Reflection

I enjoyed reading Dante's Inferno. It was gory, political, religious, and a whole slew of other stuff thrown into one book. Dante's was able to address current issues in his time as well as create a timeless work that has been read by many generations. The part that really got me going was how he was so anti-church in a religious text. When he cleverly states that the current pope is destined for hell has got to be some kind of sin. And that's not the only time he takes shot at the church. Time and a time again he speaks his views that believe in separation of church and state.
I also appreciated his cleverness in the punishments dolled out in hell. In my research today I realize that the cruel torture done in hell also occurred on earth but he still gets some credit. I think my favorite was the separatist that got their bodies split and had to wait for themselves to heal only to be split again. How fitting. Then you have the guys who are buried upside down and their feet are on fire. Where does someone get an idea like that.
One of the most important things Dante did to the poem was make it a page turner. I cannot stress the importance of me wanting to see what happens next to how much I enjoy the book. It was easy enough to read and action packed that I always was interested it what the next punishment would be or who would be there. I think this is one of the more important reasons why this poem has been carved into world literature forever. It was written in Italian, not Latin. This means he wrote it for the people to read, not the church, and that is exactly what they have done.