Use Of Irony In Dante's Inferno

Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno has been renowned as a great classic of western literature. To completely understand the direction of the novel you must to read between the lines. There are many reasons as to why Dante gave his sinners such specific punishments. Most of these punishments were closely related or the opposite of the sins committed. Irony is seen in many ways throughout The Inferno. As Dante takes you through his version of Hell he uses imagery to describe each of his nine levels, it’s sinners, and their punishments. The first time irony is seen in Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno is at the entrance to the underworld in circle three. This part of Hell holds the Gluttons and the chief sinner Cerberus. In life the Gluttons over indulged in almost everything. Their actions were grotesque, ugly and wasteful.
This level of hell holds the Thieves. The sinners’ punishment in this level of hell was to be constricted by a snake that bound their hands behind their backs. The sinners here never died; they were always reforming from their ashes. In life these sinners were thieves whose greatest asset were their hands so in Hell they would not be able to use their hands forever. “Their hands were bound behind by coils of serpents which thrust their heads and tails between the loins an bunched in front, a mass knot of torments” (Alighieri 198) The above examples give insight to the intended irony in Alighieri’s novel. Irony is demonstrated by using juxtaposition throughout each of the nine levels. Dante’s punishments were often the opposite of what the groups intended with their sins. This exemplifies the seriousness of their wrong doings. Each sin that was committed was combated by an equally devastating punishment. Each of the sins had a very specific punishment that made the reader ask why Dante chose it. The novel shows irony in many ways but more so in the punishments Dante gave to his