Canto 18 of The Inferno by Dante Alighieri Essay -- Dante Alighieri Th

Canto 18 of The Inferno by Dante Alighieri It was once said by Marcel Proust that â€Å"We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This journey through the wild to discover wisdom is exactly what transpires in The Inferno by Dante Alighieri. The Inferno is an epic poem that is the first section of a three-part poem called The Divine Comedy. The Inferno is about the narrator, Dante, traveling through the layers of Hell and learning about the men and women in Hell, and ultimately why God is punishing them there. One of the most representative parts of The Inferno as a whole is Canto 18. Canto 18 is the eighth circle of Hell called the â€Å"Malebolge†, which translated means â€Å"Evil-Pouches†. This is where â€Å"ordinary† fraud is punished. The Canto begins with a very detailed description of the Malebolge. Dante then visits the first of ten pouches loc ated in the eighth circle. The first pouch holds panders and seducers who are being beaten by horned demons. While watching the sinners in this pouch, Dante recognizes two men. Virgil, the famous poet and Dante’s guide through Hell, then leads Dante into the second pouch where Flatterers are immersed in excrement. Here, in the second pouch Dante again recognizes two of the sinners, a man and woman, who are spending eternity covered in feces. Once Dante has seen the second pouch, Virgil leads him out because he has seen enough. Initially, after reading Canto 18 for the first time, I was very much shocked at how Dante illustrates the entire scene. First, as I read about why the people Dante knew were in Hell, it really makes me think about ... ...e last insight Fowlie provides me with is more background information to the figures he uses in examples of the sins. Fowlie says that Dante’s inclusion of Caccianemico is â€Å"an extreme case of pandering† (120). Fowlie believes the main purpose Dante uses Caccianemico is because Caccianemico is from Bologna, and he is lashing out against the city. Fowlie says Dante knows that Bologna is full of the â€Å"practice of pimping†; thus, Dante feels that Bologna is the perfect place for the sinner of pandering to originate from. I find this interesting because it is as if Dante has a grudge against Bologna and is attempting to ruin the city’s name. Overall, Fowlie’s discussion on Canto 18 reveals many new ideas and thoughts that improve my knowledge and understanding of the entire poem. The material stated in Fowlie’s discussion ultimately sheds new light on my Canto 18.

Eavan Boland Personal Response

The poetry of Eavan Boland is clear,relateable and realistic. The stanzas in her poems are terse,but she manages to evoke strong feelings in the reader,e. g. the sense of apathy in â€Å"The War Horse†. Her poems are relateable because she is a contemporary poet and her themes generally involve the suburban culture. Her poetry is realistic because she elaborates and paints evocative pictures of ordinary sights like â€Å"the harsh shyness of the Atlantic light† (White Hawthorn in the West of Ireland).In the following,I will express in more detail of my personal response to the poetry of Eavan Boland. The theme of War and Human suffering is very powerful and appealing to me. In â€Å"The War Horse†,she shows how people living in suburbia can turn a ‘blind eye' to the war and suffering of others. The apathy of the people made the poet angry,she was sarcastic in the lines – â€Å"Why should we care/If a rose,a hedge,a crocus is uprooted/Like corpses,re mote,crushed,mutialated? â€Å"-it shows the nonchalance of the people towards the distant suffering of others.In emphasis of the theme of war,the poet uses the horse as a metaphor of violence – â€Å"[the] iron of his shoes as he stamps death/Like a mint on the innocent coinage of earth†. The size,weight and force of the horse causes some damage and destruction,imitating the raw violence that is happening to those distant in Northern Ireland. As the horse leaves,the poet â€Å"breathe[s] relief† – this reminds her of her ancestors and she feels ashamed of herself as she is just as apathetic as the people in her neighbourhood,because she is also only observing the horse coming into her neighbourhood.Her â€Å"blood is still with atavism†,for a fleeting moment she is reminded of her ancestors whose lives were threatened but they fought back and had passion for the safety of others but she is ashamed for she â€Å"use[d] the subterfuge of curtainsà ¢â‚¬  and became just as bad as her neighbours. The theme of war is further emphasized in â€Å"Child of Our time†. This poem deals with the tragic loss of life caused by war and conflict and it shows how all too often,it is the children who suffer.The child's â€Å"final cry† is one of pain and anguish. â€Å"We†,the public,the adults,the society should have made possible and supported a safe environment for that murdered child – â€Å"We should have known how to instruct† – have failed. The fact that we cannot guarantee safety forour children is all the more frightening. The poet knows that she and others â€Å"must learn from you dead† in order to â€Å"rebuild† society. Out of the destruction of the child's death by bombing,the poet grasps the possibility of learning and rebuilding.This one act of violence becomes a symbol for every act of violence in which innocent people are killed. Thus,sosiety is held responsible for t he child's death – â€Å"Our times have robbed your cradle†,but if a â€Å"new language† can be found then the child may not have died in vain. So,in my opinion,Boland effectively gets her point across to the readers – the theme of war – and I for one,also believe that most people are apathetic towards war and that a â€Å"new language† should be found. (etc. )

Socrates Last Error Essay examples - 3184 Words

Socrates Last Error In the dialogue, Crito, Socrates justified his decision to accept his death penalty. His decision was praised as principled and just. However, such a view was one of the greatest myths in the history of philosophy. Contrary to the accepted ideas, I wish to show that Socrates’ argument was erroneous, the crucial error being his failure to distinguish between substantial and procedural justice. In fact, the whole of the Crito refers to some deeper problems of the philosophy of law and morality. The dialogue Crito recounts Socrates last days, immediately before his execution. As the text reveals, his friend Crito proposes to Socrates that he escape from prison. In a dialogue with Crito, Socrates considers the†¦show more content†¦The argument can be summarized in the following way: 1. Lawbreaking is unjust, while observance of laws is just, because 2. Laws are just. 3. The laws of Athens are just, even if the legitimacy of laws in general can be questioned. 4. Judicial decisions made on the basis of those laws are just. 5. When finally pronounced, judicial decisions must be carried out. 6. Disrespect of judicial decisions produces the destruction of laws. Conclusion: Escape from prison is an unjust and therefore morally unacceptable act. The conclusion that Socrates drew from the premises is sound only if the premises themselves are true, and that is why their soundness must be examined first. ad 1. The first premise cannot be questioned, because its truth seems incontestable. However, this is true only insofar as the first premise is related to the second one. It is assumed that the second premise (Laws are just) is correct. Indeed, respect of unjust laws must be morally doubtful, which means that the claim for their observance must be based on some other, additional reasons, of which one of the most frequently quoted was that even the worst legal system is still better than no legal system at all. 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