The scene was predisposed by Augustine’s explanation of how he was spiritually lost during his earlier years. One example was, earlier in Dante’s Inferno, he is struggling and drowning in despair, during this time Virgil finds Dante and this is where their journey starts. I was able to see those influences throughout the poem. Dante’s classic was definitely influenced by Virgil and Augustine’s works. I found there were a few similarities between the Aeneid, Inferno, and Confessions. They continued the journey and Dante keeps seeing unspeakable punishments until they finally reach Purgatory. This scares Dante, but for him it was even more terrifying when he interacts with these individuals and they are able to foretell his life if he continued to sin as he was. Through his journey, Dante sees punishment for all those who are damned into hell and he also sees faces that he recognizes. This would help Dante recognize that his sins had consequences and he would be able to experience those consequences. As a spiritual guide, Virgil tells Dante that he can only erase or get rid of his sins and darkness is to take him to a journey through hell. It starts with him being lost in his sin and then the Virgil appears as a spiritual guide. Where do you see the influence of The Aeneid in Dante’s poem? Of Confessions?ĭante’s Inferno is a narrative of a journey he traveled through hell in order for him to find peace and spirituality. We come to this book, then, uniquely well-versed in its literary antecedents. As an “autobiographical” record of a spiritual struggle, it also has equally obvious roots in Augustine’s Confessions.

ONLY ADD TO THE DISCUSSION/ CONVERSATION STAYING ON TOPIC.Īs an epic journey to Hell and back, The Inferno clearly traces its ancestry, in part, to The Aeneid.

YOU ARE NOT TO GRADE, CRITIQUE, OR CRITICIZE THEIR WORK. Reply to the students discussion below 300 words. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature.

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