God, King of Hell

Sarah Kuehl
Mr. Fisher
AP English 12
19 October 2010

God, King of Hell
In the medieval age, Catholicism was a dominant, unifying force. All people of the Catholic faith are members of the Roman Catholic Church, with the mission of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. A brilliant poet, Dante Alighieri, lived during the medieval age and used his works to accomplish many things, including spreading Catholic beliefs and principles.   This statement holds true in his piece, The Inferno. In it, a pilgrim named Dante discovers himself to be lost in an area of worldliness and separated from God. In order to reach God, he must first descend through Hell and overcome many obstacles to be able to once again enjoy God’s light and love. He faces many beasts and horrors, but Dante’s ultimate challenge lies in his final encounter with Satan; when Dante overcomes Satan, it serves as the last development in Dante’s divine journey as well as emphasizes the ever-present power and superiority of God.
Dante’s entire passage through Hell is preparation for the meeting later with Satan. As Dante begins his journey, he is accompanied by Virgil, his extremely capable guide through Hell. When Virgil first leads him through the gate of Hell, Dante is confronted by the monstrous Charon and faints from terror. In this instance, fear defeats Dante; only later does he learn to better control his fear.   Not much later after this, Dante is traveling through the second ring of Hell when he sees two lovers being eternally tormented by the winds of Hell. This is one of the first scenes of punishment for sin he must view, and his reaction to the scene is described:
As she said this,
The other spirit, who stood by her, wept
so piteously, I felt my senses reel
and faint away wihth anguish. I was swept
by such a swoon as death is, and I fell,
as a corpse might fall, to the dead floor of Hell. (V.135-140)
In this scene, Dante’s weakness appears as he faints once again, this time not...