In Dante's Inferno, we followed Dante as he recounted his life and observations about hell. A wonderful part of that play is its descriptions of the creative yet cruel punishments each of the different sinners receive. This story is an integral part of literary history, and even if I had the imagination and skill of Dante Alighieri, I don't think I would change this proven and universally known version. Since I have a desire to maintain the validity of Dante's version of Inferno in its entirety, I will explain the parts I found most intriguing and why. His use of incredible, descriptive words was impressive. Dante narrates the atrocious stench where groups of men were chained to the hard floors and the poor lighting to describe the general atmosphere of Hell. The punishments were by far the most interesting to me. Dante describes several of a medieval nature. The first type comes from medieval culture and represents gruesome and cruel forms of torture. The second type is Dante's creative and incredibly imaginative punishment for sins. Torturous types of punishment create physical and bodily pain for sinners. Creative punishments are used to inflict mental and psychological pain and must be understood in a metaphorical way of thinking. However, it is possible for creative punishments to inflict both mental and physical pain on the sinner (Cantor). Because a medieval approach was taken to inflict punishments, prisons where prisoners were forced to freeze in winters and roast in summers provided them with little ventilation or protection from the cold (Cantor). This theme of unbearable extreme temperatures is also used throughout...... middle of paper......wis). I am sure that the crime rate in the United States or anywhere, for that matter, would drop dramatically if that were the case in this day and age. Not only is Inferno full of originality, but I enjoyed the journey that Dante takes his reader. ON. I was assigned to read this story when I was in high school, and I was nowhere near understanding its impact. It is full of physical and mental ideas and is also a dynamic read that made me dig deeper into my mind to fully understand it. Also for this reason I leave Dante's version of the Inferno to him.Works cited1. Dante Alighieri, The Inferno, trans. Allen Mandelbaum Bantam Books, New York; 19802. Norman Cantor, The Civilization of the Middle Ages Harper Collins Publishers; 19933. Carol Swain Lewis, PhD. Study guide to Dante's Inferno. Carol Swain Lewis, PhD. Press.