Opposites Attract: The Journey of Love From Attraction to Marriage - Essay Sample

Introduction

When two people of the opposite gender meet, they tend to be attracted to one another. The attraction may last for a short period, and sometimes the magnetism may last for a long time, which turns out to be love. Love leads to the marriage of the two people. Love comes from the heart and out of freewill. Love brings adultery, confusion, insecurity, ignorance, heartbreak, and death. When Dante and Virgil entered the second circle, they saw the most celebrated personalities of love in the history of humankind, they were in hell because of a crime they committed out of love. Dante was moved by Paolo & Francesca, their love blossomed when they were reading a book. It is unfortunate that they both died after a heartbreaking love narrative. Paolo & Francesca were murdered by Francesca's husband and his brother Gianciotto Malatesta after their sexual affair was noticed many legends in history went down because of something related to love. As Barolini in his song "what's Love Got to Do with It, "explains why intimacy is marred with death and heartbreak. This paper focuses on what love had to do with the great ancient lovers being in hell, as recorded by Alighieri in "Dante's inferno."

Paolo and Francesca

Love brings lust and adultery such as the case involving Paolo and Francesca. They loved each other but they engaged in adultery. Their love was illegal as Francesca was married. Francesca was a married woman, and she knowingly had a sexual relationship with Paolo, this was because she was deeply in love with Paolo. When Francesca's husband found out about the sexual relationship of his with Paulo, he and his brother Gianciotto Malatesta murdered Paolo & Francesca. They both went to hell for the crimes of lust and adultery when Dante saw them, he felt compassion, and their love story deeply moved him to the extent that he fainted as he was overwhelmed by pity, "and I fell, as a dead body fall." However, they were guilty of their crimes and deserved the punishment they were receiving. Love is a good thing, but sometimes it has some consequences if it is practiced outside marriage as it highlighted by the death of Paolo & Francesca. When Dante entered the second circle of hell, he saw history's sexiest ladies in hell alongside Paris and Achilles they were all in hell due to lust and adultery.

Paris and Helen

Paris and Helen went to hell because of lust and adultery during their love affair. They fell in love with free will and began a sexual relationship in the Spartan palace in ancient Greece. Paris met Helen when he was on a visit to the Greek castle. Paris took Helen along to Troy without the consent of the king. The Greeks, led by Agamemnon, who was a brother to by Menelaus's set off to troy to take Helen back. Paris and Helena sparked the Great Trojan War. The Trojan war led to the death of thousands of innocent people in both Troy and Sparta. Paris and Helen and went to hell because of their love and adultery and also causing the Trojan war, which was catastrophic. After seeing Paris and Helen, Dante passed out because of the compassion he felt towards Paris due to his romantic secret love affair with Helen from Sparta. Paris and Helen were guilty of the crime of adulty, and they were paying for their sins in hell in the second circle.

Antony and Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra died because of love. As Barolini highlights, desire confuses. Antony and Cleopatra were confused about the fact that even if they had each other, they could not be able to bring down the roman emperor after the assassination of Emperor Caesar. Antony was a general and a statesperson in the roman empire who was loved and favored by emperor Caesar. At the same time, Cleopatra was a queen in ancient Egypt; she was beautiful and charming. Antony found her irresistible. Antony had met Cleopatra when she was still young and did not know much about love. He fell in love with her, and this cost him his life. He died in the arms of Cleopatra as a result of a self-inflicted stab wound. After the death of her lover Antony, Cleopatra committed suicide to be rejoined with the love of her life Antony. Antony and Cleopatra died because of their sinful love affair.

Achilles and Patroclus

Achilles fell in love with Patroclus and started a lustful relationship. In ancient Greece, it was unusual and sinful for a man to have a sexual relationship with another man. However, Achilles did not consider this, and he fell in love with Patroclus, who was the son of Plato. When Achilles died in the trojan war, he went to hell due to his evil deeds. When Dante and Virgil entered the second circle of hell, he saw Achilles and Patroclus before he passed out of compassion for Paolo and Francesca. Achilles' being in hell is justified, and his love for Patroclus was the cause.

Conclusion

Love is a good thing; however, if it is practiced between two people who should not exercise it, it results in problems and sometimes death. When Dante and Virgil entered the second circle in hell, they met the most celebrated personalities and legends of love, and the couples were in hell because of love, which resulted from lust, confusion, and committing adultery. Dante was most moved by Paolo and Francesca; he was so compassionate to the point he passed out in hell. He felt pity because Paolo and Francesca were in hell, and they had been murdered by Francesca's husband and his Gianciotto Malatesta. However, their being in hell is justified by the fact that they were lustful and promiscuous in their love affair. Love was also the reason Paris and Helen were in hell, and their passionate and lustrous love affair resulted in adultery and massive bloodshed as their love affair sparkled the great spartan war. Antony and Cleopatra were also in hell because of their lustful love affair, which resulted in their death when they tried to oppose the Roman emperor. Love had something to do with the legends of love in history, being in the second circle of hell. Their presence in hell was justified as they engaged in lustful activities and adultery.

Work Cited

Alighieri, Dante. Dante's Inferno: The Divine Comedy, Book One. Place of publication not identified: Wildside Press, 2013. Internet resource.