Open Post Friday December 2nd

Dante paints an extremely detailed and visual image of Hell that the average person may not think of. Dante's Hell is certainly a punitive place as well as dark and violent. I did not realize how much of a task creating an image of Hell similar to Dante's truly is. Some aspects of creating a nine level CWI Hell are easier than others and some are very difficult. Brainstorming the various crimes and punishments of hell were difficult as well as developing characters that a Dante-like figure would meet in that place. Overall creating a Hell as terrible and realistic as the Hell of Dante's The Inferno is no easy task. Maybe it was just my group or the time constraint we had to create our Hell or maybe it was just me. Dante did have a lot of time on his hands while in exile that he used to create his hellish masterpiece.

My groups Hell derived from the norm on many occasions and actually created a "divine comedy" with many aspects but that was OK. We had our laughs but the assignment opened my eyes on the amount of work, time, dedication, and detail that went into the making of The Inferno, Purgatorial, and Paradiso. The Inferno was the "Lord of the Rings" or "Star Wars" of Dante's generation and its still making and leaving its mark on the world today. The Inferno is not only a literary masterpiece but it should serve as a wake up call to whoever reads it. Whether hardcore followers or believers of religion or non believers the message of thinking about ones behaviors and actions on the world should be reexamined. The Inferno shouldn't strike fear of eternal damnation and torture into the world to straighten humans out but make them think about the impacts of their behaviors.

If only it was enough for humans to do good in this world without use of threat of eternal damnation, torture, and misery. I cannot find the words to express the brilliance of Dante's writings. I have not gotten this into or excited about a piece of literature since I read "The Iliad" and the war on Troy. As many, I hope that Dante's Inferno is made into a movie. In fact a trilogy would be in order. a movie for The Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. I'd imagine a few elements would me adapted for the excitement of the silver screen but I hope that they would stay true to the basis of the poem.

Upon reading The Inferno a video game about it caught my eye. Dante's Inferno from the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The game's story stayed true to the poem with few alterations. It was very exciting to see The Inferno visually come to life in the video game. It was the next best thing aside of Dante's visual description in the poem. I would highly recommend any avid gamer with a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 to pick up this game and watch Dante's The Inferno come to life. It is well worth it. I will be suggesting The Inferno to ny network of friends and family who have not read it yet. I look forward to reading the Purgotorio and Paradiso in greater depth. Dante has been my favorite subject in this class and it would be worth it to explore the other books in the class rather then the other topics we read. That is just me though!