Thematic analysis in Dante’s Inferno
Literature has been evaluated on a number of subjects over the years. Themes have been a primary communication tool for poets and writers on diverse issues that affect the society. Classical English literature focused on the emerging matters such as religion and beliefs. A theme serves to represent a phenomenon in the society that explains certain issues about the precepts of organization (Guest, 2012). To the effect, thematic analysis works to reveals more about the themes employed by author or poets in a literary publication. Dante’s Inferno is an exceptional literary publication on the afterlife that has been reviewed globally by a number of scholars. Interestingly, the poem has been filmed and even creatively repackaged as a game. My essay evaluates the various themes conveyed in the poem based on the review on facts and evidences that relate to the work of other scholars in this field. This paper will address the themes of primitivity, man and the natural planet, falsehood, and fairness critiquing these based on facts from the poem.
First of all I will examine primitivity. Dante philosophically argues that incontinence is the only forgivable sin as prescribed by religion. An incontinent sinner indulges in sin due to the lack of self-control. The sinners are unable to savor any wrongdoings since human beings have inborn attributes to sin. Dante describes this phenomenon as inhuman (Alighieri). Dante describes this through comparing predators such as a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf with the human behavior in animals. Moreover, the sinners’ poor language as expressed in the book where Dante attempts to cross Hell’s gates is a description of the human animal behavior seen in the lack of proper communication. Dante’s obstacles through Hell are an expression of the evolution of sin through emotional malaise, irrationality, and inhuman acts. The text exploits the theme of primitivity widely through the allegory of birds,...