The Divine Comedy
During the Middle Ages, the church was a powerful institution. It had its own government, courts, system of taxation, and laws. To live a good Christian life guaranteed access to heaven in the afterlife, and a life of sin was to be sentenced to hell. Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet, who had an admirable depth of spiritual vision and was known for his intelligence (Encarta, 1). Between the years of 1308 and 1321, Dante wrote the epic poem, "The Divine Comedy," which described a journey through the afterlife. It takes place during the three days of Good Friday, when Jesus died, and on Easter Sunday when he rose body and soul to heaven. It is a moral comedy, and was written to make readers evaluate their own morals. The journey was to show readers what could happen if they live a sinful life, or if they live a godlike life."In the middle of the journey of our life I came to my senses in a dark forest, for I had lost the straight path. Ah! How hard a thing it is to tell what this wild and rough and difficult wood was, which in thought renews my fear! (Alighieri, 1)" This passage tel
Most people believe that if you sin you go to hell, and if you do not sin, you go to heaven. Many people do not acknowledge the existence of Purgatory. Purgatory is a place of discipline, a place for people who either repented shortly before they died, or had not completed all seven sacraments. Purgatory is unlike Inferno because it is not eternal. If you work hard and cleanse yourself in purgatory, you will eventually enter paradise. It is not a place of punishment, and people are grateful to be there because they know they will eventually join God. Paradise is a very Holy and beautiful place, the way it is depicted in Greek myths and in the Bible. It is a place for all who led lives free of sin, it is a reward for their goodness. A person must be completely pure and must have completed all seven sacraments to enter Paradise. The seven sacraments are baptism, confirmation, matrimony, extreme unction, Eucharist, ordination, and penance. Since a white rose often resembles divine love, purity, and perfection, Paradise is depicted as a rose with God in the center. Dante finally reaches
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Approximate Word count = 736
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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