Dante's Inferno Poetic Justice
“Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost.” (Canto I). These opening words of the Italian Dante Alighieri’s Inferno set a scene of a man, Dante, lost in his own God-given life path. From here on, Dante embarks on a journey of staggering significance: he is granted a tour of Hell. Dante records this expedition in the Inferno, but unfortunately, the piece of literature is not entirely factual. Dante creates this story to show his personal ideas of Hell. However, he does not set aside his own biased view on the world to write an accurate schema of Hell. He holds grudges against those who do not worship Catholicism, those who are not Italian or do not support Italy, and really anyone who did not share similar opinions as his. Dante’s system of sin and corresponding punishment, while literarily brilliant, is much too biased to be of true religious significance. An example of Dante’s incredibly blatant political bias is Cleopatra and Dido’s placements in Hell. The two women are both condemned to an eternity in Level Two: Lust. Here, “...the infernal hurricane that never rests hurtles the spirits onward in its rapine; whirling them round, and smiting, it molests them.” (Dante Canto V). This punishment seems fit for overtly sexual beings. Unfortunately, Cleopatra and Dido are not two of those beings, per se. It is true that they both were quite lustful and lived sexually centered lives, but that is not their most prominent sin. Both women committed suicide, which, according to Dante, is among one of the the most disgraceful sins. So, using Dante’s format, Cleopatra and Dido should have been placed in Level 7.2: Suicide, five levels below where they are currently dwelling. The reason for this misplacement is Dante’s overwhelming Italian patriotism. Although both women are not Italian by blood, they were both involved with great Roman leaders. Cleopatra had a sexual affair with Julius