Dante's Inferno has been one of the most intriguing pieces of literature I've read. I picked it up sometime in middle school after my brother finished reading it for his class. For this, I got lots of weird looks. After all, I was a young kid reading about hell and punishment... comforting, right?
Dante's concept of hell is fascinating. Pitting the realm within the earth itself, in my opinion, symbolizes the corruptness of our world along with just how close we are to hell ourselves(figuratively and, from his descriptions, literally). The contrast of the center of our planet is all too ironic as well. Lucifer resides in the core, but not in a lake of fire; he's frozen the lake around him by using his giant wings to try to escape. Every gust of wind he emits causes further pain to the sinners surrounding him.
I really think that people have a curiosity regarding stuff that they hope to not experience. Kind of like dipping your toes in the water, but not wanting to get your whole foot wet, let alone your body. Every time there's an accident on the road, we feel like we have to look to see what happened. It's just curiosity which leads us to try and experience that rare taste tragedy. Seems like we're gluttons for punishment and despair.
No comments:
Post a Comment