Corruption In Dante's Inferno

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Midway through, when all comes time, how difficult is it to say, who is worthy of this great renown. That is the question one must ask when comparing men of caliber such as Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer. These two men, who defined what it was to be a poet and creators of literature that is still championed to this day, inspired and shaped countless poets. In fact one inspired the other and is held, some may same, at the same status of influence. Dante, whose “realism and tangibility of the world” and Chaucer’s satirical edge in telling of corruption stimulate the reader’s senses and imagery (Puchner 1051). Needless to say both of their works, specifically the Inferno and Canterbury Tales, have effected and will still continue to motivate…show more content…
Consisting of nine circles and the vestibule, Hell in the Inferno is thus laid out. In circles I-VI reside the incontinent, also known as the wolf, wherein the sins committed against ones person, such as gluttony or slothfulness are punished. In circle VII lie the violent, also known as the lion. Here the damned souls are punished for their crimes against one another, self and God. In the Malebolge (circle VIII) lie the fraudulent, also known as the leopard. Moreover, the Malebolge is broken into ten bolgias to specify the punishments of the fraudulent sinners. Lastly, there is the IX circle in which those treacherous to kindred, country, guests and benefactors are doomed to reside. Having to journey through these layers of Hell in the Inferno, Dante makes his way to redemption. Dante’s Inferno is rife with themes and motifs such as the perfection of justice, political disputes, and immortality through literature that express “his desire to promote the church’s turn away from secular concerns to its spiritual calling” (Schnapp). The Inferno, though, is not a philosophical text, its intent is to reinforce Christian doctrines along with penning down a legacy that both immortalizes him and attains retribution upon his…show more content…
One of the most striking things about the Canterbury Tales is the variety of stories that Chaucer has gathered together in the work, covering most, if not all, of the types of medieval fiction (Thompson). As the story goes twenty-nine pilgrims (including Chaucer) are making their way on a pilgrimage to Canterbury passing time in a competition of stories. Originally each pilgrim was to tell two stories each but only one member of the party tells two, and that is Chaucer (Lenhart). The topics of the tales range widely from the Knight’s tale of chivalry to the Pardoners hypocritical tale of greed. So wend the tales, from ones of romance to others, such as the Miller’s bawdy and somewhat racy tale, in comedic style. Tales such that the miller told are often divulged by those representing corruption such as the greedy Pardoner or jovial Friar, while those who tell of virtue and romantics are told by pilgrims of social distinction like the once crusader Knight. Yet there is one, The Wife of Bath, whose “tale span both romance and realism”
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