This volume opens with the bold suggestion that the seven deadly sins constitute a key to the structure of Inferno and Paradiso, as well as Purgatorio. It ends with a discussion of cowardice (not strictly a deadly sin) in Inferno iii, followed by a look at Dante himself in the light of all the capital vices. In between, each of the seven is focused on in turn. Intellectual pride is cited as the reason for Cavalcanti's absence from the Commedia, while-separately-the pride cantos in Purgatorio are read as a reconstruction of the individual's passage from pride to piety. Envy is located in the political sphere and shown to be almost always figured in conjunction with other vices whose sinful acts it prompts. It is then argued that Dante clarifies problems encountered in medieval attempts to distinguish between just and unjust anger. Sloth in The Divine Comedy is explored next, with particular attention to the poet Statius, its only named exponent. The poet's understanding of avarice is placed in the context of the revived money economy and the papacy's inflated temporal pretensions, while that understanding is, secondly, viewed in relation to the ancient Romans. Gluttony occasions reflection about analogies between the body and the book, as well as remarks about illustrations of the gluttons' aerial bodies in The Divine Comedy's early printed editions. The ambivalence of Dante's principal representations of lust is seen to imply a tension in his great poem between love poetry and spirituality, a tension he seeks to resolve in Beatrice. (Series: UCD Foundation for Italian Studies) [Subject: Literary Criticism, Dante, Italian Studies, The Divine Comedy, Renaissance Italy]

Dante’s Deadly Sins is a unique study of the moral philosophy behind Dante’s master work that considers the Commedia as he intended, namely, as a practical guide to moral betterment. Focusing on Inferno and Purgatorio, Belliotti examines the puzzles and paradoxes of Dante’s moral assumptions, his treatment of the 7 deadly sins, and how 10 of his most powerful moral lessons anticipate modern existentialism. Analyzes the moral philosophy underpinning one of the greatest works of world culture Summarizes the Inferno and Purgatorio, while underscoring their moral implications Explains and evaluates Dante’s understanding of the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ and the ultimate role they play as the basis of human transgression. Provides a detailed discussion of the philosophical concepts of moral desert and the law of contrapasso, using character case studies within Dante’s work Connects the poem’s moral themes to our own contemporary condition

Using Dante’s Inferno to draw out the reality behind the fantasy, author Kim Paffenroth tells the true events… During his lost wanderings, Dante came upon an infestation of the living dead. The unspeakable acts he witnessed —cannibalism, live burnings, evisceration, crucifixion, and dozens more—became the basis of all the horrors described in Inferno. At last, the real story can be told.

Lame Deer Storyteller, rebel, medicine man, Lame Deer was born almost a century ago on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. A full-blooded Sioux, he was many things in the white man's world -- rodeo clown, painter, prisioner. But, above all, he was a holy man of the Lakota tribe. Seeker of Vision The story he tells is one of harsh youth and reckless manhood, shotgun marriage and divorce, history and folklore as rich today as ever -- and of his fierce struggle to keep pride alive, though living as a stranger in his own ancestral land.

"Inferno" tells the story "of those who have rejected spiritual values", of those who are lost and are unable to find the right way to salvation. It describes each sin and the corresponding punishment. It differentiates between Purgatory and Hell by presenting people begging for forgiveness and others willing to justify their sins. "Inferno" represents the Christian soul who gets to see what it really is to commit a sin and what is to be expected in the afterlife. "Inferno" is the first part of Dante Alighieri’s medieval poem "The Divine Comedy" which was written in the period 1308-1320. It depicts the nine circles of Hell and Dante’s journey through them. Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet, philosopher, language and political theorist, born in Florence in 1265. He is one of the best known poets of the Middle Ages and his masterpiece "The Divine Comedy" is considered to be a representative of the medieval world-view. "The Divine Comedy" and "The New life" were written in vernacular, i.e. the speech variety that was used in everyday life. This made the literature accessible to most people and this is mainly why Dante is called "The father of Italian language". Dante’s life was divided by poetry and politics and the relationships between secular and religious authority were topics which were often depicted in his literary works.

Describing Dante's descent into Hell midway through his life with Virgil as a guide, Inferno depicts a cruel underworld in which desperate figures are condemned to eternal damnation for committing one or more of seven deadly sins. As he descends through nine concentric circles of increasingly agonising torture, Dante encounters doomed souls including the pagan Aeneas, the liar Odysseus, the suicide Cleopatra, and his own political enemies, damned for their deceit. Led by leering demons, the poet must ultimately journey with Virgil to the deepest level of all. For it is only by encountering Satan, in the heart of Hell, that he can truly understand the tragedy of sin.