Dante Alighieri, one of the most respected poets of all time, accomplished many things during his life; with his crowning achievement being the invention of the fourfold analysis method. ... One specific group that is particularly apt for analysis is who were treacherous to kin, located in the first layer of circle nine in the Inferno. ... Another explanation for Dante the poet's harsh judgment toward those who betrayed their families is that the politics of Dante's time were heavily rooted in bloodlines. ... Ciardi comments on this in his notes in "The Inferno," mentioning that tha...

• Word Count: 870
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Inferno (Italian for "hell"), is the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem "The Divine Comedy." ... It is an allegory telling of the journey of Dante through Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil. ... Allegorically, "Divine Comedy"  represents the journey of the soul towards God, with the Inferno describing the recognition and rejection of sin. ... Virgil then guides Dante through the nine circles of Hell. ... Allegorically, the Inferno represents the Christian soul seeing sin for what it really is. ...

• Word Count: 817
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate