Dante's Inferno Life After Death

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The Human Experience: Continued Beyond the Grave To some, life after death doesn’t exist. So, the only way to experience life beyond the grave is to live on in the memories of family, friends and loved ones. Others are certain that there is life after death, but they are uncertain as to what that looks like. Many questions begin to arise. Such as: Is there heaven and hell after death? Will those who committed horrible acts be punished for their sins? Will some be rewarded for their noble efforts and genuine intentions that they possessed as Earth-dwellers. The Divine Comedy: Inferno by Dante Alighieri, emphasized what the human experience would be like beyond the grave. Specifically, in the realm of hell and what souls dealt with after …show more content…
. . where as in Beowulf life after death experience is acknowledged as real, the life experience of the characters is more of the focus. When beginning to compare, and contrast the life after death aspect in both epic poems; Inferno and Beowulf, one of the distinct differences resides within the way Dante’s Inferno places emphasis on actually describing the life after death experience in hell. The main character, Dante, is still alive and is able to encounter the life after death experience while still being alive. Dante’s first encounter with a glimpse of life beyond the grave yard was at Mt. Delectable, a symbolic representation of heaven. In the presence of Mt. Delectable, Dante states: “Through a round aperture, I saw appear some of the beautiful things that heaven bears” (392). Although, Dante was turned around when he tried to climb Mt. Delectable, this moment still proved as a brief testament to the beauty of heaven in the life after death experience. In the midst of Dante’s moment at Mt. Delectable, Beatrice sent Virgil to escort Dante on the journey …show more content…
The epic poem Beowulf acknowledges that life after death exists, but never explains the life after death experience. Statements such as “But death is not easily escaped from, by anyone all of us with souls, earth-dwellers and children of men must make our way to our destination, already ordained” (120). This may imply to the reader that our fate to mortality and death is unescapable. It is something that every living being will have to experience someday. In Beowulf, not only is it made clear that death isn’t avoidable, it is also made clear that death will come to all at whatever moment God decrees. This is made obvious through evidence of statements such as: “Whichever one death fells, must deem it just judgement by God” (135). At various moments, life after death is alluded to through the acknowledgment of a higher being. For example, through the description that was given at Shield Sheafson’s funeral: “Shield was still thriving when his time came, and he crossed over into the Lord’s keeping. His warrior band did what he bade them when he laid down the law among the Danes; […] they stretched their beloved in his boat, laid out by the mast, amidships, the great ring-giver. Far-fetched treasures were piled upon him, and precious gear” (129-130). Due to this description of the extravagant burial-at-sea of the Danish King, Shield, we can see that the
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