Film Dante vs. Poem Dante

                The Dante portrayed in the film was vastly different from the Dante of the poem, but still managed to share some similarities. In the beginning of their adventure, they were both fearful and very confused. Although, the film Dante took the strange circumstances in stride and overcame his fear rather quickly, as opposed to the poem Dante, whose fear controlled him throughout his journey. Also, the film Dante possesses no fear of the power of God, and doesn’t show trembling admiration as the poem Dante did.

                In addition to the lack of fear portrayed by the film Dante, his personality was entirely different as well. This Dante was completely unimpressed by Virgil, and was shown sleeping through reading Virgil’s writings during class. The poem Dante idolized Virgil, called him one of his greatest inspirations. The film Dante didn’t show an appreciation for literature nor was he a writer. He also shows little respect for Virgil, and doesn’t treat him like his superior, especially shown in their first encounter, when he calls Virgil a “stalker” and the “old guy in the cloak”. This film Dante was much more of a “scumbag”, as revealed at the beginning when he was passed out from a drunken night of partying. This Dante lives life recklessly, whereas the poem Dante was more refined, and had been exiled from his land. The film Dante is a modern-day lowlife, which contrasts greatly in the way Dante portrayed himself in the poem.

                Dante’s reactions to the different levels of Hell were similar, however the way Virgil interacted with Dante was entirely different. Film Dante reacted similarly to pretty much all of the circles except for lust, where the viewers were shown great characterization for film Dante. This Dante got great amusement out of the realm of lust, and couldn’t understand why being there was a punishment, despite Virgil’s best efforts. This also shows the difference in film Dante’s relationship with Virgil as opposed to the poem. Their relationship in the film is much more relaxed as Dante treats him like anyone else. Virgil is also more aggressive, and must be this way in order to teach the Dante who just doesn’t understand the severity of his own actions and the punishments of hell. Dante of the film is beyond reason, and this is shown by his very slight change at the end, where he barely has a second thought about going back to his original life. In the poem, the readers were visibly able to see the change in Dante as he grew more understanding and less fearful of his surroundings in hell.  

                Overall, the film Dante is vastly different from the Dante of the poem, as the film Dante shows a much more misguided moral compass and low-life behaviors, with little respect to Virgil or the power of God. The poem Dante displays a sense of self-respect and holds himself in high regard, yet still showing appropriate fear and respect for those above him.