues of temptation and action against the directive of God as these themes are represented in a number of famous works, including the Bible and Dante's Divine Comedy. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
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Dante's 'Inferno' / Theme Of Betrayal
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A 5 page paper looking at Cantos 31, 32, and 34. The paper analyzes The Inferno in terms of imagery, characterization, and theme, with a particular look at Dante's horror of betrayal. Bibliography lists one source.
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Dante's 'Inferno' / Canto III Analyzed
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This 15 page research paper examines the pivotal Canto III of the 'Inferno' by Italian poet Dante Alighieri. Specific passages are analyzed, with the position that this medieval allegory laid the foundation for Christian conservative groups such as the New England Puritans, and questions whether or not theirs was a forgiving God. Bibliography lists 9 sources.
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Dante's 'Inferno'/ Canto XII Analyzed
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This 6 page research paper analyzes the punishment of the tyrants and murderers in the seventh circle, where the punishment of violent sinners takes place. Specifically discussed is why the crime of murder is considered less of a sin according to Dante's ascending circles to Hell than it is perceived today. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
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Dante's Inferno and Virgil
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A 7 page paper which discusses the role and purpose of the character of Virgil in Dante's Inferno. Also discussed is how Virgil, who was in reality a great Roman poet, wrote a work called 'The Aeneid.' This work also serves as an illustration to further describe the purpose for having created the character of Virgil in Inferno. Bibliography lists 10 sources.
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Dante's Inferno : Cause to Walk the Line
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This five-page-paper presents a discussion about Dante's Inferno and an overview as to its meaning. Bibliography lists one source.
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Intersection of Ideas About Technology and Magic in Dante's "Inferno"
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A 5 page paper which how ideas about technology and magic interact in Dante's allegorical poem, "Inferno," how these ideas are presented in the text to consider how they connect or disconnect. No additional sources used.
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Dante's Paradiso
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This 9 page paper looks at the way in which the depiction of light in this work is used as a representation of divinity, with light becoming brighter as Dante moves closer to God. The way in which this is used and the underling mean discussed concentrating on the first two cantos. The Longfellow translation is used.The bibliography cites 5 sources.
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The Monstrous and the Human in Shakespeare and Dante
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A seven page paperlooking at William Shakespeare's King Lear and Dante's Inferno in terms of their use of animal symbolism as a metaphor for the monstrous aspects of the human psyche. The paper concludes that in both works human weakness and shortsightedness bear responsibility for a punishment which sometimes doesn't seem to fit the crime. Bibliography lists four sources.
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Dante’s “Inferno” as Spiritual Journey
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A seven page paper looking at the motif of the journey as Dante develops it in this poem. The paper shows how the theme of the journey is a precise allegory for the spiritual growth experience we must all undertake at those points in our lives when we find we have lost our way; this, and not its Christian message, contribute to the appeal of the Inferno today. No additional sources.
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Nobility in Medieval Literature
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A 5 page paper describing the role of nobility in the Middle Ages. The writer uses Dante's Inferno as a primary source, and describes how Dante presented the noble class. Bibliography lists four sources.
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Dante's 'Inferno' / Cantos I - XI
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8 pages in length. Broken down into sections, the writer reviews & analyzes each of The Inferno's first 11 cantos.
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Dante's 'Inferno' / Cantos XIII - XXIV
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8 pages in length. Broken down into sections, the writer reviews & analyzes Inferno, Cantos 11-24.
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Man, God, Destiny and Society, As Considered in "Epic of Gilgamesh," "Book of Job," Homer's "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," Sophocles' "Oedipus the King," Plautus' "Pseudolus," Dante's "Inferno," "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," Niccolo Machiavelli's "Th
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A 10 page paper which synthesizes important literary works to determine to what extent humans have power to determine their own destinies, the relationship between the human and the divine, and the role society or tradition plays in the respective texts. Bibliography lists 11 sources.
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Chaucer, Dante and "Good Women"
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(8pp). Our challenge in this discussion is to correlate the work of Chaucer, Dante and "The Legend of Good Women. Both texts present interesting clues to a solution. Bibliography lists 9 sources (1 visual)
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Dante's Inferno and Plato's 'Symposium'
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A 4 page paper about these two masterpieces. The writer explores the issue of love, and what that means to each of these 2 writers. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
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“Dante’s Purgatorio”
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A five page paper which looks at Dante’s ethical premises in the Purgatorio, and the way in which he uses mythological and historical figures in order to demonstrate the complexities of human behaviour, and their progress towards rationality and the control of passion and instinct. Bibliography lists 1 source.
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Allocating Characters to the Circles in Dante’s Inferno
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A five page paper which looks at the relevant Circles in the Inferno and appropriate punishments for characters from four other major works of literature, and considers the essential themes of the works studied. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
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Dante's 'Marie de France' & The Character's Belief That God Is On Her Side
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A 3 page essay discussing Marie de France and her lover's passion and her assertion that God must be on their side. The writer illustrates how this attitude expresses the conflict between love and 'Christian values' in the story. No additional sources cited.
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Dante and the Cathedral
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(5 pp.) It has been suggested that there are several ways in which Dante's complex poem the Inferno is similar to a Gothic Cathedral. This discussion will look at those possibilities. The physical Cathedral, which will be used as a mental picture for comparison will be St. Elizabeth (1233-1283 ) in Marburg, Germany
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The Quest and the Hero in Homer, Dante, and Cervantes
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A five page paper analyzing the significance of these motifs in “The Odyssey,” “The Inferno,” and “Don Quixote.” The paper concludes that each hero, through his quest, has brought back to his society a dose of precisely the medicine it needs. Bibliography lists two sources.
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Guides in Dante Alighieri's “The Divine Comedy”
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This 5 page report discusses Dante Alighieri's (1265-1321) classic and notes that it has always been and is more than likely to remain fascinating to countless moralists, poets, and readers throughout the ages. Dante’s various “guides” serve to cause the reader to consider and re-consider their assumptions about damnation and who “deserves” to be damned. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
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Dante's "Inferno": A Father's Irritation and Joy
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A 5 page paper which examines how Virgil is often frustrated and irritated with Dante as he attempts to teach him and guide him, much like a father teaches and guides a child. The paper discusses this level of irritation with Dante's mistakes, as well as discusses Virgil's pleasure with the successes and understandings that Dante achieves. No additional sources cited.
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Three Levels Of Thought
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Dante in Inferno and Plato in The Republic both address the relationship between the soul and the sins of man. This 5 page paper argues that Dante's presentation of the levels of sin reflect Plato's beliefs of what constituted the soul and negatively mirrors the attributes of an ideal society. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
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Chaucer's 'House of Fame' / Geoffrey's Ego
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A 6 page paper on the protagonist of this little-known work by Geoffrey Chaucer. The paper observes that not only is the work a gentle parody of Dante's Divine Comedy, but Chaucer also parodies himself through the persona of the egotistical narrator Geffrey. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
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A Theoretical TV Symposium on Women with Barbara Walters
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A 3 page paper presenting a fictional and theoretical TV symposium on women, hosted by Barbara Walters; with guests: St. Augustine, Dante, Chaucer, Marie de France, Marguerite de Navarre and Cervantes. These famous people of the past interact and give their thoughts on women in a theoretical fashion.
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The Qualities of Heroism
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A five page paper which considers the definition of heroism, and how it is treated in six works of literature. The writer distinguishes between heroic qualities and heroic acts, and analyses the way in which the hero is represented in Dante’s Inferno, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilych, Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Voltaire’s Candide and Flaubert’s A Simple Heart. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
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The Role of Women in Six Classic Literary Works
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A 10 page paper showing this critical issue as demonstrated in the works of Aristophanes, Plato, Dante, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, and Cather (Lysistrata, The Apology, The Inferno, The Tempest, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and The Professor’s House, respectively). The paper shows that throughout history, women’s role has been largely seen as procreative, and completely under the domination of the paternalistic authority -- whether it be father, husband, or society. Only as the twentieth century neared do we see women’s roles in society -- and their responsibilities toward it -- becoming commensurate with men’s. Bibliography lists five sources.
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Adventure in Classic Literature
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This 5 page paper supports the thesis that adventure is included in many works because human beings thrive on conflict and would not be content with peace. Homer's Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid and Dante's Inferno are examined. The concept of adventure and justifications for inclusion are explored. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
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The Faustian Bargain in Classical Literature
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A five page paper looking at the way a number of classical sources treat the 'Faustian Bargain' -- the exchange of short-term gratification for long-term misery. Sources discussed are the Bible, Machiavelli's 'The Prince,' Homer's 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey,'; Aeschylus' 'Agamemnon,' Sophocles' 'Oedipus Rex,' Virgil's 'Aeneid,' Dante's 'Divine Comedy,' Cervantes' 'Don Quixote,' and Goethe's 'Faust.' No additional sources.
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Visions of the Underworld in the Odyssey, Gilgamesh, & The Inferno
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A 2 page look at the differences in conception of the underworld between these three works. The paper notes that Dante's is the only one of the three works in which the Underworld is clearly punitive; in the Odyssey, it was simply sad, and in Gilgamesh, empty. No additional sources cited.
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Sexuality and Women's Self-Determination in Four Classic Literary Works
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A 9 page paper showing the connection between these two issues, as demonstrated in the works of Aristophanes, Plato, Dante, and Shakespeare (Lysistrata, The Apology, The Inferno, and The Tempest, respectively). The paper asserts that Western literature first mocked or dismissed the sexual expression of female self-determination, later turned it into a sin, and finally transformed it into a social gaffe, but until recently still continued to maintain that its suppression was not wrong. Bibliography lists five sources.
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Women in Classical Literature
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A five page look at the role women have played in Western literature from the Old Testament through the Greeks and Romans through the Middle Ages and early Renaissance to the Romantic era. Works discussed include the Bible: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey; Aeschylus' Agamemnon; Euripides' Medea; Virgil's Aeneid; Dante's Inferno; the works of Petrarch; Cervantes' Don Quixote; and Goethe's Faust. Bibliography lists two sources.
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Human Nature in Classics' Nature
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A 5 page paper discussing portrayal of natural events relating to human nature as provided by Dante, Shakespeare, Sophocles and Homer. The images portrayed here all can be related to conditions of the human mind at various stages. Emotions can take the form of the churning sea that the master calms, they can result in murder in the heat of a moment, or they can be cherished and nurtured over a lifetime to create a being that is truly evil. The nature of classical literature teaches lessons of avoidance. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
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The Different Degrees of Sin
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7 pages in length. Compares Dante's Inferno to the works of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Cervantes' Don Quixote, and The Thousand and One Nights. The sins and punishments of each are treated differently, due mostly to the fact that the eras and the audiences change throughout time. Bibliography lists one source.
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Christianity And Medieval Civilization
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A 6 page paper tracing three specific Christian precepts through the Confessions of St. Augustine, Beowulf, the Song of Roland, and Dante's Divine Comedy. The paper suggests that cultures which were not obsessed with warfare and self-defense fared better at incorporating Christian tenets into their behavioral patterns. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
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The Reason for Occultism in Medieval Society
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This 6 page paper provides support for the thesis that the lack of scientific knowledge, exacerbated by an exploitative government, was responsible for the beliefs of the people. Quotes from Dante's Inferno provides much support for the thesis. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
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Classical Allusions in Malamud's 'The Natural'
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A five page paper looking at the allusions to Dante, Homer, Aristotle, and the Arthurian Grail cycle in Bernard Malamud's novel about an egotistical baseball player. The paper argues that Malamud chose to use these mythological references to show that even when one has been given a gift or talent that has been denied to most mortals, our emphasis must be on using that gift to do what is right for others rather than simply focusing on accruing glory for ourselves. Bibliography lists six sources.
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Symbolism In Purgatory
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Dante Alighieri's Purgatorio is one part of three in his Divine Comedy, a medieval narrative poem that symbolizes the spiritual journey of man. This 8 page paper explores the meaning of the symbols used by Dante in this section of the Divine Comedy. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
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The Inferno & The Odyssey – Comparing Characters
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The Inferno & The Odyssey – Comparing Characters: This 10-page comparative essay examines Inferno and The Odyssey by Dante Alighieri and Homer respectively with respect to their major characters. Life experience, character traits, etc. are all explored while illuminating the vast number of similarities/ contrasts that abound between these two bodies of work. Bibliography lists 5 sources. SNHomdan.doc
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