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Why did Dante Create the Inferno?
What would you do if you were once an influential & celebrity political figure and were then later exiled from the world you loved being a part of? Obviously; you would be bitter; as would I, you or any other person. The thought behind why did Dante write The Inferno comes from the very same notion.
Many believe that Dante’s Inferno the poetry was instigated by the same motives of aggression & viciousness. But that was only one of the reasons as to what influenced Dante to write the Inferno. There are few other reasons and we will come back to this one again in the following text.
Influences on Dante
Political Reasons
Florence was an influential Italian polis that Dante belonged to. 1300 is the answer to what year did Dante write the Inferno in. Now look at the bigger picture. On one hand we have a political activist popular among the political circle and on the other hand we have the church that comes into play & controls all aspects of everyday life during those days.
Now, also imagine the same influential political individual being kicked out of that same circle & being sent away to another town. Of course I would be totally bitter if that was done to me and I, using the writing skills gifted naturally to me, would use those skills to utilize the prevalent theme of the time and use it against my “enemies”.
Religious Reasons
Likewise, people say there are a couple of reasons for why did Dante write The Inferno; he used the prevalent theme of religion to belittle his political nemeses, and also, at the same time, use the text to make people think about their own daily life routines & actions.
For example, think about the case of the fortune tellers walking with their necks twisted backwards. Now fortune telling falls along the same precinct as witchcraft and the punishment is extremely harsh. Not only is this as to why did Dante write The Inferno but he also creates imagery using the faces & physical descriptions of the politicians he despised at that time.