How Does Virgil Use Contrapasso In Dante's Inferno
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Dante’s Inferno tells of the journey that Dante the poet takes through Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as nine circles of suffering where sinners are punished for the wrongdoings that they made in life. In portraying these, Dante uses contrapasso, the idea that punishment of the damned in Hell mirrors the sin being punished.
One of the first examples of this is in Canto III, where the souls of the uncommitted dwell. These are the people who did not choose to live a life of good or evil, as well as the angels who were not rebellious against God nor were they faithful to Satan. As a result, both Heaven and Hell reject them. Surrounded by the wails and lamentations of lost souls, Dante sees, “A whirling banner