Undeniably, Dante's Inferno was a beautifully yet eerily written piece. The way that Dante composed it in such a way that it gave the reader a sense of impending doom as he entered each new circle of hell was definitely frightening, but at the same time impressive. In this highly acclaimed literary work, the key to its exceptional profoundness was description and erudite portrayal.

I think the element that struck me the most while I was reading the Inferno was the fact that it all seemed quite real to me at some point. Being familiar with Dante Alighieri and his sainthood, I can help thinking that there might be some truth to the material I was reading. There were so many aspects of the book which he used to simulate or feign reality. The way he constructed each punishment for each different kind of sinner was so well-done and suitably thought-through. He used several famous--infamous, rather--historical figures and portrayed in a manner that made me somewhat question and think whether Dante meant to depict the true features of hell. This definitely added an extra hair-raising and disturbingly uncanny factor to the piece.

While reading the portions of the work, I also couldn't help thinking  about Dante's purpose or intentions when he wrote the Inferno. Of course, again through a brief study of his background as a saint, it's quite apparent that what he aimed to do when he wrote this excellent piece was to impose fear unto Christians when they commit sin. Truly, sin is the only thing in the world we must genuinely fear because this is what would take away all hope and light from our poor souls. When it comes to instilling fright into its readers, there really isn't anything like Dante's Inferno. Whether the book actually hold the realities that lie in the depths of perdition, or just simply the depths of Dante Alighieri's own contemplation and meditation, may the depictions and representations in the book be true or false, I think that Dante's Inferno served its purpose--on me, at least--even after reading the first six cantos of the work. I really do hope to be able to finish this book without having to faint oh-so-many times as Dante did in on of his most astounding and notoriously foreboding works, the Inferno.