Dante

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The Similarities of Dante Alighieri 's Inferno ' to Virgil 's Aeneid

A writer always has his influences . Most of the time , his works could be analyzed through the people whom he greatly admired or have made a big impact to his life . This claim could be further seen by relating Dante Alighieri 's Inferno ' to Virgil 's Aeneid . Definitely , Dante borrowed some of Virgil 's images , motifs , themes , symbols , and details from plot

The most salient thing one could obviously see is Aleghieri

's use of a mortal 's entrance to the underworld , even if he is not yet dead . Virgil originally introduces this theme in Aeneid . This happens when Aeneas met the ghost of his father who guided him in the underworld

In relation to this , visitations from the dead are also seen in Inferno . Obviously , Virgil has already used the theme when the ghost of his father visited Aeneas . However , in Inferno , it was Virgil 's ghost who visited Dante . It seems that Alighieri not only incorporated some of the elements of Virgil 's work . He also used Virgil himself as one of the characters in his book

In addition to this , it seems that Alighieri , just like Virgil , is also fascinated with mythology . The story Aenied is about Aeneas right after the Trojan War . Some of the characters here are mythological ones such as Apollo and Venus . The same thing could also be seen in Inferno Alighieri employs mythological figures as well such as Minos , Ulysses and the Centaurs

Alighieri 's Inferno ' is a proof that a writer 's influences could compel him to pattern his works according to them . Thus , stories tend to produce recurring themes , motifs , and images

Work Cited

Alighieri , Dante . Inferno . Translated by John Ciardi . New Jersey Rutgers University Press

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