Dante is paying homage to his "celestial being", his beloved Beatrice, as his journey is motivated by her.

Dante recognizes that each place on his spiritual journey has Paradise as the end goal, as it is naturally ordered by/to heaven.

Dante believes in the astrological influence of the stars, thus creating a universe focused on their power.

The stars are Dante's favorite symbol to use because the stars reflect how he feels about his spiritual journey.

Dante is frightened and prepares himself to battle the epitome of evil with his Guide, Virgil.

Dante is angered and disgusted by Lucifer, yet he does not act out against him in fear of losing Beatrice's affection.

Dante feels neither dead nor alive, but absolutely empty. Lucifer is devoid of humanity & the beauty of God's creation.

Dante fears that Virgil will abandon him to embark on the journey toward Purgatory without him due to his inability to overcome his own sin.

Dante stepped on a shade, and the shade cried out in response.

Dante tore a branch off of the shade, and the sinner cursed him for it.

Dante ripped the hair out of the head of the sinner, and the sinner refused to speak to him afterwards.

Dante accidentally pitied the souls he met in this circle, much to Virgil's chagrin, and the sinners rejoiced.

Florence; Athens

Naples; Sparta

Pisa; Thebes

Venice; Mesopotamia

Dante no longer wished to be a Catholic due to his own struggles with shame and guilt, thus persecuting the Catholic Church for holding him to such standards.

Dante only did so to illustrate the parallel between good and evil, and the contrast of the two made for quality literature.

Dante wanted to place them there specifically to enact revenge on priests and bishops for exiling him.

Dante was fed up and frustrated with both the political and religious corruption at the time, and made sure to call out Church officials by name in hopes to rid the Church of sin.

Dante notices his "vermilion" face, with two other faces joined at the crest of his head.

He examines Lucifer's mighty wings, and compares them to that of a bat.

He notices the three sinners - Judas, Brutus, and Cassius - in the three mouths of the beast, being torn apart by each chew.

Dante remarks on Lucifer's massive size and does not feel anything but dread, or despair.

Fraud

Violence

Treachery

Heresy

Lucifer was always an entity of evil, but found a home in the depths of the Earth to create a space for all evil to go to after death.

He was one of God's most beautiful archangels, and he rebelled against God in order to become the most powerful being.

He was Dante's muse and guide prior to his journey through hell, and Dante wished to confront him for leaving him trapped in sin.

Lucifer was an ordinary angel that set out to challenge God because he believed God was not ruling creation in a just manner.

The final lines of The Inferno indicate Dante's own transformation of his heart and soul, and his ability to be receptive to the journey of repentance ahead of him.

The last few lines of The Inferno introduce relief and respite from an arduous journey through sin and death, & thrusts Dante into the light of God.

The last few lines of The Inferno literally don't mean anything other than the end of the book - like, why did Miss Myles cry?!

The last few lines of The Inferno indicate hope and redemption for the first time throughout Dante's journey, thus setting the tone for penance in The Purgatorio.