Literary Analysis Essay-Revised 2
Running head: Literary Analysis Essay-Revised 2
Wanda Snyder
South University Online
ENG2002 – World Literature
Professor Charles Cannon
August 10, 2021
Revised – Reworked
The Nature of Immortality as Portrayed in The Odyssey And Inferno
Introduction
What would happen if humans became immortal? Immortality is the element where individuals indefinitely continue to exist even after the aspect of death. Even after the body of an immortal is dead, the immortal continues to exist. The theme of immortality is demonstrated in “Odyssey,” composed by Homer, and “Inferno,” composed/written by Dante Alighieri. Every individual would want to live an everlasting life, eluding the aspect of death. Dante is one of the individuals who want to achieve immortality through the element of avoiding sin, and in turn, he would be awarded eternal life, on the other hand, Odyssey is granted immortality by Calypso in the urge of ending his pains and making him live forever. The similarity in the element of immortality appears to be that both texts have individuals seeking or being offered the aspect of immortality, while the contrast is that in Odyssey, there is the rejection of immortality. In contrast, in Inferno, the element of immortality is depicted a vital as Dante seeks means by which he could achieve eternal life.
Similarities Of the Theme of Immorality
The element of immorality is offered to the characters in the narrations. In the Odyssey, immortality is demonstrated through the characters Odyssey and Calypso. Odyssey meets Calypso on her island, specifically the dark woods. Calypso happens to be an immortal goddess and the daughter of Atlas. While Odyssey is on the island, Calypso ensures that he has everything he desires, and she ultimately falls in love with him. (Homer, 1919) provides “Now he’s left to pine on an island, racked with grief in the nymph Calypso’s house—she holds him there by force.” When she is ordered to let him leave, she offers him the gift of immortality as she wants him to live long and also live a painless life. Through the narration, we find that the aspect of immortality is offered to Odyssey by Calypso. She loves him and desires that he lives a painless life as well as a long one. Being a goddess, she vans see what lies ahead of him as his endeavors are bound to offer a lot of pain and suffering. However, Odyssey refuses the offer of immorality and prefers to live as a mortal.
Additionally, the aspect of immortality is later displayed in the journey that Odyssey embarks on in the land of the dead. Odyssey can see forms of individuals and soldiers that have died in the past, including his late mother. One of his men is pleading for a decent send-off as he had been left unburied in this journey. Thus, Odyssey ensures that he has a proper send-off. (Homer, 1919) “I dispatched some men to Circe’s halls to bring the dead Eleanor’s body.” Through the seer Tiresias, Odyssey can observe that some souls do not acquire eternal resting as there could be an issue restricting them from doing so. In book twelve, individuals get to learn that Eleanor’s soul has failed to find peace and rest eternally due to a failure of the performance of the burial rights. Through the narration, individuals learn that immortality could be involuntarily achieved due to the failure or loss of the performance of the final rites of passage that require a befitting burial.
As a result, the aspect of immortality is also demonstrated in the Inferno. Dante is in the quest for immortality as he desires to live an eternal life. His mentor instructs him, and he embarks on a journey to hell. Dante feels it is vital to avoid the element of sin in the impulse of acquiring eternal life. According to Dante (1971), “Where thou shalt hear the desperate lamentations, Shalt see the ancient spirits disconsolate, who cry out each one for the second death.” The Virgil intends on showing Dante life in heaven, but to do so, they must embark on a journey through hell. Virgil offers to be the guide through the journey, and Dante is more than willing to go through the process to learn how he could avoid sin and earn eternal life.
Difference Of Immortality in The Two Texts
The opposite aspect of the two texts is that in one, the character is not in need of being immortal, while in the other, the character is in pursuit of eternal life. Calypso happens to be an immortal goddess. While Odyssey is on the island, Calypso ensures that he has everything he desires. She ultimately falls in love with him. she offers him the gift of immortality as she wants him to live a long and also live painless life after she is forced to free him. She loves him and desires that he lives an easy life as well as a long one. However, Odyssey is not willing to live eternally as he chooses to leave.
On the other hand, Dante is in pursuit of eternal life as he does not want to end up in hell due to his sins. According to Dante (1971), “The which and what, wishing to speak the truth, Were established as the holy place, wherein Sits the successor of the greatest Peter.” Dante desires to achieve this holy life through living a sinless life. Thus, one text displays the rejection of immortality while the other aims at attaining immortality.
Conclusion
The Odyssey displays a situation where Odyssey is not interested in immortality while Inferno demonstrates Dante’s pursuit of immortality. For Dante to achieve immortality, he has to live a perfect and sinless life. As for Odyssey, he has to stay back and live with Calypso in the urge to achieve immortality.
References
Dante, A., & Musa, M. (1971) Dante’s Inferno. Indiana University Press
Homer. (1919) The Odyssey. G.P. Putnam’s sons
The post Literary Analysis Essay-Revised 2 Running head: Literary Analysis Essay-Revised 2 Wanda Snyder appeared first on PapersSpot.
