Symbolic Structure and Content in Dante's "Inferno"

The journey of Dante through Hell, in both its structure and content, symbolizes the nature of sin and punishment. The structure of the book takes the reader step by step through greater and greater sins. The content of the book shows the different punishments for sins which are symbolic of the sins themselves; it also, through its language, shows how Hell compares to life. This book was written for Christians and deals heavily with religion, …

…life and death, the soul is equally tortured in both. Hell is also avoidable. Every person in Hell had a choice to make, and they chose Hell. Once in Hell, there is no redemption as stated in the quote, 'I am the way to eternal grief, I am the way to a forsaken race... Before me nothing but eternal things were made, and I shall last eternally. Abandon every hope, all you who enter.'