The Ultimate Duality In Dante's Inferno
Righteousness and Sin—The Ultimate Duality
At first glance, The Inferno and the 1001 Nights, these two notorious ancient text could not be more different. The Inferno is a Christian based allegorical poem written during the 14th- century medieval period, which describes Dante’s journey through the nine levels of hell and how to find the right path of life in a world full of sin and evil. On the other hand, the 1001 Nights is Muslim based folk tales and fables that were collected over many centuries by various translators, scholars, and authors which told about animals, morality, the jinn (demon/ghost), deceit, betrayal, and faith. Surprisingly both texts depict instances of injustice, the passing of judgment, and how to come to an understanding …show more content…
In The Inferno through the sins humanity has committed it shows how lost we can become. Sin brings out our inner being, or our inner self, and because of this the sins we commit on Earth (lust, greed, selfishness, deceit, hypocrisy, etc.), we are eternally punished forever in hell for them. Dante’s journey through hell is metaphorically meant to show the sins of the whole human race. This metaphorical road to righteousness is first told to the readers when Dante states, “Midway on our life’s journey, I found myself in dark woods, the right road lost” (I.1-2). Dante signifies in his allegory that the true path to enlightenment which is God’s faith and love through this sinful world is to take it spiritually, but to do so the reader must leave the literal world behind. As the journey progresses and the punishments on the tortured souls become more graphically illustrated it is Dante’s way to personify sin so the readers can connect, relate, and understand evil and sin. In the 1001 Nights King Shahriyar’s wounded ego and pride (the cause for him to first run away, and then lash out at his subjects) which turn him into an evil and wicked ruler is finally cured through the continuation of stories that Sharizad tells Shahriyar. She keeps Shahriyar entranced every night by leaving the story off at a cliff hanger and saying, “what is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow if the king spares me and lets me live? It will be even better and more entertaining” (18). Part of the reason she does this is to help spare another young girls life and thus saving the kingdom, but she also does it to help King Shahriyar heal his shattered heart and ego. It was through the stories in which Sharizad illustrates to King Shahriyar the value and importance of a person, most especially in women. She provides examples of obedient and chaste women: the
At first glance, The Inferno and the 1001 Nights, these two notorious ancient text could not be more different. The Inferno is a Christian based allegorical poem written during the 14th- century medieval period, which describes Dante’s journey through the nine levels of hell and how to find the right path of life in a world full of sin and evil. On the other hand, the 1001 Nights is Muslim based folk tales and fables that were collected over many centuries by various translators, scholars, and authors which told about animals, morality, the jinn (demon/ghost), deceit, betrayal, and faith. Surprisingly both texts depict instances of injustice, the passing of judgment, and how to come to an understanding …show more content…
In The Inferno through the sins humanity has committed it shows how lost we can become. Sin brings out our inner being, or our inner self, and because of this the sins we commit on Earth (lust, greed, selfishness, deceit, hypocrisy, etc.), we are eternally punished forever in hell for them. Dante’s journey through hell is metaphorically meant to show the sins of the whole human race. This metaphorical road to righteousness is first told to the readers when Dante states, “Midway on our life’s journey, I found myself in dark woods, the right road lost” (I.1-2). Dante signifies in his allegory that the true path to enlightenment which is God’s faith and love through this sinful world is to take it spiritually, but to do so the reader must leave the literal world behind. As the journey progresses and the punishments on the tortured souls become more graphically illustrated it is Dante’s way to personify sin so the readers can connect, relate, and understand evil and sin. In the 1001 Nights King Shahriyar’s wounded ego and pride (the cause for him to first run away, and then lash out at his subjects) which turn him into an evil and wicked ruler is finally cured through the continuation of stories that Sharizad tells Shahriyar. She keeps Shahriyar entranced every night by leaving the story off at a cliff hanger and saying, “what is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow if the king spares me and lets me live? It will be even better and more entertaining” (18). Part of the reason she does this is to help spare another young girls life and thus saving the kingdom, but she also does it to help King Shahriyar heal his shattered heart and ego. It was through the stories in which Sharizad illustrates to King Shahriyar the value and importance of a person, most especially in women. She provides examples of obedient and chaste women: the