What do the three animals signify when Dante encounters them in the woods? Dante encounters three animals while he is trying to climb a slope. The first animal is a leopard, the second is a lion, and the third is a she-wolf. Each of these animals symbolizes a sin that humans must face and overcome. Sins come up all throughout life and people have to learn to deal with them in different ways. The leopard symbolizes fraud, the lion symbolizes violence, and the she-wolf represents lust. These are all important symbols throughout Dante's Inferno because each circle of hell punishes these sins in some way. Another reason why these things are significant is because Dante's travels through hell symbolize a humans journey through life. What role does Dante's Italian heritage play in the inferno? Even though Dante was exiled from Florence by the pope, he still loved his Italian heritage. This is demonstrated in some of the choices Dante made while writing The Divine Comedy. Dante has strong ties to Italy since he was born in Florence. He uses Virgil as a guide in The Inferno because he is an important Italian poet. Also, Dante did not write this work in Latin as most people during this time did when they wrote something of interest. Instead, Dante wrote The Divine Comedy entirely in Italian, which further shows how much Dante valued his Italian culture. Why is Satan stuck in ice? I found it very interesting that the deepest part of hell consisted of ice. When thinking of hell, most people associate it with fire. After thinking about how each circle of hell consisted of a punishment for the people that resided in it, it made a lot of sense that Satan would be forced to live in a lake of ice instead of fire. Religious texts state that Satan came from fire and is made of fire so it wouldn't be much of a punishment to put something that loves fire and is fire in a fiery place for the rest of its life. Also I thought that its an interesting perspective to say that the 9th circle of hell is furthest away from God and therefore colder because it is further from gods warmth.
I also found it interesting that the furthest circle was completely ice. As you said and as we discussed in class, it definitely could be because he is furthest from God's warmth! I absolutely could agree that that is a possibility. I love your point about Satan coming from fire, and how it really wouldn't be a punishment at all for him to live in fire forever. That is a really interesting idea. With this, I keep picturing Hades from Disney's Hercules, with the blue flames surrounding him/as his hair. I think of cold, icy flames rather than flames that are so hot they are blue. Perhaps he is in ice/with cold flames because that is the way his heart is, cold as ice.
I agree with your statement that Dante still held pride for his country, and I feel like one his reasoning for writing Dante's Inferno was for this reason. He, like Virgil and many other poets, had an agenda when writing the poems, to put their country on a pedestal. He calls upon Virgil as his guide, he associates Caesar's enemies as the most sinful, and like you said, he even wrote the poem in Italian. I also found it interesting that Satan was stuck in ice, considering that Hell was, and still is, perceived as being a place of fire where sinner burn for their past life. I like your interpretation of Satan being encased in ice because he was further away from God, as fire is something that can be interpreted as two different things, as a force for creation and birth (warmth, the Sun, etc.) or as a force of destruction (flames, burning, etc.). There can be two different interpretations of fire, as the two are very polarizing definitions.
I actually find it interesting that the animal totems are referenced as well. This is very similar to other tales, the Bible included, that use animal motifs to personify human emotions. I also find it interesting that they are one of the first references, and later in the poem (Canto XXIII) he again invokes animal imagery when he discusses Aesop.
I also found it interesting that the deepest circle of hell is consisted of ice. Personally, whenever I have thought of hell I associated with fire, instead of ice. The media plays a role in this association, considering that there is always fire when hell is portrayed. But it makes sense that it is made up of ice instead of fire. Since Satan is made from fire, it would not be a punishment if he were surrounded by fire.
How is Hell structured according to Dante? The inferno is round and is divided into sections by circles. I think it’s fitting that the deeper you go into the very core of the inferno, the more severe the sin. At the very center is Lucifer and everything is frozen in ice. The first two layers on the inferno contain first the indecisive and then Limbo, where non-Christians, pagans, and the unbaptized are located. The indecisive are on the outside of hell, not a part of it but suffer punishment. While Limbo is considered the First Circle of Hell but no one there is punished. I feel that perhaps these two should have been switched or perhaps combined. Why should someone who didn’t take a side be caused more physical pain than someone who didn’t follow God such as those in Limbo? Why should the people in Limbo have to suffer no physical punishment as all the others in hell have to? Unless you see that never being able to see the face of God is a just form of punishment. But it seems to me that if these people didn’t necessarily follow God when they were living why should they want to see the face of God now? It could be that Dante associates himself mostly with those that are in Limbo and so he gave them a less severe form of punishment. He sees the poets and the others, such as Aristotle, as being superior and having great minds. Yet they still must be punished in some way for not following and believing in God. This results in them being banned from paradise and forced to reside in Limbo.
What is Virgil’s role? Virgil is sent by Beatrice to help guide Dante through the inferno and purgatory. He has already made this journey before to fetch a spirit in the depths of hell and so knows the way well. Many times the keepers of hell stop Dante from moving forward in his journey. Charon is the first to try and prevent Dante. When Charon sees that Dante is living he won’t allow him on the boat but Virgil tells him that “it is so willed.”(pg.92)Virgil is able to help Dante across many obstacles by telling people something along those lines except when they reach the City of Dis. Virgil tells Dante about the shades in each of the circles and the punishments that they have received because of their behavior. He tries to teach Dante as he makes it through his journey. For example, Virgil encourages Dante to snap a piece of a branch off a tree for Dante to see that it is a person. He also praises Dante when he shows no pity to Filippo Argenti.
Is the will for Dante to complete his journey similar to Aeneas? Many times throughout The Divine Comedy Virgil says that it is willed that Dante will complete his journey. He uses this to explain why a living person should be allowed when the other keepers of hell question allowing Dante to pass. It similar to Aeneas in The Aeneid, it was willed that Aeneas should succeed in his journey and eventually found Rome. Dante is willed to complete his journey through the inferno, purgatory, and his ultimate goal is to reach paradise. Aeneas’ fate was helped by the Gods such as his mother, Venus. Dante too is helped. Angels help Dante when he is denied entrance into the City of Dis. (pg. 151, line85-90) Beatrice is behind Dante’s journey. She has asked Virgil to help guide Dante through the inferno and purgatory. I think it’s fitting that Dante the poet decided to make Virgil Dante the pilgrim’s guide. Dante the pilgrim’s journey is similar to Aeneas so who else would be better to help guide him than the poet who wrote The Aeneid.
I also thought that the way that Dante organizes hell was interesting. It makes sense that the deeper one goes into hell the worse the sin because you are getting further and further away from God. I found Dante's placement of circles was interesting. I definitely disagree with the severity of some of the sins that Dante describes. I agree that people should not have to suffer more because they did not choose a side over people who did not believe at all. At least the unsure people did not completely denounce God. Virgil plays an important role in guiding Dante. By adding Virgil to the Comedy, Dante was not only providing a character, he was also providing a strong symbol. Virgil acts as a sort of mentor throughout the entire poem. He provides help and advice for Dante. Throughout the poem, Dante feels bad for the sinners but towards the end of their journey he realizes, with the help of Virgil, that people are there for a reason. After Dante realizes this he does not feel bad for the sinners. In addition to being Dante's guide, Virgil symbolizes Dante's love for his home, Florence. Also, Dante is demonstrating through Virgil his respect for other well known poets. I agree that Dante and Aeneas are similar characters in the sense that they are both destined to do something. Virgil pushes Dante through the circles of hell by letting people who get in the way know that "It is willed". Similarly, the gods in the Aeneid push Aeneas through his journey to Rome by manipulating his decisions and surroundings. These stories are both similar in that they are helped by others on their way to where they are destined to be.
I believe that those in limbo are much different than those that had not chosen a side because those in limbo were unaware. Christianity had not yet come to be, but for the people that were in limbo, I feel they would have chosen the path of Christianity if it had been presented in their time. This may be why their only "punishment" is to long to see the face of God because that was just the people they were. They believed in the divine of their time. However, the indecisive were presented with Christianity and chose not to choose a path, so by not choosing, they were going against Christianity. They were presented with Christianity but denied it, which would make them more likely to be punished in a divine realm. I think that the layers are wrong as I think you mentioned though. I believe that Limbo shouldn't have been part of Hell and the indecisive should have been.
I also think he was a bit easy on those in limbo. I question his motives for even including these virtuous pagans in Hell, and why Christians who were neither good nor evil, endured worse torture. Its odd to me that he would include them, but i guess if you look at it like "at least they were virtuous," i suppose its better to reward the just, even if they didn't believe in God. I also think it was because he wanted to be counted among their ranks, so he gave them the easiest time. And implied that despite their short comings in life were rewarded n the afterlife.
I also saw similarities between Aeneas' journey and Dante's. I think it shows how much Dante relied on classic texts to write this epic.
What happens to the souls in the second ring in the seventh circle?
The second ring is to punish the souls who were violent against themselves, such as suicide, when they were living. The punishment for these souls is that they are turned into trees. When ever, branches from their tree breaks off they are in pain and then they end up bleeding. Harpies also cause them pain by eating the leaves off the trees. This is shown when it states, “The moment that the violent soul departs the body it has torn away from, Minos sends it down to the seventh hole… At last the Harpies, feasting on its leaves, create its pain…” (189). After reading the thirteenth cantos, I thought this punishment was interesting. Some people feel that the only way to escape their pain or problems in life is to commit suicide. However, according to Dante they will not escape pain just by dying. If they do commit suicide, their punishment is being in more pain in hell. Therefore, this circle of in the inferno is a message to people that suicide is not a solution to his or her problems.
How did Virgil help Dante? Virgil is sent by Beatrice, Dante’s love to guide Dante through hell. Being Dante’s guide he obviously helped him by teaching him about the punishments of the different circles of hell. For instance, each circle that they travel through the punishments becomes more severe. Another way in which Virgil helps Dante is by getting him through obstacles in hell. Some of these obstacles include Charon and Minos, who both quickly recognized that Dante is still a living soul. They were persistent on not letting Dante through, due to the fact that he was living. However Virgil convinced them to let Dante go through. “And my guide said to him: why keep in shouting? Do not attempt to stop his fated journey…” (110). Therefore, having Virgil as a guide, greatly benefited Dante’s journey through hell.
How are the Blasphemers, Usurers, and Sodomites punished? Blasphemers, Usurers, and Sodomites are all punished in the third ring of the seventh circle. The souls are punished here due to the fact that they were angry or violent towards God before they died. This ring of the seventh circle is further divided into three groups. The first group, the blasphemers punishment is to lie on burning sand forever. An example of a soul in the blasphemers group is someone who cursed God before they died. The Usurers have to crouch on the burning sand. Finally, the Sodomites are the souls who are punished by wandering non-stop across the burning sand.
It’s interesting to think about suicide that way. People do it to escape just to be sent to Hell and have to endure even more pain. The rational in the book was that they didn’t value their bodies on earth and so they are devoid of them in Hell. I thought that was interesting too that instead they become plants. And then the plants can feel pain because the person is there on the inside. These people had control over their own death but now in hell they don’t have control over their bodies. I agree that Virgil was a big part in making sure that Dante was able to make it through hell. When the creatures of the inferno wouldn’t let Dante pass Virgil was there to make sure Dante made it through. Except for the City of Dis when they needed then help of an angel to get them through the city’s gates. It was because of Beatrice asking Virgil to guide Dante that helped Dante make it through the inferno. Their punishment is interesting. They are forced onto the hot sand for going against God. Based on which category there are different positions they are in the sand according to the sin. They went against the nature of God and so nature (the sand) is inflicting pain onto these sinners.
The punishment for suicide seems very just considering they threw away their bodies. It seems right that these people would be denied their bodies in hell because they did chose to part with them and this is the only punishment where the sinners will not have their bodies on the day of judgment. This shows how serious an offense suicide is most likely because God gave you life and you chose to revoke it which is similar reasoning for homosexuals being punished worse than murderers. Virgil is a faithful guide who attends to Dante quite well, carrying him when he faints. Virgil is the key for Dantes trip for most cases except when they try to gain entry to Dis but Virgil gets him through the beginning steps. He also plays an important role in teaching Dante about the punishment of sin which is important to understand. The punishment for those who were violent against god seems surprisingly tame. To go against God in such way seems like it would be a worse fate. Perhaps the reasoning behind the burning sand idea is that God made everything and you were against him so now you will never be able to be comfortable again.
What are some of the sources Dante draws from and/or references in writing his Divine Comedy? In other words what are some of the texts, people, religions, and ideologies discussed, directly or indirectly, in Inferno? One of the qualities of this text that makes it such an incredible work of literature is the amount of material Dante is able to weave in to this poem. The most obvious example is Christian theology as the whole storyline is Dante the Pilgrim’s journey through hell and eventually to heaven. The idea that one is directly punished for the specific sins they commit on earth is a major theme throughout the new and old testaments. Also, the Virgin Mary is noted as a guardian of Dante before he begins his travels through hell. Dante also covers the Roman epic Aeneid by naming its author, Virgil, as Dante the Pilgrim’s guide through hell. Characters from this text also appear later on in Inferno as members of the first circle of hell, or Limbo. Dido is the exception as she resides in the second circle of hell (see below). Many other notable people belong to the first circle including famous poets and philosophers, some dating back to ancient times. An important note regarding these individuals in Limbo is that they are not all Christian. Averroes and Avicenna are mentioned in this Canto, and Muhammad and Ali come up later in Dante’s journey through hell. These men are essential figures in Islamic philosophy and the Muslim religion, an interesting addition to the cast of characters in Inferno. This circle also contains those who died unbaptized, another reference to Christian theology. The references continue as Dante mentions Minos and Cerberus, two well-known entities from Greek mythology. Also, Dante makes note of an individual who lived in the current time and is an enemy of Dante the Poet’s family in Florence. There are almost too many references to list, but I will conclude with the image of Satan. Satan is incased in a lake of ice in the deepest circle of hell. This is a clear allusion to the Qur’an as this is the only fundamental religious text in which Satan is described as being composed of fire. Dante is able to bring together all of these characters, some fictional and some existing in reality, in the setting of hell while weaving in different religions and philosophies, and is even able to promote his own personal agenda.
In placing Dido in the second circle of hell, the circle in which the lustful are punished, Dante creates a scenario in which the facts do not add up. What is the effect of this discrepancy for the reader? Dido is a fictional character in Virgil’s Aeneid who kills herself after being betrayed by the gods. In Dante’s Inferno, however, Dido is being punished for allowing herself to be consumed by her passions instead of her suicide. This creates a problem for two reasons. Not all readers may be familiar with Dido but those who are will realize this and, most likely, question Dante’s decision to include her in this circle. The larger issue, however, is that Dido’s actions which send her to hell were not her actions but in fact the god’s intervening in her life. The gods influence her to fall in love and invoke the passion in her, the sin she is eternally punished for in hell. This conflicts with the theology that this poem is based on in that individuals are sent to hell because of their own actions. Dante has no explanation as to why Dido is included, and this is one of few examples in which Dante’s inclusion of so many different people, theology, and works of literature does not fit together correctly. Also interesting to note, Dido is one of few women explicitly discussed in Inferno.
Your second question brings up the issue as to why Dido is in the lustful circle of hell even though she killed herself. One possible explanation for this is that Dido, and other people who lived before Jesus Christ, did not view suicide as a sin. I am not an expert on the pagan Gods but perhaps taking one's life was not viewed as sinful in their eyes. Perhaps Dante considered suicide to be such a sin only after Christianity was established as a religion. The virtuous pagans' only torture is that they will never see/know God; they are only being punished for being born during the wrong time period. Similarly, maybe Dante isn't punishing people such as Dido and Cleopatra for their suicides because they did not know Christianity during their lives. Despite this theory I think it is more likely that the inclusion of Cleopatra and Dido in the lustful circle of hell speaks more about his views on women. Like Virgil's Aeneid, Dante's Inferno characterizes women as emotional beings who are easily overcome by passions.
Your first question made me think about the personal aspect of Dante writing the Divine Comedy. If we believe that this work is meant to be fictional and poetic, his inclusion of the rich heritage of Greek mythology adds to the quality of his work. His inclusion of enemies in his life also add to the personal motivations in writing the Inferno. Overall, Dante accomplished something very impressive in writing the Divine Comedy. He created a celebrated piece of Christian literature while simultaneously taking stabs at his enemies and making his poem a work that will be studied in English classes for a long time
The question was brought up today in class about how Dido may have been punished unjustly compared to some others. It was mentioned that she should have been placed in Limbo instead of circle II. Then the question was brought up as to why Dido was not placed in the Wood of the Suicides due to commiting suicide. I believe that Dido was not placed in limbo due to the values that were known at the time. Lust was considered an appetitive state during her time, so she knew that going so crazy over Aeneas was not in her best interest. In killing herself due to lust, she let her appetitive desires get the best of her. Yes, Cupid made her fall in love with Aeneas, but the feeling of love can be controlled. She could have gotten a handle on her life if she had not let lust control her. I also believe that neither her nor Cleopatra belong in the Wood of the Suicides because perhaps suicide was not as taboo as it is in the Christian faith. I'm sure that even before Christianity people knew that taking their own life wasn't the best thing to do, but it was not as blatantly stated as breaking the rules in their time as it is in the time of Christianity. It strikes me as odd that Hell is so complex, but yet we never hear anything complex about heaven. Good Christians all go to heaven, but weren't there Christians that were better than others? Aren't there angels that have been by Gods side and have more to do with what God may or may not do than others? Are all angels created equal? I thought that the Wood of the Suicides was the most interesting part of Dante's Inferno. I feel there is a real sense of contrapasso with the punishment they receive. During life, one has control of their body and most of the time what happens to it, but by commiting suicide, that priveledge is being thrown away. By making the sinners into trees that cannot protect their limbs or save themselves from damage, it makes the sinner realize how important the control they let slip through their fingers actually was.
I REALLY love that you brought up Heaven in that way! It's interesting that I never really think about that. It's something to wonder about, whether heaven is as complex as people think hell is. There could be levels, or circles similarly to the way Dante viewed hell. You would think all angels would be created equal, but here in America it is supposed to be the same with all men being equal, but that is hardly the case with how we treat and view one another. Maybe that could carry over into Heaven as well. Who knows?! But it is a great point you brought up.
The question of whether or not Heaven shares Hell's complex structure is an interesting one. I'm not super familiar with it, but I think the second and third part of the Divine Comedy that we haven't read (Dante's Inferno is only the first part of three) might address this. I just did a little wikipedia diving as I'm writing this, and Dante actually does address this in the third part of the Divine Comedy, Paradiso, and heaven is similarly laid out in terms of merit-based placement in different circles of Heaven. It's interesting that we only really study, or focus on as a culture, really, the Hell and the bad things people do in the Divine Comedy, like we have a morbid interest in the Hell stuff that the other sections (Purgatorio and Paradiso) can't compete with.
I also thought it was interesting that Dido was placed in the 2nd circle when she was compelled by other forces to act the way that she did. In fact, I don't think that the second circle of hell is even all that terrible, not terrible enough to be in hell at all. Emotions are emotions and if some people get caught up in them they shouldn't be punished. Free will right?
Your discussion regarding the simplicity of heaven is an interesting idea, but one that would cause much trouble within Christian theology. If heaven worked like hell, so the better one behaves the nicer their spot in heaven, the whole image of heaven would be distorted. The idea that Jesus saves all the sinners is the issue with this, because how could the lines be drawn for heaven and hell? And what of the marginal sinners? It would take the promise of heaven and manipulate it, the very idea that draws many to Christianity and a principle Christians take great solace in. And as much as humans jockey for money, power, and wealth on earth I believe that heaven would be turned into a similar battleground not a place of eternal peace. As for priests, monks, and other Catholic clergy this would create quite a conundrum as well. These individuals would have to walk a very thin line between advisor and hypocrite, as according to a many-tiered heaven they would be closer to the top than their congregations.
How was Dante's exile exhibited in the literature of the Inferno?
One could argue that the entire Comedy was the product of the emotions that came about from his exile from Florence. Being branded a heretic and an unbeliever, his metaphorical triumph over hell, complete with many of his enemies within that hell kill two birds with one stone. His enemies are discredited throughout history as monsters of some sort, while Dante looks pious and true. There's nothing stopping Dante from completely trashing those who wronged him, and throughout history that's what has been remembered. In immortalizing his enemies, Dante gets the last laugh over those who made his life more difficult. The symbolicness of his being lost at the beginning of the poem shows how much the loss of his home affected Dante - he's stumbling through a dark, unfamiliar wood, and gladly takes a trip down to hell with nary a second thought. Both the character and the poet were clearly weary of what the world had in store for them.
How can Dante be considered an early proponent of Italian Nationalism?
Dante's guide through hell, Virgil, is most closely associated with classical Rome, and it's empire. This, coincidentally, was the last time the Italian peninsula was under one rule by Dante's time. A victim of the fractured political scene himself, perhaps Dante felt a singular Italian state would be more accepting of different viewpoints, and in turn Dante himself. Instead of having to leave his homeland, he could relish in it's security and power. Dante being guided by Virgil can be taken as being guided by Rome, and the principles thereof. Certainly, his position as an aristocrat would have served him well in the old empire. Another thing to consider is Italy's place in the world at the time, where it was placed between two empires that claimed to be the true inheritors of Rome - both in the East and North, from Germans and Greeks alike. Virgil's selection is Italians over any other respected figure, a big symbolic step to take.
Why is the final ring of hell so frigid, and why is this so important for those suffering the punishment there?
Though it was mentioned that the cold was due to the distance from God's love, and that it made Satan uncomfortable, one thing isn't brought into consideration: the people who are punished there. By being frozen into the lake, those who are condemned are also preserved into their judgment and punishment. There's no hope for removing one's self without also removing the greatest evil in the entire world. This has an extra dimension of punishment; that they're also basically protecting a world that they might have hated themselvess.
Your idea about the last circle of hell is very interesting. I think this circle of hell is one of the most interesting to talk about because it really presents the exact opposite of the collective cultural idea of 'hell,' i.e.: fire, brimstone, etc. Furthermore, the fact that Satan himself his trapped in this level doesn't seem to be one of the generally held notions of hell, and this shouldn't go overlooked as one of the elements of punishment for the last level of hell. Most of the other levels seem rather visceral in their modes of punishment, however, the notion of being trapped in a frozen lake alongside Satan for the rest of eternity seems to be much psychological a punishment than it is generally given credit for.
I don't know if I can really agree with the last point about Hell being frigid because I don't think any of the sinners can really remove themselves from their fate. The suicides in the Wood of the Suicides are also preserved in their judgement and punishment and have no means of removing themselves. If anything, they are worse off because at least the sinners within the ice are being covered by the ice, but the sinners turned into trees and bushes can be attacked by anything that happens to come their way. They are just as helpless as the ice and they are much farther removed from Lucifer than the sinners in the ice are. I do agree with your first statement, however, and I think it was very well-played. He could have just written something that bashed the people that he hated, but instead he made it into a story with so many notable characters from other works that bashing these people on the side almost seems to go unnoticed, but at the same time, keeps these hated people out in the open so the readers do know that they existed and what terrible people they were. I definitely think Dante would have served better in a different time period. If he had lived around the time of St. Augustine maybe and had written the same book, he probably could have had his work become something that many people viewed as a factual text. Many did anyway, but that idea would have been even more widely accepted and he probably wouldn't have faced the political problems he does in his time.
It’s an interesting concept to compare Dante’s life with what he wrote about in The Divine Comedy. Dante incorporates many mythological elements throughout the inferno, such as Dido and Cereberus, but he also includes many Florentine people. He makes use of his enemies and places them into hell. By doing this he can feel better by putting them down. He also predicts the future of the city of Florentine many times even though he wrote it a few years later and already knows what will happen. Many Italian aspects are included in The Inferno. First off he wrote it entirely in Italian and mentioned Florence many times throughout. By selecting Virgil as Dante’s guide you get another example of bringing Italian culture into The Divine Comedy. That’ an interesting point to make about why they are frozen into the ice. They have committed the worse sins and so they aren’t allowed to even wander around hell at all. They are stuck in their present condition, forever frozen, unable to do anything. They can just think about their sins and the punishment.
How was Dante's exile exhibited in the literature of the Inferno?
You covered the factual and textual repercussions of Dante’s exile in your response, however the true effect of this punishment is more subtle and, in a way, behind the scenes within the text. Dante’s exile brings up the point of the true genre of this work as well, as he covers so many topics and ideas it is almost hard to classify. In a way Inferno is much closer to the modern definition of a comedy than we may have thought, albeit a very dark comedy. This implies, then, that this can also be considered a work for entertainment purposes as well. While Dante does intend to make statements about human nature, he could not resist the opportunity to bring all these characters from history (and the present) together. This brings it back to his exile. Dante pulls his exile into the text in that he is this small, helpless character traveling through a land riddled with evil and suffering, yet he is able to make it through unscathed, indicating that his exile is not the end for him. Also Dante is concerned about the unity of Italy, and his journey through hell can be seen as the turmoil before reaching a achieving this unity. While these are allegories for a religious journey, this text could also be viewed as a social/political commentary. As much as Dante is making a theological point he is also making a political statement as well.
What does Dante's organization of hell say about his values? There are a lot of strange examples where Dante really seems to be picking and choosing how he organizes his version of hell. Take, for example, the second level of hell seems to be only full of female sinners, and interestingly a lot of the characters in this level have committed other, worse sins than 'lust.' For example, Dido is in the second level of hell, however, she killed herself, which would otherwise have landed her in the seventh circle. This particular example seems to reflect something about Dante's personal views, perhaps about women, or about lust. Dante's arrangement of the different circles of hell also reflects Dante's values in life. For example, the people that he chooses to put into the first circle, as well as the fact that this is the 'first' circle of hell, (the group of poets) seem to get a punishment rather different/less gruesome than the other circles, which seems to reflect the values of Dante the man.
It's all pretty self-serving, I agree. Dante is noticeably fairer to men he would consider his predecessors - the Ovids and Homers of hell don't have it too bad. As for his views on women within hell, Dante probably ascribed to the idea that women were just too simple for most of the more "severe" sins, a common one in his time. By reducing Dido's legacy to succumbing to lustful urges, he denigrates all the accomplishments she managed as a woman in antiquity. The only excuse he has is that there wasn't much though to the contrary.
Dante's organization of hell does speak to his values, but what they exactly are, are somewhat blurred. Yes the second level of hell seems to be comprised of mostly women and this may seem as Dante is an anti-feminist, that women are simple creatures. From this point of view he seems to say that woman are so simple and they do not know better, so they shouldn't be punished as harshly as men who know better. This seems to go along with his treatment of the philosophers who were around before Christianity. On the other hand I can not recall a single women's name mentioned in deeper circles of hells, which correlates to worse sinners. Maybe he has a proto-feminist view and is attempting to say that women may even be more morally just than men. The only women we know in this story are the ones in the second circle of hell and those in heaven (ie: Mary and Beatrice). Either way it is a very interesting question.
What does Dante's organization of hell say about his values?
I absolutely agree with your assessment, and also that the fact that it is a good way of getting insight into Dante's values. To go further with this, I think one of the problems with his organization of hell is that each type of sin for each level can come in degrees. For example, someone could steal an apple from a fruit merchant because they are starving and are close to dying from starvation, having gone many days without any food, or someone could steal an apple simply out of resentment of that fruit merchant and wanting to see misfortune fall upon that person. While they are both thieves, and would be condemned to the circle of greed, clearly the former is not nearly as callous in intent as the latter. There is a definite difference in degrees of malicious intent here. With that said, why would both receive the same degree of punishment just because both are thieves, yet the circumstances and intent are so greatly different in degrees? The punishment is not proportional to the circumstances of the crime, which is something that is greatly emphasized in the US justice system (although by no means not always fairly done!). Dante's hell, which is instituted by it's creator, God, whom is supposed to be just and fair, is by no means fair to all in this instance. What this says about Dante is that he deals with sinners in a very crude and broad sweeping manner. It is as if instead of taking the time to devise a system where all punishments are just based on the severity and circumstances of the crime, he just creates a basic layout of hell based on the major types of sins, and then just says to hell with them all!
Alec Wolsiefer Hum1 Dante’s The Divine Comedy Blog post week 14
The Gluttons are in the third circle of hell. Why is Cerberus a fitting choice to be a guard over the Gluttons? What is the punishment of the Gluttons?
Cerberus is a three-headed dog from Greek and Roman mythology that guarded spirits from escaping the underworld. In Dante’s Divine Comedy Cerberus guards over the Gluttons because the creature, having three heads, is gluttonous in nature. The three heads fight over food to get as much as they can even though it goes to the same stomach. The guard reflects the sins of the Gluttons. The punishment of the Gluttonous is grotesque. In life they were obsessed with physical pleasure and pursued it excessively. They were greedy and wasteful so now it seems fitting that their punishment is to lay on the ground as waste and excrement fall down upon them. They are covered in this waste and the stench saturates the air that they breathe in. The punishments in Dante’s Dive Comedy are very intriguing and always match the sin perfectly.
Dante’s Inferno is one of my favorite works in this course. The way it was written and the ideas of the punishments are ingenious. I think one of the reasons I like it so much is that The Divine Comedy can be interpreted in so many ways. It can be a warning to Christians, an allegory for the journey of the human spirit, or just a tale of a regular man overcoming his fear and facing his inner demons. The punishments Dante envisions are poetically just and always mirror the sin committed. I would like to believe that there is some sort of karmic justice for people like the sinners in Dante’s Inferno, even though I do not personally believe in god. One of the more interesting aspects of the work for me as a biology student is the 3 animals Dante meets in Canto 1. The lion is supposed to represent violence, the leopard mean-spiriteness and fraud, and the she-wold lust. Male lions spend roughly 20 hours sleeping, so they would seem better representatives of the sloth sinners. The leopard is stealthy and nimble so Dante got that representation right. The she-wolf couldn't be more far off though. She-wolves are loyal to their families and highly protective of their cubs. They are proud and loving creatures that have gotten a bad rep over the years just for killing a few livestock. They are not sneaky or tricksters, they hunt in packs and coordinate effortlessly in the open when facing prey. The she-wolf is even revered as a motherly figure in Roman culture, with a great she-wolf raising Romulus and Remus. I do not see how Dante could have seen the connection between she-wolves and lust.
I like your point about Cerberus being a fitting guard for the third level of hell. Like you mentioned, everything in Dante's hell has a very simple sort of connection about it, everything seems to be justified in an almost 'eye-for-an-eye' manner. Perhaps the she-wolf connection has to do with the fact that wolves are such protective mothers, and as such rather instinctual in nature/easily controlled by their emotions as such, although I would agree that the three animals in the beginning of the poem are some of the more abstract symbols in the entire work.
While I got hung up on the inclusion of a character from a work of fiction into another work of fiction, I still think it is worth some thought. Dido was placed in the Underworld by Virgil in the Aeneid, where she hung out much more peacefully than in the Divine Comedy. The issue at hand is that Virgil is also present in this work of art, and more or less revered, so is Dante inadvertently causing parts of Virgil's work to be false? It seems paradoxical, because unless Dido exists outside of the Aeneid then everything about her is known through that text, making it "truth" in the Divine Comedy. I think I may be grasping at straws, but the issue sincerely bugged me.
Are the other beings in Hell also being punished?
There are a handful of characters in the Divine Comedy that are not being overtly punished in any way. Not speaking strictly of the poets, but more so of the "guards" of hell, like Charon, Minos, and Cerberus. Dante describes these beings as being gross, old, and generally never good things, but they are never seem to be deliberately punished. As far as I know, Charon has always been the ferryman of the dead, being a demon and all. Is he inherently punished by being farther from the love of God? And Minos, a pagan who made brutal sacrifices just became a gruesome looking decider of fates. There is no recall of any pain being conflicted on him consistently, unless is ugliness is the only sin. I don't think that these beings are being punished, but unfortunately carry the duties that are necessary for Hell to run smoothly and efficiently.
Is The Divine Comedy the first piece of fantasy?
As far as I can tell, no other Christian text has gone as far to detail and describe some of the more gruesome things that hell has to offer. Dante is approached by some of the most awesome displays of torture at magnitudes that were impossible to comprehend at his time. So, with such an emphasis on the fantastical nature of Hell, does the Divine Comedy serve as a piece of fantasy? Defined as fiction that primarily uses the supernatural in the plot, the Divine Comedy is without a doubt fantasy, and I believe Dante intended it to be used as an alluring escapist piece of literature. Due to his growing alienation with the church, and his attempt at revenge at those who exiled him from Florence, Dante made this world as awesome and fantastical as possible, to make it that much more enticing to those who read it. This idea of hell has carried over well into our own time, because of its attractiveness as a story. I believe Dante was capable of writing a less styled version of this tale, commenting on sin similar to St. Augustines style. But this impressive world was created to garner more attention and enact his revenge more easily.
Dido's presence in the Inferno is very interesting and paradoxical. I think by bringing her into the work he is attempting to reach out to his audience and make the book more accessible by introducing a familiar character. One of the main goals of this work was for it to be accesible to as many people as possible and the majority of his audience at that time would have recognized Dido's name. I agree that it does not seem like the guards of the circles are being punished in the Inferno. It seems they are just there to show how sub -servant polytheistic religions were to Christianity and to ensure Hell runs smoothly. I know some people that would love to do MInos job, lazing about all day judging others. The Divine Comedy definitely brings a more gruesome part of hell to light. One main Christian belief is that hell is really just the absence of being in god's presence when you die, and Dante sticks to that in his punishment of he betrayers. They are so cold and frozen because they are far from god. But he does elaborate on the degrees of how far certain sinners are from god's love/presence. The gruesome nature of the work comes off as a warning to Christians on how truly terrible hell can be.
Personally, I thought that it was a bit strange when I saw that Dido was included in The Divine Comedy. I thought it was weird that a fictional character, and even weirder was that her punishment was for lust and not suicide. I also thought about the other creatures in Hell. My guess would be that characters like Minos and Charon are not necessarily being punished.I feel that they are demons of some sort who were put there in order to give Hell some kind of order. Even a place such as Hell has some order to it. Also, the Divine Comedy may have been the first piece of fantasy. I found it interesting how he could create a work of fantasy like this while including things from various religions such as Judas and pagan gods.
I discussed Dido in my blog entry, but in a completely different way. I find your point about Dante making Virgil's work potentially false very interesting. It does seem almost paradoxical, but I think it is one of the small inconsistencies in the Inferno that are supposed to be overlooked.
I assumed that beings like Charon and Minos were arbitrarily designated as the officers or guardians of Hell. I did not make the assumption that they were being punished.
I think the Inferno was supposed to be a work of fantasy with a moral/religious basis. While the work on the whole reflects Christian theology, the inclusion of characters from other religions is interesting. I believe that this inclusion of these characters reinforces the idea that the Inferno is a piece of fantasy. I believe that the religious characters of Charon, Cerberus and Minos are intended to be considered "fictional" by the readers of the Inferno.
I hadn't really thought about what Virgil's reaction must have been when he saw Dido in Hell. He doesn't seem surprised, or apologize for writing something incorrect about Hell, he just sees her and keeps traveling. As far as the other beings in Hell are concerned, they may not have souls to begin with, preventing them from being properly punished. Thank you for pointing out the impact Dante's work must have had on modern fantasy. His world building and imagery fit in surprisingly well with modern day novels like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. It may be my unfamiliarity with other works at the time, but The Divine Comedy seems unparalleled and could have set the trend we are seeing today.
My biggest issue with Dante's narrative is his contradiction between his monotheistic beliefs and his use of pagan characters and themes. On one hand, Dante is a devote Christian who believes in monotheism; that there is a single God. This, and the acceptance of Christ, are key to salvation and making it into heaven. However, Dante cherry picks various characters and themes out of Greek mythology and incorporates it into his Christian version of the underworld. The major problem with this is that as a monotheist, if you're going to use pagan characters and themes, you are validating polytheism, or the existence of the pantheon of Gods and Goddesses they came from. These characters and themes that Dante takes from Greek mythology are not mutually exclusive with the Greek pantheon, but to the contrary are dependent on the Greek pantheon as it is those pagan Gods and Goddesses who had created and facilitated those characters and themes. One glaring example of this contradiction of theological paradigms is the use of the Cerberus as the guardian of the third circle of hell, the circle of gluttony. The Cerberus is the guard dog of the ruler of the underworld in Greek mythology Hades. Cerberus' father is the dragon Typhon, who was created by the Greek goddess Gaia. Therefore, in this instance with the use of the Cerberus in Dante's Inferno, he is validating the existence of a Greek Goddess by incorporating one of her descendants in the narrative, which contradicts the Christian principle of monotheism. Another great example of this contradiction is the use of Medusa in the ring of heretics (ring 6). Medusa is the daughter of the Greek Goddess Ceto and the God Phorcys. Once again Dante contradicts the Christian belief of monotheism by validating the existence of a Greek God and Goddess by using Medusa. There are many other examples of Dante cherry picking pagan characters and themes from the Greek mythos for his story, such as: Plutus, the River of Styx, and Charon to name a few. You cannot take these characters and themes out of the context of the polytheistic Greek mythos. For example, that is the equivalent of someone saying that the first man, Adam, is the gate keeper to the 9th ring of hell, but the universe is ruled by the Greek pantheon of Gods, and to get into Elysium, or heaven, you have to accept that the universe is ruled by a polytheistic hierarchy. It just doesn't work or make any sense; Adam exists only in the context of being the first human made by a single, universal God, while characters from the Greek mythos only exist under many Gods. You cannot have both without this major contradiction, and frankly, this is one of the major flubs of Dante's Inferno.
I didn't particularly find the pagan references in Dante's inferno to be contradictions per say.
They were more or less a way for Dante to maintain a sense of Italian identity with the classical allusions and use allusions rather than to say "Oh, these are the facts!". After all, how many paintings in the Vatican are kind to pagans? Such as the School of Athens we mentioned early in class.
DAnte wasn't a theologian in the Catholic church, he was a man with a bit of grudge against a great deal of people in the Church.
Yeah, Emma really hit the nail on the head, here. It's all a product of residual culture that's been a part of the Italian peninsula since antiquity. Humans don't particularly like to give up familiar aspects of their daily lives, so it's easier to incorporate the more benign features of the old pagan culture than to totally abandon everything and start fresh. Cultures grow with and out of each other, not just out of the blue with totally new paradigms. It's the reason why the Shah Nameh was set in Zoroastrian times, or why Japanese authors write about Ancient Japan with a sense of reverence. It's all about connection to a common past.
This is one of the most confusing aspects of Dante and his narrative of heaven and hell. The key to salvation is a devotion to Christ and God, but these are pagan characters who serve the Greek god and goddesses. I see a connection to Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh, the author like Dante was a devote practitioner of the Abrahamic religion of Islam, but still wrote a text that contained earlier Persian characters and deities. It seems that this was a representation of his cultural legacy as an Italian member of the Western tradition, using ancient Greek monsters and Roman poets because they carried so much respect and notoriety in his nation, similar to the Persian legacy of Ferdowsi. Although Dante was a Christian and this was an epic poem based in Christian beliefs it is almost impossible to remove earlier aspects of the culture he identified with.
This is a totally valid argument, and creates a lot of issues throughout the text. I also got hung up on the inclusion of a character, Dido, and how she damaged the fidelity of Dante's story. The line I had to tell myself over and over was "This is fiction, he can do whatever he wants". Hell, Dante was already called a heretic event before the text was written, so he could have felt the urge to live up to the title! Anyway, I think the inclusion of these Greek mythological men and beasts can be included without directly defying the truth of the Bible and God.
In the same way that we defend plot holes and problems in our favorite films or stories, I feel as though I'm doing the same here. The text can be viewed in two different ways in this context. One, as I said before, Dante doesn't care and will create an interesting story without worrying about the possibilities of the presence of some beasts. And two, that Dante is attempting to combine some of the cultural heritage of Rome with the powerful and prominent presence of Christian theology. Assuming the second view of Dante's intention, the inclusion of these characters can be made without devaluing the monotheistic nature of Christianity. In the same way that Judaism and Islam agrees with Jesus' teachings but differ on his origin and purpose could be the same way Dante deals with these creatures. Their presence is almost identical to the ones in Greek myth, but their origins are not explicitly explained. Perhaps instead of Gaia creating Typhon and then Cerberus, he assumes the reader to believe that God created it all. According to the Bible, God is the creator of some awe-inspiring creatures, like Leviathan and Behemoth. All in all, these creatures can be included because they're origins are whatever Dante decided them to be, because however people view the text, Dante intended for it to be fiction.
The role of Virgil Sent by Dante’s lover Beatrice, Virgil acts as Dante’s guide through Hell. Virgil was likely chosen by Dante to serve as the guide in The Inferno because he reflects Dante’s Italian roots. Throughout the work, Virgil takes Dante through the various circles of Hell, explaining to him the sins that the souls in each section committed, and explaining the punishment of those souls. Virgil also serves as something of a protector to Dante, as his presence frequently allows Dante to gain access to places that the guardians of Hell do not wish him to go.
What is the significance of the ice that Satan is trapped in? Hell is typically equated with fire. However, in The Inferno, the deepest circle of Hell consists of a frozen lake, with Satan frozen in its center. It is explained that the deepest circle of Hell is frozen because it is the farthest away from God’s warmth and love. This is also a potential reference to the Islamic cannon. In Islamic theology, Satan (Iblis) is a creature made of fire or smoke. It stands to reason that because of this, Dante realized that the traditional view of Hell (where sinners are punished by fire) would not be a fitting punishment for Satan, as he himself is made of fire. It is reasonable to assume that this is not a coincidence, and that Dante was familiar with Islamic texts, as he references Islamic philosophers such as Averroes and Avicenna.
I absolutely agree that Virgil was chosen for the role because of his Italian roots. This obviously would be a great way to captivate the Italian audience, which has always been known for their strong sense of nationalism and cultural pride since the height of Rome. It is also a great way for Dante to promote himself to a higher status in the eyes of his readers as Dante must be of some significance or importance if the famous Virgil is assigned to guide him as opposed to some no name individual, or someone of less significance.
What is the significance of the ice that Satan is trapped in?
I agree with your whole paragraph here with the exception of one minor error; Iblis is made from smokeless fire, or just fire, not fire and smoke. Your point though on using ice because he is made from fire, and because love is symbolic of being a warm, is a good one. To go further with that thought, in Christian symbolism the heart is associated with fire. It is not uncommon to see a picture of Jesus with a flaming heart, which reinforces your original connection as the heart is obviously symbolic of love. This flaming heart symbolism is also used in various other religious traditions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, to name a couple. A frozen hell can also be a fitting punishment because Satan is trapped within the ice, and thus bound to the deepest level of hell as his eternal prison. If Satan were not bound to the frozen lake, what would stop him from physically escaping and raining hell upon the Earth?
What is Virgil’s role in the Inferno? Throughout Dante’s exploration of sin, Virgil is the guide and the voice of reason throughout all the levels of hell. Having read Virgil’s, The Aeneid, there are many reasons why Dante chose Virgil to be the one to guide his character through this journey. Virgil created Aeneas, a heroic character who was adventurous and brave. Virgil is the perfect guide to lead Dante on his journey because he was also a Roman poet and is very familiar with it. Virgil pushed Dante to venture through the levels of Hell and without him, Dante might have turned around and not pursued this quest. There are many instances in which Virgil legitimately saves Dante, from helping him conquer his fears, to carrying him out of harm’s way. Virgil represents the knowledge that Dante has gained along his journey and the man that Dante, the character, idolizes.
What is Beatrice’s role in the Inferno? Beatrice symbolizes love and hope, for it was her love for Dante that gave him a guide to travel through the levels of Hell, safely. She also represents the undying love that God has for us. She sends an angel (Virgil) to help Dante and guide him carefully. Part of me wonders why she did not come to help Dante herself and why she allowed Virgil to aide him in his journey. There are many speculations as to why this is. Facts about Beatrice’s life remain uncertain in this part of the Inferno however, the only part we know is that Dante fell madly in love with her and she has sent Virgil to help him.
Where is Dido? A question that was brought up in class was that of why Dido is placed where she is. Dido is in the Second Circle: Lustful. I also asked the question as to why she isn’t in the Circle with the souls who have harmed themselves. I also feel like she should be in Limbo with the “good people”. Dido was struck by cupid, which resulted in undivided and undying love for Aeneas. She then committed suicide because of her love for Aeneas. Because she dies out of love, she was placed in the Second Circle. I feel as though she should be placed with the souls who have committed suicide, because that is what she ultimately did. Another circle I would have placed her in was Limbo because she had no control over her actions; falling in love with Aeneas was not her own doing but a result of an outside force.
I agree with your justification of Dante's choosing of Virgil as the guide. I said something very similar in my blog entry, although I added that Dante may have chosen Virgil because they share similar Italian backgrounds.
I like your explanation of Beatrice's role in the Inferno. I had not considered that she may represent God's love for humanity, but it is a very interesting point. I also wonder why Beatrice sent Virgil instead of guiding Dante herself.
I agree with your point regarding Dido as a "good person." More or less every sin that the reader of the Aneid knows she committed was committed under the influence of the Gods. It does not seem fair that she should be punished for her lust or suicide considering that she would have been neither lustful or suicidal if left to her own devices.
Having Virgil guide Dante through hell also reflected his Italian roots, which he highly valued. I also questioned why Beatrice didn’t help Dante herself and sent Virgil instead. This could be due to Dante’s views on women. Women were considered to be either pure or a victim to their passion. So maybe they felt as if Beatrice could not have successfully guided Dante through hell, since she is a woman. It is an interesting point to bring up that Dido could be placed in limbo, due to the fact that she didn’t have full control over her life.
In your second paragraph you mention how Dante was madly in love with Beatrice during his lifetime. Recalling this, I find it strange that Dante was so influenced by a worldly passion in writing the Inferno. Although the lustful are in one of the first circles of hell, it seems a little hypocritical for Dante to be criticizing this sin. In the introduction of my edition, there was an extensive section devoted to explaining Dante's love for Beatrice and how badly he was hurt by her death. The whole premise of the Inferno is based on understanding the true nature of sin and understanding God so I find it a little amusing that Dante himself was so overcome by passion. Perhaps in writing this he is freeing himself from his past desires.
I found Dante’s Inferno to be very interesting and very creatively written. I consider Dante to have quite the imagination and in some ways, a very disturbed soul. I use the term disturbed because of how graphic some of the punishments are. Although while reading it, I found myself saying “ew”, or “ughh”, I kept wanting to read on and find out what punishment would happen next. It’s such a crazy idea, when you think about it, how Dante came up with all these sins and the punishments for them. Like the idea of those who were swept away by love in life, were tortured in that exact manor, in death. They were literally swept away by strong, harsh winds for eternity. I also liked how Dante brought in such mystical characters, such as gods like Dido and Helena, and also the three headed dog like in the tail of Hercules. There were parts that confused me, however, such as why Dido was placed in Circle Two which was Lust, and not Circle Seven, which was Violence, which Dido belonged because although she was consumed by love. I really just wish I could ask Dante questions like this and I feel as though he would be quite an intimidating person just because of his ideas in The Divine Comedy, but I’m sure it would be unreal to speak to him and ask him what he was thinking when he wrote such a beautifully constructed book. I also am curious to know what the Pope thought of Dante’s book. I wonder if this made the Pope dislike Dante even more, but in this way, more because he was envious of Dante’s fortune and brilliant ideas. I’m sure there were plenty of people who despised Dante just because they were so jealous when The Divine Comedy was published. He has a great mind and is such a brilliant and intelligent person. I admire how creative he thinks, as well.
I think you posed a great question as to what the Pope must have thought about Dante's Inferno. I had never thought about that before and couldn't even imagine his reaction. I also agreed with a lot of your points, such as the confusion with Dido and where she was placed as well as the want and need to keep reading despite my initial reactions like, "ew". I too thought it was very creatively written, simply the form it was written in was enough to make me stop and think. After reading this, I felt like the choice to make it a poem and not a novel was a very stylistically interesting choice, and I quite enjoyed it. I agree that the parts that I enjoyed the most or the parts that made me most interested to read more were those of the punishments. I thought the way he created the punishments to fit the crime was very clever.
Dante seems to have organized hell according to what he views as the worst sins. Many of Dantes explanations for his placement of people could be based on his exile from Florence. He has the pope predict that other popes will be in Hell to. This would fit very well because the pope helped exile Dante from Florence. Dante mixes many of the previous religions with Christian ideas. This is not an easy challenge because of all of the contrasting ideas in these religions. By mixing religions it almost seems as is Dante is giving other religions some form of validation. The punishment of Capaneus for heresey is just one of these examples. Capaneus defied Zeus a supposedly mythological god according to Christianity so why would he be punished for heresy. This example is different from Dante just incorporating other religions and mythology into this because it goes against the Christian beliefs by admitting Zeus is a God. To Dante a unified idea of Italy was a great idea and he shows the disdain for it being separated by placing Brutus and Cassius in the deepest level of hell. The only worse punishment was that of Judas Iscariot who is being punished for betraying Jesus Christ.
I really agreed with what you said about Dante mixing many of the religions with Christian ideas. It does almost seem like Dante is trying to validate these other religions in some way. I do not know the story of Capaneus and Zeus but that's a good example, as well, and I can understand what you're saying about heresy and why there shouldn't be a punishment for Capaneus. I also liked what you said about unifying Italy and that this was one of Dante's great ideas.
I found the inclusion of different religions in the poem was very confusing, as one would assume that if Dante's reasoning behind Dante's Infernal was to create a religious text, he would not include other religions, but just speak about his own religion (Christianity). But I feel he does do this by including the other religions, because by doing so, he downplays the other religions and makes the inferior to Christianity. He holds other religions against the "rules" of Christianity, and states that they are sinful by putting them in Hell. He places many characters from many famous writings in different circles of hell because they are sinful according to Christianity, and this is a statement that Christianity is above those religions, and the other religions cannot save themselves form their follower's eventual trip to Hell for their sins.
4/24/13 Is the Inferno a Christian work? The Inferno is regarded as a canonical piece of Christian literature. I do not necessarily see it as a deeply Christian piece. It seems more to be about a personal journey, and a political commentary. The most obvious evidence of the piece being personal is the naming of the main character Dante. Of course the inclusion of other names recognizable from Alighieri’s past surface, such as Beatrice. The poem is set in Dante’s own time, not in the obscure past (such as Milton’s Paradise Lost), or even at some indeterminate future time. At the time of its writing there was a great fear in the growing power of Islam and, from Dante the church. The overwhelming violence of the punishment of sinners was a very conservative view prevalent at the time. It was most exemplified in the following century by the Spanish Inquisition. None of the punishments though are present in the actual Bible. They are all man generated imaginings. Although the ending is not incredibly dire, it does not have the same message of hope as say St. Augustine. The core of Christianity is in the redemption of man, in the end man can choose to confess his sins and be with god in heaven. This is not a possibility in the Inferno. Charon tells new arrivals that they are entering into the darkness, never to return. Again, with the imagery we see a departure from traditional Christianity, which has sought to separate itself from all ‘false idols’. Dante clearly is using the classic images, myths and figures to a specific effect. It would seem Dante studied the classics, and found them lacking. In my opinion, though the work is seminally Christian there are too many examples of non-Christian ideals and influences to make it canon of the level of Augustine or Milton even. This is not a work about why or how to worship God, this is a tale about the dangers of failing at accepted societal mores. What treatment of other religions do we see in the Inferno, and what does it signify? Dante does not favorably approve of any ancient figures. The major figures of Islam, Mohammed and Ali are all present in Hell. There is no logical reason for this, except that they are not Christian. They even appear maimed and weeping, clearly damaged by and regretful of their choices in life. They are not allowed a spot even in purgatory with the likes of Plato. Averroes and Avicenna are in the circle with Homer and Ovid, which is interesting. Even though they are not being punished, they are clearly not allowed in heaven though. As Dante has allowed no egress from his layers of punishment once they become placed there, even those in limbo have no real hope. Only non-Christians and sinners are banned from heaven. It is interesting to think how much this may be a result of Dante’s misunderstanding of Islam and it’s message, and how much may have been just about his own personal experiences studying the alternate philosophies.
I do not see Inferno as a particular Christian piece either. Dante incorporated Christian ideas of what sin is and some key concepts such as fallen angels, heaven, and Satan being in hell but for the most part this is him making things up. Nowhere in the bible does it say the exact punishment or location of sinners so Dante is just writing what he feels punishes them accordingly. I agree that there are too many non-Christian ideals in this story to equate it to Saint Augustine or Miltons work. I think that the placement of Muslim characters is interesting in this story, I believe Dante viewed them as having the chance to pick the “right” religion but not doing so while many of the poets such as Virgil were not around when Jesus was born. The placement of people in this story is very interesting especially with the concept that even the older biblical figures spent time in hell, which seems pretty deranged considering they followed Gods word straight from him, but this may be in order to stress the importance of Jesus.
What is the difference between Dante the Pilgrim and Dante the Poet?
Dante the Pilgrim and Dante the Poet are, as you would guess, not the same. Dante the Pilgrim is a character in the "Divine Comedy." Dante the Poet is the author of the "Divine Comedy," whose major character is Dante the Pilgrim. The Pilgrim is somewhat naive and sometimes believes the spin that the sinners put on their stories and even shows a little sympathy. The Poet, however, has much more knowledge and experience than Dante the Pilgrim. This knowledge allows Dante the Poet to remain impervious to the stories that the sinners in the Inferno tell, as he knows that God doesn't make mistakes and if someone is in the Inferno, they deserve it.
Why is Cerberus a fitting choice to be a guard over the third Circle?
In the third circle, Dante finds the gluttons. Those that spent their lives with an uncontrolled appetite, who deliberately turned natural foods into a god, or some sort of object of worship. Cerberus is a three-headed dog and is familiar to anyone that has read Homer and Virgil. As in mythology, Cerberus requires a concession for each of his mouths before anyone is able to pass. Thus, due to Cerberus' constant hunger, he is a fitting guard over the third Circle.
Why is gluttony farther down the Inferno than lust: i.e. why is gluttony worse than lust?
As Dante the Pilgrim travels through the Inferno, he encounters lustful and gluttonous souls. The souls in the second Circle are the lustful and the souls in the third circle are the gluttonous. Lust and gluttony are generally considered the least of the seven deadly sins, however, the order of the two is inconsistent. Dante takes the reader from lust, which is a mutual/shared sin, to gluttony, which is a sin performed solitarily. The fact that a glutton is solely responsible for their sin is reason for the order in which Dante encounters lust and gluttony.
1. It is usually very important in a critical reading of any text to separate the author from the character or narrator. In this case it is very hard to do. It is very obvious that Dante the poets influences, studies and personal feelings help to organize his levels of Hell. There is not official christian doctrine or gospel stating where in Hell each person falls, or what their punishment may be. Therefor is is tasked to Dante to decide on these. Despite any feelings or proof that his work may not be wholly original, there are reasons behind each punishment and level. The reasons come from Dante the Poet, not the Pilgrim. The Pilgrim I see as an allegory for the Poet's own doubts and journeys through life.
2. I think you are correct - what better way to represent the sin of gluttony than a beats who has three mouths to feed. These mouths seek to each eat only for themselves, and starve the other not thinking that they all share a goal in preserving the body. They want the food not for their sustenance but merely for pleasure.
3. If I am correct in my assessment Dante is more lenient for sins that are committed in acts of passion. Lust is a forgivable sin because people aren't really hurt by it, they just suffer from a constant sense of dissatisfaction as their lust is not satisfied or not up to their expectations. They are momentary acts of weakness. Gluttony is a more conscious choice that requires acting on and planning. Dido fell for Aeneas but is almost forgivable because it is easy to understand her actions. She did not sleep with man after man, which may be considered gluttony, but instead lost her mind because of one. If Dante were to be read as saying that any person whoever succumbed to a moment of lust were doomed to hell forever than 99% of people would be doomed.
Why can a "worthier spirit" lead Dante into Heaven when Vigil cannot?
Virgil who was in the inferno was condemned to an eternity in hell because he was born prior to Christs pardoning of human sins. Virgil takes him through hell and proves to be a very wise guide but because he never was pardoned by Christ he cannot enter heaven.
What do the leopard, the lion and the she wolf symbolize?
The three symbols of Dante symbolize carnal sins. Sins, which have three categories of severity. These are the sins of malice and fraud, the sins of violence and ambition, and the sins of incontinence. This is a possible reaction to Pre-Christian tradition which is a theme of Dante's. Virgil could not be saved because he was Pre-Christian tradition. Many religions and cultures before Christ embraced animals spiritually. The Roman's felt many animals were religious in nature like the Horse and Poseidon, the Owl and Athena, the Deer and Diana.
As you mentioned, Virgil is unable to lead Dante into heaven. As a christian, Dante was able to journey there like any other while Virgil would remain in limbo. When I try to think about why Virgil was unable to perform the task, I believe it was because, like Homer and other poets, he was a pagan and because of that, is condemned to an eternity in limbo. Also, as you said, these men and women preceeded Jesus and, through no fault of their own, had no knowledge of Christ and his teachings. It seems a little unfair though, to punish those that had absolutely no way of preventing the "crime" they committed. But, I believe that is why Virgil shows a sort of pity to the souls in Limbo, as they were morally sound human beings who, to their misfortune, unable to be saved.
Does Dante’s Inferno help answer the question of why a loving God would send people to Hell? Each level of Hell in Inferno involves a punishment not only appropriate based on the sin committed, but is an actual continuation of the decisions the sinners made during their time alive. The first circle is neither punishment nor reward, as the pagans neither sought paradise nor did anything deserving of punishment. They are put in a position where they can do exactly as they have always done. The second circle of Hell is for the lustful, where foul winds swirl them around for an eternity, just as their emotions did while alive. The gluttonous lived their lives eating excessively, and as a result they are rained on by the excrement that results from their actions. My favorite circle, the 4th, is where the prodigal and the greedy are weighed down by the material possessions they cared for so dearly, putting all their time and effort into moving things back and forth. The sullen in the 5th circle of Hell are submerged in the river Styx, under the mud and hidden from any “light.” It could be Dante the poet’s position that these are fitting punishments and that is why he wrote them, or it could be that each of these punishments is supposed to be what is actually happening whenever someone commits a sin in this world, which Dante the poet may consider an illusion. Dante the poet could be arguing that God and Christ are there to help guide people through this “illusion” into paradise, but some commit sins without realizing what happens in the “real” realm. Therefore it could be the case that God is not responsible for sending people to Hell, only unable to lead them to paradise without restricting free will. Why is being trapped by ice the punishment Satan receives? The explanation I had heard is that the ice is being cooled by Satan flapping his wings and blowing the cold air over it. Satan would be free to ascend to heaven if he would stop trying to defy God, the sin most associated with Satan. Just as in the other circles of Hell, the punishment is the result or the continuation of the very sin that put him there.
-Why does Dante feature Greco-Roman mythological characters in the inferno?
Although Dante's work is now considered by many to be a very pious, holy work (hence the "Divine" in "Divine Comedy"), at the time of its writing, the Catholic Church considered it a heretical work, and it's not hard to see why. The Inferno contains character after character borrowed from pagan Greek and Roman mythology. Dido from Virgil's Aeneid can be found in the second circle of hell, damned to be blown around by a putrid wind for all eternity for the sin of lust or passion.It's interesting to note that this presumably fictional character belonging to a whole other mythology and religious system than the one Dante believed in was treated as just as real, and her sins treated just as real, as say Judas or Satan and their offenses. This might demonstrate a kind of lingering Pagan faith in the old Greek and Roman myths that even the conversion of the Roman empire to Christianity couldn't fully erase.
-What's up with Virgil?
In the landscape of Hell described by Dante the poet in the Inferno, the epic poets and philosophers of non-Christian faiths (either pre-Christian pagans, like Homer or Ovid, or "virtuous Muslims" like Averroes)are the inhabitants of the first circle of hell, where they are not punished, as they are virtuous (by Dante's judgement) but also not rewarded, as they were not followers of Christ in life. Virgil's place in the story, then, is a bit odd. While he does reside in limbo with the rest of the virtuous pagans, he is apparently allowed to leave when given special, divine instruction, and is chosen above anyone to guide Dante through Hell. So why is this? My guess would be that, like Virgil's invocation of the Muse and his use of settings and characters from Homer's epics in the Aeneid, Dante is attempting to create a continuity among the classical epics, tying the Inferno into the great epic of Rome by way of including its author.
-Why are Cassius, Brutus and Judas considered to be on the same level of damnation?
Part of how Dante's Inferno functions is as a catalog and ranking of history's sinners; the least offensive sinners are in the first circe, and then as you move farther into hell, the sinners get more and more abominable in Dante's view. So why is it that at the very center of hell, you find Satan ranked at number 1, closely followed by Judas, Cassius and Brutus (who are evidently tied for the number 2 spot)? Satan being the greatest sinner ever is a pretty obvious choice. Judas being number 2 is also pretty reasonable, since he's the ultimate betrayer of Christ, humankind's lord and savior. But what are Cassius and Brutus doing in the top 4? By putting the betrayers of Caesar on the same level as Judas, Dante seems to be implying that Caesar is on the same level of righteousness or importance as Jesus, even though by the rules of Hell established by Dante, Caesar, a pagan, should be in the first ring of hell at best. This seems like another example of lingering Greco-Roman tradition that the people in the Roman empire never fully abandoned after the empire's conversion.
I think your questions invariably lead to the conclusion that Dante was trying to emphasize the greatness of the Roman empire and a unified Italy. It explains his choice of Virgil as his guide, his inclusion of Greco-Roman mythology (and by inclusion, its validation), and explains his brutal punishment of Cassius and Brutus. This exaltation of the Roman Empire appears to have successfully biased European culture for centuries, as we today still focus on the Roman Empire very heavily in history classes.
One of the most interesting parts of The Divine Comedy for me was that Dante included different characters from Greco-Roman culture. It is interesting to find someone at that time period who would be willing to incorporate non-Christian entities. I agree with what you said about the role of Virgil in this story. It is strange that Virgil was the one allowed to guide Dante through Hell. It seems as if he was given a special powers in order to guide Dante. What makes Virgil different from any of the other virtuous pagans? On another note, I don't think that Cassius and Brutus should be on the same level as Judas. To me, it seems like Judas is the ultimate betrayer and the the other two belong in a different section. Dante must have had some resentment for the two Roman betrayers.
You really hit on something I didn't consider, the equality of Cassius and Brutus with Judas. Using simple logic, this then equated Jesus with Caesar, woah. I wonder if Dante had thought about this contradiction before he published is work. I do agree with Grant that this was most likely another inclusion to remind people the greatness of Rome. Caesar created the empire, and the betrayal made on him lives on as one of the most famous actions in human history, due in part to men like Dante and Shakespeare. Not being a strictly Christian text, as in this is not an attempt at being Christian canon, I believe Dante had free reign over his placement of sinners, and the equating of these men to each other doesn't blatantly deny the truth of the Bible. Its the same as saying that Kevin Smith's Dogma was trying to be included into Christian thought and teachings. Whether this lax attitude to Dante's writings was apparent in his time, is clearly not the case. I don't think Dante believed Jesus and Caesar were equal, but I'm sure he would said that Caesar was a close second.
What was the true role Virgil played in the inferno?
Dante’s inferno is an epic tale about the pilgrim Dante and his journey through the 9 circles of hell... As cool as this plot sound already it becomes even more intense when the author Dante incorporates famous people throughout the ages within the story and shows how their lives were represented by their punishment in death. Amongst these poets, philosophers, blasphemers, and pagans is one of the most intriguing characters, Publius Vergilius Maro, commonly known as Virgil the author of the epic Latin poem, The Aenied.
Virgil’s role in this tale is to accompany a weak and unfortunately lost Dante. He meets up with him at the very beginning in this tale while Dante is wondering through a forest hopelessly lost. When he embraces Dante he informs him that he has come to guide him on behalf of his true love Beatrice. He explains that Beatrice begged him to watch over Dante and ensure his safety. As humorous as the idea that the guide lived a millennia before himself Virgil’s reason and wisdom make him a perfect guide for Dante. As a respected and well renown Roman it is no wonder Dante (the author) created this character to guide his protagonist on this journey. The metaphorical nature of this entire story makes one consider that the confusing journey through life would need such a guide. As a physics major this would be the equivalent for me to request Nickola Tesla or Einstein’s assistance. What Virgil does for Dante is not that far short of everything, Dante is about as helpless as an infant in a viper den. If not for Virgil Dante would have died very quickly, he demonstrates idiotic and childish tendencies throughout the story. In every circle of hell Virgil not only gives his assistance to Dante but fills him in on how and why the circles came to be within existence. Virgil is patient with Dante and constantly watches over him and despite how much Virgil likes Dante he grows frustrated with him more than a couple times, especially when Dante expresses remorse for those who have been condemned to hell. Virgil represents that of a father figure and role model to Dante and it becomes apparent to the reader how the author views himself as an individual.
Dante wrote this story as a tour guide to his own intervention. It expresses hints of genius because of the great detail that each conflict he as a character had to face. Each individual chapter could be broken down to represent some type of learning experience that has occurred within his life. Being lost in the woods, his ignorance of evil, overcoming of fears, and evolution as a person could not have been represented in a more clear way. Not only that but I believe while he was writing it he realized that the trials that he was overcoming did not just apply to his own life but every humans life. His Divine Comedy became a guide to the health of the human soul.
It's interesting to note that Virgil acts as a father figure to Dante, considering what a heavy emphasis there is on the relationship between father and son in the Aeneid. Dante's inclusion of this similar relationship (which also resembles the Platonic ideal of a teacher and a student) definitely shows how influenced Dante was by Virgil, so by including him as his spirit guide through Hell, one poet guiding another, is a kind of meta-textual way of paying tribute to the Aeneid.
I believe that it is completely acceptable for Dante the Poet, as a individual from Florence, to choose Virgil as a guide for Dante the Pilgrim. Being from Italy and loyal to the city of Rome, Dante would consider Virgil one of the greatest writers for Roman nationalism. The Aeneid telling the story of the birth of the Roman civilization would have an intense influence on Italian culture at the time of Dante's life. A second notion is that The Aeneid tells the tale of one of the greatest epic heroes in Roman culture, Aeneas. Dante would probably want no other than Virgil, the man responsible for "guiding" Aeneas through his epic journey, to guide Dante the pilgrim through this allegory.
It seems that the use of Virgil as a guide throughout the tale has the intent of equating Dante with the greatness of Virgil. Virgil serves as a guide for Dante through these different areas of hell, similar to the way a young author would examine the great writers that came before him for inspiration and guidance. Dante could be including Virgil in his tale to communicate that he is following in the tradition of great Roman authors, therefore he should be viewed in the same way as these great Roman authors. Also, that he is being guided by those who came before him and owes these great thinkers a great deal of respect.
I also find Liam's idea of the Platonic relationship of teacher and student to be very interesting. That Dante the Poet's ideal teacher, if he had a choice, would possible be Virgil based off of how well know the story probably was in Roman culture. In Virgil's text, Aeneas is of one of the few ever to descend into the underworld. This being that Virgil, responsible for the epic of Aeneas journey, he would be the next possible best guide for Dante the Pilgrim into the underworld.
What is Limbo? And why is it such a big deal? Limbo is the place where virtuous pagans end up. Limbo is the immediate destination of those souls who, through no personal fault, are not admitted to heaven. Because this fate is not due to their personal moral failings, they are also not damned to hell. People like Homer, Horace, Aeneas, and Averroes, are all here solely because they do not believe in Jesus. It is outside the entrance of Hell, but across the river Acheron. In comparison to the rest of Hell, it is a walk in the park. There is no suffering, no punishment. There is the benefit of companionship, and the souls here are able to exercise reason. But the down fall, is that they’ll never get to paradise. They are able to see the light of heaven, but they have no hope at all of getting there, which in itself is kind of a punishment. It puzzles me why such great men, who did much for their country and the world, would be in limbo? It’s basically only because they were born before Jesus came to save the world. But, he did so that everyone could go to heaven. I’m not a fan of the idea that they are damned because they were born in the wring century. What does Dante represent? Dante is ‘everyman’ and represents humans in general with all our flaws. When Dante goes through, he feel compassion for some, pity for others, but by the end, he comes to grip that these people deserve to be damned. In the beginning he is very scared, and doesn’t know what to do, he runs away, looking for safety. He has emotions that are very prominent, despite the advisement against them from Virgil. Despite the fact that his emotions seem to be humorously proportioned, fainting out of pity, and a few chapter later, wishing a man to be damned more, they are perceived as very human reactions. I think he does this to help tell the reader what to feel. As he furthers his decent into Hell, it seems like he leaves his humanness behind, and becomes heartless towards those suffering. What does Beatrice represent? In Dante’s eyes, she is perfect in every sense of the word. She was sinless, had moral perfection and was a sincere Christian. She is literally the perfect person. So it is only natural that she represents heavens Grace, and its love for the pilgrim. I also think that she is an allegory for spiritual love, showing that Dante’s love for her was a pure as his love for God. Every time she is mentioned, it is with an air of reverence and respect.
I think it is good to recognize the first circle of hell becauase it is the only circle without punishmen. Normally when the idea of hell comes to mind punishment is the next, so this circle slightly contradicts the meening of hell. Plus the philosiphers and poets who are there I'm sure all love to just stand around and discuss all the meenings of the universe with each other so it could even be considered heaven to an extent. I'm sure one or two of those philosiphers love this punishment and the fact that they will never get to true paradice because they are already within one.
Limbo is quite strange to me. On one hand, it does seem to be a punishment, due to the fact that, for an eternity, the souls of limbo must see the light of Paradise and know that they will never be there. Yet, on the other hand, it seems like no punishment at all. The ancient philosophers are able to find company in one another and are able to discuss and exchange ideologies as they would have most likely done had they been in Paradise. These men and women are, essentially, able to continue the lives they led previous to afterlife as souls in the afterlife.
As Dante descends further into the Inferno, he becomes less sympathetic towards the sinners. I'm not so sure it's Dante becoming any less human(e), as it is Dante being a christian and realizing that any sinner placed in Hell was placed there by God, and therefore, it is exactly the punishment that they deserve.
I share a share a similar perspective with Mark on this issue. I believe Dante does represent the building of men and what they must go through. It is good to note though that the author does indeed use himself to represent the protagonist. It shows how he himself has overcome challenges and he makes it easy for others to share the same perspective. So if you take in this story in a very hypothetical view it can be considered a sort of guide.
What part does Virgil play in Dante’s journey? Virgil plays the role of Dante’s guide through the levels of hell. He was sent because Dante’s love Beatrice saw how sad and miserable he was without her, and knew he needed guidance through to get to heaven. Virgil helped Dante pass judgment at the hands of Minos, as well as avoids certain punishments, such as feeding Cerberus earth so they can pass by without being eaten. Without Virgil’s guidance and knowledge, Dante would barely have made it past Circle One.
What is a sin being punished in a circle of Hell? One sin being punished is gluttony. Those residing in this circle are surrounded and rained on by filth and excrements. They live within their own filth as their punishment, which I feel is fitting for their sin. What you take in must come out!
While that is all true about Virgil's role in the Inferno, there is still more that he represents. Not only does he guide Dante physically through Hell, but Spiritually as well. Virgil is an allegory for reason and human wisdom. He is there to aid Dante by helping him overcome his sins by understanding them, and then, by repudiating them. Virgil is there to help guide Dante through the understanding of the nature of sin, and the reparations of those different sins. Also, just to clarify, I believe that it was the Virgin Mary who took pity upon him, and then sent Beatrice as the messenger to Virgil.
I completely agreed with what you said about Virgil and being such a help to Dante in his Journey. There's absolutely no way Dante would've made it past Circle One without Virgil's help. Virgil was the perfect guide, in my opinion. He knows Rome and is familiar with the area, and is also a very intellectual and tough person. I couldn't see anyone else being chosen for this job. I found gluttony to be the most interesting sin to read about. I found that the punishment was also very fitting. I liked your ending comment, "what you take in must come out!", this is a very appropriate lesson for this crime.
I thought that the most interesting and one of the most fitting punishments was that of gluttony. I found myself almost laughing while reading this part because I thought the punishment fit so well. I almost felt like these punishment were a form of karma and what goes around, comes around. As an education major, this is definitely a great lesson I would teach children, maybe not as graphic for elementary school students, but something along those lines would be a great way to get children to understand the overall message of these punishments which in some cases is "treat others as you want to be treated" or even "sharing is caring".
What do the three animals signify when Dante encounters them in the woods?
ReplyDeleteDante encounters three animals while he is trying to climb a slope. The first animal is a leopard, the second is a lion, and the third is a she-wolf. Each of these animals symbolizes a sin that humans must face and overcome. Sins come up all throughout life and people have to learn to deal with them in different ways. The leopard symbolizes fraud, the lion symbolizes violence, and the she-wolf represents lust. These are all important symbols throughout Dante's Inferno because each circle of hell punishes these sins in some way. Another reason why these things are significant is because Dante's travels through hell symbolize a humans journey through life.
What role does Dante's Italian heritage play in the inferno?
Even though Dante was exiled from Florence by the pope, he still loved his Italian heritage. This is demonstrated in some of the choices Dante made while writing The Divine Comedy. Dante has strong ties to Italy since he was born in Florence. He uses Virgil as a guide in The Inferno because he is an important Italian poet. Also, Dante did not write this work in Latin as most people during this time did when they wrote something of interest. Instead, Dante wrote The Divine Comedy entirely in Italian, which further shows how much Dante valued his Italian culture.
Why is Satan stuck in ice?
I found it very interesting that the deepest part of hell consisted of ice. When thinking of hell, most people associate it with fire. After thinking about how each circle of hell consisted of a punishment for the people that resided in it, it made a lot of sense that Satan would be forced to live in a lake of ice instead of fire. Religious texts state that Satan came from fire and is made of fire so it wouldn't be much of a punishment to put something that loves fire and is fire in a fiery place for the rest of its life. Also I thought that its an interesting perspective to say that the 9th circle of hell is furthest away from God and therefore colder because it is further from gods warmth.
I also found it interesting that the furthest circle was completely ice. As you said and as we discussed in class, it definitely could be because he is furthest from God's warmth! I absolutely could agree that that is a possibility. I love your point about Satan coming from fire, and how it really wouldn't be a punishment at all for him to live in fire forever. That is a really interesting idea. With this, I keep picturing Hades from Disney's Hercules, with the blue flames surrounding him/as his hair. I think of cold, icy flames rather than flames that are so hot they are blue. Perhaps he is in ice/with cold flames because that is the way his heart is, cold as ice.
DeleteI agree with your statement that Dante still held pride for his country, and I feel like one his reasoning for writing Dante's Inferno was for this reason. He, like Virgil and many other poets, had an agenda when writing the poems, to put their country on a pedestal. He calls upon Virgil as his guide, he associates Caesar's enemies as the most sinful, and like you said, he even wrote the poem in Italian.
DeleteI also found it interesting that Satan was stuck in ice, considering that Hell was, and still is, perceived as being a place of fire where sinner burn for their past life. I like your interpretation of Satan being encased in ice because he was further away from God, as fire is something that can be interpreted as two different things, as a force for creation and birth (warmth, the Sun, etc.) or as a force of destruction (flames, burning, etc.). There can be two different interpretations of fire, as the two are very polarizing definitions.
I actually find it interesting that the animal totems are referenced as well. This is very similar to other tales, the Bible included, that use animal motifs to personify human emotions. I also find it interesting that they are one of the first references, and later in the poem (Canto XXIII) he again invokes animal imagery when he discusses Aesop.
DeleteI also found it interesting that the deepest circle of hell is consisted of ice. Personally, whenever I have thought of hell I associated with fire, instead of ice. The media plays a role in this association, considering that there is always fire when hell is portrayed. But it makes sense that it is made up of ice instead of fire. Since Satan is made from fire, it would not be a punishment if he were surrounded by fire.
DeleteJessica Bourdage
ReplyDeleteHow is Hell structured according to Dante?
The inferno is round and is divided into sections by circles. I think it’s fitting that the deeper you go into the very core of the inferno, the more severe the sin. At the very center is Lucifer and everything is frozen in ice. The first two layers on the inferno contain first the indecisive and then Limbo, where non-Christians, pagans, and the unbaptized are located. The indecisive are on the outside of hell, not a part of it but suffer punishment. While Limbo is considered the First Circle of Hell but no one there is punished. I feel that perhaps these two should have been switched or perhaps combined. Why should someone who didn’t take a side be caused more physical pain than someone who didn’t follow God such as those in Limbo? Why should the people in Limbo have to suffer no physical punishment as all the others in hell have to? Unless you see that never being able to see the face of God is a just form of punishment. But it seems to me that if these people didn’t necessarily follow God when they were living why should they want to see the face of God now? It could be that Dante associates himself mostly with those that are in Limbo and so he gave them a less severe form of punishment. He sees the poets and the others, such as Aristotle, as being superior and having great minds. Yet they still must be punished in some way for not following and believing in God. This results in them being banned from paradise and forced to reside in Limbo.
What is Virgil’s role?
Virgil is sent by Beatrice to help guide Dante through the inferno and purgatory. He has already made this journey before to fetch a spirit in the depths of hell and so knows the way well. Many times the keepers of hell stop Dante from moving forward in his journey. Charon is the first to try and prevent Dante. When Charon sees that Dante is living he won’t allow him on the boat but Virgil tells him that “it is so willed.”(pg.92)Virgil is able to help Dante across many obstacles by telling people something along those lines except when they reach the City of Dis. Virgil tells Dante about the shades in each of the circles and the punishments that they have received because of their behavior. He tries to teach Dante as he makes it through his journey. For example, Virgil encourages Dante to snap a piece of a branch off a tree for Dante to see that it is a person. He also praises Dante when he shows no pity to Filippo Argenti.
Is the will for Dante to complete his journey similar to Aeneas?
Many times throughout The Divine Comedy Virgil says that it is willed that Dante will complete his journey. He uses this to explain why a living person should be allowed when the other keepers of hell question allowing Dante to pass. It similar to Aeneas in The Aeneid, it was willed that Aeneas should succeed in his journey and eventually found Rome. Dante is willed to complete his journey through the inferno, purgatory, and his ultimate goal is to reach paradise. Aeneas’ fate was helped by the Gods such as his mother, Venus. Dante too is helped. Angels help Dante when he is denied entrance into the City of Dis. (pg. 151, line85-90) Beatrice is behind Dante’s journey. She has asked Virgil to help guide Dante through the inferno and purgatory. I think it’s fitting that Dante the poet decided to make Virgil Dante the pilgrim’s guide. Dante the pilgrim’s journey is similar to Aeneas so who else would be better to help guide him than the poet who wrote The Aeneid.
I also thought that the way that Dante organizes hell was interesting. It makes sense that the deeper one goes into hell the worse the sin because you are getting further and further away from God. I found Dante's placement of circles was interesting. I definitely disagree with the severity of some of the sins that Dante describes. I agree that people should not have to suffer more because they did not choose a side over people who did not believe at all. At least the unsure people did not completely denounce God.
DeleteVirgil plays an important role in guiding Dante. By adding Virgil to the Comedy, Dante was not only providing a character, he was also providing a strong symbol. Virgil acts as a sort of mentor throughout the entire poem. He provides help and advice for Dante. Throughout the poem, Dante feels bad for the sinners but towards the end of their journey he realizes, with the help of Virgil, that people are there for a reason. After Dante realizes this he does not feel bad for the sinners. In addition to being Dante's guide, Virgil symbolizes Dante's love for his home, Florence. Also, Dante is demonstrating through Virgil his respect for other well known poets.
I agree that Dante and Aeneas are similar characters in the sense that they are both destined to do something. Virgil pushes Dante through the circles of hell by letting people who get in the way know that "It is willed". Similarly, the gods in the Aeneid push Aeneas through his journey to Rome by manipulating his decisions and surroundings. These stories are both similar in that they are helped by others on their way to where they are destined to be.
I believe that those in limbo are much different than those that had not chosen a side because those in limbo were unaware. Christianity had not yet come to be, but for the people that were in limbo, I feel they would have chosen the path of Christianity if it had been presented in their time. This may be why their only "punishment" is to long to see the face of God because that was just the people they were. They believed in the divine of their time. However, the indecisive were presented with Christianity and chose not to choose a path, so by not choosing, they were going against Christianity. They were presented with Christianity but denied it, which would make them more likely to be punished in a divine realm. I think that the layers are wrong as I think you mentioned though. I believe that Limbo shouldn't have been part of Hell and the indecisive should have been.
DeleteI also think he was a bit easy on those in limbo. I question his motives for even including these virtuous pagans in Hell, and why Christians who were neither good nor evil, endured worse torture. Its odd to me that he would include them, but i guess if you look at it like "at least they were virtuous," i suppose its better to reward the just, even if they didn't believe in God. I also think it was because he wanted to be counted among their ranks, so he gave them the easiest time. And implied that despite their short comings in life were rewarded n the afterlife.
DeleteI also saw similarities between Aeneas' journey and Dante's. I think it shows how much Dante relied on classic texts to write this epic.
What happens to the souls in the second ring in the seventh circle?
ReplyDeleteThe second ring is to punish the souls who were violent against themselves, such as suicide, when they were living. The punishment for these souls is that they are turned into trees. When ever, branches from their tree breaks off they are in pain and then they end up bleeding. Harpies also cause them pain by eating the leaves off the trees. This is shown when it states, “The moment that the violent soul departs the body it has torn away from, Minos sends it down to the seventh hole… At last the Harpies, feasting on its leaves, create its pain…” (189). After reading the thirteenth cantos, I thought this punishment was interesting. Some people feel that the only way to escape their pain or problems in life is to commit suicide. However, according to Dante they will not escape pain just by dying. If they do commit suicide, their punishment is being in more pain in hell. Therefore, this circle of in the inferno is a message to people that suicide is not a solution to his or her problems.
How did Virgil help Dante?
Virgil is sent by Beatrice, Dante’s love to guide Dante through hell. Being Dante’s guide he obviously helped him by teaching him about the punishments of the different circles of hell. For instance, each circle that they travel through the punishments becomes more severe. Another way in which Virgil helps Dante is by getting him through obstacles in hell. Some of these obstacles include Charon and Minos, who both quickly recognized that Dante is still a living soul. They were persistent on not letting Dante through, due to the fact that he was living. However Virgil convinced them to let Dante go through. “And my guide said to him: why keep in shouting? Do not attempt to stop his fated journey…” (110). Therefore, having Virgil as a guide, greatly benefited Dante’s journey through hell.
How are the Blasphemers, Usurers, and Sodomites punished?
Blasphemers, Usurers, and Sodomites are all punished in the third ring of the seventh circle. The souls are punished here due to the fact that they were angry or violent towards God before they died. This ring of the seventh circle is further divided into three groups. The first group, the blasphemers punishment is to lie on burning sand forever. An example of a soul in the blasphemers group is someone who cursed God before they died. The Usurers have to crouch on the burning sand. Finally, the Sodomites are the souls who are punished by wandering non-stop across the burning sand.
It’s interesting to think about suicide that way. People do it to escape just to be sent to Hell and have to endure even more pain. The rational in the book was that they didn’t value their bodies on earth and so they are devoid of them in Hell. I thought that was interesting too that instead they become plants. And then the plants can feel pain because the person is there on the inside. These people had control over their own death but now in hell they don’t have control over their bodies.
DeleteI agree that Virgil was a big part in making sure that Dante was able to make it through hell. When the creatures of the inferno wouldn’t let Dante pass Virgil was there to make sure Dante made it through. Except for the City of Dis when they needed then help of an angel to get them through the city’s gates. It was because of Beatrice asking Virgil to guide Dante that helped Dante make it through the inferno.
Their punishment is interesting. They are forced onto the hot sand for going against God. Based on which category there are different positions they are in the sand according to the sin. They went against the nature of God and so nature (the sand) is inflicting pain onto these sinners.
The punishment for suicide seems very just considering they threw away their bodies. It seems right that these people would be denied their bodies in hell because they did chose to part with them and this is the only punishment where the sinners will not have their bodies on the day of judgment. This shows how serious an offense suicide is most likely because God gave you life and you chose to revoke it which is similar reasoning for homosexuals being punished worse than murderers.
DeleteVirgil is a faithful guide who attends to Dante quite well, carrying him when he faints. Virgil is the key for Dantes trip for most cases except when they try to gain entry to Dis but Virgil gets him through the beginning steps. He also plays an important role in teaching Dante about the punishment of sin which is important to understand.
The punishment for those who were violent against god seems surprisingly tame. To go against God in such way seems like it would be a worse fate. Perhaps the reasoning behind the burning sand idea is that God made everything and you were against him so now you will never be able to be comfortable again.
Austin Stone
ReplyDeleteDr. Akman
Humanities 1
4/23/13
What are some of the sources Dante draws from and/or references in writing his Divine Comedy? In other words what are some of the texts, people, religions, and ideologies discussed, directly or indirectly, in Inferno?
One of the qualities of this text that makes it such an incredible work of literature is the amount of material Dante is able to weave in to this poem. The most obvious example is Christian theology as the whole storyline is Dante the Pilgrim’s journey through hell and eventually to heaven. The idea that one is directly punished for the specific sins they commit on earth is a major theme throughout the new and old testaments. Also, the Virgin Mary is noted as a guardian of Dante before he begins his travels through hell. Dante also covers the Roman epic Aeneid by naming its author, Virgil, as Dante the Pilgrim’s guide through hell. Characters from this text also appear later on in Inferno as members of the first circle of hell, or Limbo. Dido is the exception as she resides in the second circle of hell (see below). Many other notable people belong to the first circle including famous poets and philosophers, some dating back to ancient times. An important note regarding these individuals in Limbo is that they are not all Christian. Averroes and Avicenna are mentioned in this Canto, and Muhammad and Ali come up later in Dante’s journey through hell. These men are essential figures in Islamic philosophy and the Muslim religion, an interesting addition to the cast of characters in Inferno. This circle also contains those who died unbaptized, another reference to Christian theology. The references continue as Dante mentions Minos and Cerberus, two well-known entities from Greek mythology. Also, Dante makes note of an individual who lived in the current time and is an enemy of Dante the Poet’s family in Florence. There are almost too many references to list, but I will conclude with the image of Satan. Satan is incased in a lake of ice in the deepest circle of hell. This is a clear allusion to the Qur’an as this is the only fundamental religious text in which Satan is described as being composed of fire. Dante is able to bring together all of these characters, some fictional and some existing in reality, in the setting of hell while weaving in different religions and philosophies, and is even able to promote his own personal agenda.
In placing Dido in the second circle of hell, the circle in which the lustful are punished, Dante creates a scenario in which the facts do not add up. What is the effect of this discrepancy for the reader?
Dido is a fictional character in Virgil’s Aeneid who kills herself after being betrayed by the gods. In Dante’s Inferno, however, Dido is being punished for allowing herself to be consumed by her passions instead of her suicide. This creates a problem for two reasons. Not all readers may be familiar with Dido but those who are will realize this and, most likely, question Dante’s decision to include her in this circle. The larger issue, however, is that Dido’s actions which send her to hell were not her actions but in fact the god’s intervening in her life. The gods influence her to fall in love and invoke the passion in her, the sin she is eternally punished for in hell. This conflicts with the theology that this poem is based on in that individuals are sent to hell because of their own actions. Dante has no explanation as to why Dido is included, and this is one of few examples in which Dante’s inclusion of so many different people, theology, and works of literature does not fit together correctly. Also interesting to note, Dido is one of few women explicitly discussed in Inferno.
Your second question brings up the issue as to why Dido is in the lustful circle of hell even though she killed herself. One possible explanation for this is that Dido, and other people who lived before Jesus Christ, did not view suicide as a sin. I am not an expert on the pagan Gods but perhaps taking one's life was not viewed as sinful in their eyes. Perhaps Dante considered suicide to be such a sin only after Christianity was established as a religion. The virtuous pagans' only torture is that they will never see/know God; they are only being punished for being born during the wrong time period. Similarly, maybe Dante isn't punishing people such as Dido and Cleopatra for their suicides because they did not know Christianity during their lives. Despite this theory I think it is more likely that the inclusion of Cleopatra and Dido in the lustful circle of hell speaks more about his views on women. Like Virgil's Aeneid, Dante's Inferno characterizes women as emotional beings who are easily overcome by passions.
DeleteYour first question made me think about the personal aspect of Dante writing the Divine Comedy. If we believe that this work is meant to be fictional and poetic, his inclusion of the rich heritage of Greek mythology adds to the quality of his work. His inclusion of enemies in his life also add to the personal motivations in writing the Inferno. Overall, Dante accomplished something very impressive in writing the Divine Comedy. He created a celebrated piece of Christian literature while simultaneously taking stabs at his enemies and making his poem a work that will be studied in English classes for a long time
The question was brought up today in class about how Dido may have been punished unjustly compared to some others. It was mentioned that she should have been placed in Limbo instead of circle II. Then the question was brought up as to why Dido was not placed in the Wood of the Suicides due to commiting suicide. I believe that Dido was not placed in limbo due to the values that were known at the time. Lust was considered an appetitive state during her time, so she knew that going so crazy over Aeneas was not in her best interest. In killing herself due to lust, she let her appetitive desires get the best of her. Yes, Cupid made her fall in love with Aeneas, but the feeling of love can be controlled. She could have gotten a handle on her life if she had not let lust control her. I also believe that neither her nor Cleopatra belong in the Wood of the Suicides because perhaps suicide was not as taboo as it is in the Christian faith. I'm sure that even before Christianity people knew that taking their own life wasn't the best thing to do, but it was not as blatantly stated as breaking the rules in their time as it is in the time of Christianity.
ReplyDeleteIt strikes me as odd that Hell is so complex, but yet we never hear anything complex about heaven. Good Christians all go to heaven, but weren't there Christians that were better than others? Aren't there angels that have been by Gods side and have more to do with what God may or may not do than others? Are all angels created equal?
I thought that the Wood of the Suicides was the most interesting part of Dante's Inferno. I feel there is a real sense of contrapasso with the punishment they receive. During life, one has control of their body and most of the time what happens to it, but by commiting suicide, that priveledge is being thrown away. By making the sinners into trees that cannot protect their limbs or save themselves from damage, it makes the sinner realize how important the control they let slip through their fingers actually was.
I REALLY love that you brought up Heaven in that way! It's interesting that I never really think about that. It's something to wonder about, whether heaven is as complex as people think hell is. There could be levels, or circles similarly to the way Dante viewed hell. You would think all angels would be created equal, but here in America it is supposed to be the same with all men being equal, but that is hardly the case with how we treat and view one another. Maybe that could carry over into Heaven as well. Who knows?! But it is a great point you brought up.
DeleteThe question of whether or not Heaven shares Hell's complex structure is an interesting one. I'm not super familiar with it, but I think the second and third part of the Divine Comedy that we haven't read (Dante's Inferno is only the first part of three) might address this. I just did a little wikipedia diving as I'm writing this, and Dante actually does address this in the third part of the Divine Comedy, Paradiso, and heaven is similarly laid out in terms of merit-based placement in different circles of Heaven. It's interesting that we only really study, or focus on as a culture, really, the Hell and the bad things people do in the Divine Comedy, like we have a morbid interest in the Hell stuff that the other sections (Purgatorio and Paradiso) can't compete with.
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DeleteI also thought it was interesting that Dido was placed in the 2nd circle when she was compelled by other forces to act the way that she did. In fact, I don't think that the second circle of hell is even all that terrible, not terrible enough to be in hell at all. Emotions are emotions and if some people get caught up in them they shouldn't be punished. Free will right?
Your discussion regarding the simplicity of heaven is an interesting idea, but one that would cause much trouble within Christian theology. If heaven worked like hell, so the better one behaves the nicer their spot in heaven, the whole image of heaven would be distorted. The idea that Jesus saves all the sinners is the issue with this, because how could the lines be drawn for heaven and hell? And what of the marginal sinners? It would take the promise of heaven and manipulate it, the very idea that draws many to Christianity and a principle Christians take great solace in. And as much as humans jockey for money, power, and wealth on earth I believe that heaven would be turned into a similar battleground not a place of eternal peace. As for priests, monks, and other Catholic clergy this would create quite a conundrum as well. These individuals would have to walk a very thin line between advisor and hypocrite, as according to a many-tiered heaven they would be closer to the top than their congregations.
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ReplyDeleteHow was Dante's exile exhibited in the literature of the Inferno?
ReplyDeleteOne could argue that the entire Comedy was the product of the emotions that came about from his exile from Florence. Being branded a heretic and an unbeliever, his metaphorical triumph over hell, complete with many of his enemies within that hell kill two birds with one stone. His enemies are discredited throughout history as monsters of some sort, while Dante looks pious and true. There's nothing stopping Dante from completely trashing those who wronged him, and throughout history that's what has been remembered. In immortalizing his enemies, Dante gets the last laugh over those who made his life more difficult. The symbolicness of his being lost at the beginning of the poem shows how much the loss of his home affected Dante - he's stumbling through a dark, unfamiliar wood, and gladly takes a trip down to hell with nary a second thought. Both the character and the poet were clearly weary of what the world had in store for them.
How can Dante be considered an early proponent of Italian Nationalism?
Dante's guide through hell, Virgil, is most closely associated with classical Rome, and it's empire. This, coincidentally, was the last time the Italian peninsula was under one rule by Dante's time. A victim of the fractured political scene himself, perhaps Dante felt a singular Italian state would be more accepting of different viewpoints, and in turn Dante himself. Instead of having to leave his homeland, he could relish in it's security and power. Dante being guided by Virgil can be taken as being guided by Rome, and the principles thereof. Certainly, his position as an aristocrat would have served him well in the old empire. Another thing to consider is Italy's place in the world at the time, where it was placed between two empires that claimed to be the true inheritors of Rome - both in the East and North, from Germans and Greeks alike. Virgil's selection is Italians over any other respected figure, a big symbolic step to take.
Why is the final ring of hell so frigid, and why is this so important for those suffering the punishment there?
Though it was mentioned that the cold was due to the distance from God's love, and that it made Satan uncomfortable, one thing isn't brought into consideration: the people who are punished there. By being frozen into the lake, those who are condemned are also preserved into their judgment and punishment. There's no hope for removing one's self without also removing the greatest evil in the entire world. This has an extra dimension of punishment; that they're also basically protecting a world that they might have hated themselvess.
Your idea about the last circle of hell is very interesting. I think this circle of hell is one of the most interesting to talk about because it really presents the exact opposite of the collective cultural idea of 'hell,' i.e.: fire, brimstone, etc. Furthermore, the fact that Satan himself his trapped in this level doesn't seem to be one of the generally held notions of hell, and this shouldn't go overlooked as one of the elements of punishment for the last level of hell. Most of the other levels seem rather visceral in their modes of punishment, however, the notion of being trapped in a frozen lake alongside Satan for the rest of eternity seems to be much psychological a punishment than it is generally given credit for.
DeleteI don't know if I can really agree with the last point about Hell being frigid because I don't think any of the sinners can really remove themselves from their fate. The suicides in the Wood of the Suicides are also preserved in their judgement and punishment and have no means of removing themselves. If anything, they are worse off because at least the sinners within the ice are being covered by the ice, but the sinners turned into trees and bushes can be attacked by anything that happens to come their way. They are just as helpless as the ice and they are much farther removed from Lucifer than the sinners in the ice are.
DeleteI do agree with your first statement, however, and I think it was very well-played. He could have just written something that bashed the people that he hated, but instead he made it into a story with so many notable characters from other works that bashing these people on the side almost seems to go unnoticed, but at the same time, keeps these hated people out in the open so the readers do know that they existed and what terrible people they were.
I definitely think Dante would have served better in a different time period. If he had lived around the time of St. Augustine maybe and had written the same book, he probably could have had his work become something that many people viewed as a factual text. Many did anyway, but that idea would have been even more widely accepted and he probably wouldn't have faced the political problems he does in his time.
It’s an interesting concept to compare Dante’s life with what he wrote about in The Divine Comedy. Dante incorporates many mythological elements throughout the inferno, such as Dido and Cereberus, but he also includes many Florentine people. He makes use of his enemies and places them into hell. By doing this he can feel better by putting them down. He also predicts the future of the city of Florentine many times even though he wrote it a few years later and already knows what will happen.
DeleteMany Italian aspects are included in The Inferno. First off he wrote it entirely in Italian and mentioned Florence many times throughout. By selecting Virgil as Dante’s guide you get another example of bringing Italian culture into The Divine Comedy.
That’ an interesting point to make about why they are frozen into the ice. They have committed the worse sins and so they aren’t allowed to even wander around hell at all. They are stuck in their present condition, forever frozen, unable to do anything. They can just think about their sins and the punishment.
How was Dante's exile exhibited in the literature of the Inferno?
DeleteYou covered the factual and textual repercussions of Dante’s exile in your response, however the true effect of this punishment is more subtle and, in a way, behind the scenes within the text. Dante’s exile brings up the point of the true genre of this work as well, as he covers so many topics and ideas it is almost hard to classify. In a way Inferno is much closer to the modern definition of a comedy than we may have thought, albeit a very dark comedy. This implies, then, that this can also be considered a work for entertainment purposes as well. While Dante does intend to make statements about human nature, he could not resist the opportunity to bring all these characters from history (and the present) together. This brings it back to his exile. Dante pulls his exile into the text in that he is this small, helpless character traveling through a land riddled with evil and suffering, yet he is able to make it through unscathed, indicating that his exile is not the end for him. Also Dante is concerned about the unity of Italy, and his journey through hell can be seen as the turmoil before reaching a achieving this unity. While these are allegories for a religious journey, this text could also be viewed as a social/political commentary. As much as Dante is making a theological point he is also making a political statement as well.
What does Dante's organization of hell say about his values?
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of strange examples where Dante really seems to be picking and choosing how he organizes his version of hell. Take, for example, the second level of hell seems to be only full of female sinners, and interestingly a lot of the characters in this level have committed other, worse sins than 'lust.' For example, Dido is in the second level of hell, however, she killed herself, which would otherwise have landed her in the seventh circle. This particular example seems to reflect something about Dante's personal views, perhaps about women, or about lust. Dante's arrangement of the different circles of hell also reflects Dante's values in life. For example, the people that he chooses to put into the first circle, as well as the fact that this is the 'first' circle of hell, (the group of poets) seem to get a punishment rather different/less gruesome than the other circles, which seems to reflect the values of Dante the man.
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DeleteIt's all pretty self-serving, I agree. Dante is noticeably fairer to men he would consider his predecessors - the Ovids and Homers of hell don't have it too bad. As for his views on women within hell, Dante probably ascribed to the idea that women were just too simple for most of the more "severe" sins, a common one in his time. By reducing Dido's legacy to succumbing to lustful urges, he denigrates all the accomplishments she managed as a woman in antiquity. The only excuse he has is that there wasn't much though to the contrary.
DeleteDante's organization of hell does speak to his values, but what they exactly are, are somewhat blurred. Yes the second level of hell seems to be comprised of mostly women and this may seem as Dante is an anti-feminist, that women are simple creatures. From this point of view he seems to say that woman are so simple and they do not know better, so they shouldn't be punished as harshly as men who know better. This seems to go along with his treatment of the philosophers who were around before Christianity. On the other hand I can not recall a single women's name mentioned in deeper circles of hells, which correlates to worse sinners. Maybe he has a proto-feminist view and is attempting to say that women may even be more morally just than men. The only women we know in this story are the ones in the second circle of hell and those in heaven (ie: Mary and Beatrice). Either way it is a very interesting question.
DeleteWhat does Dante's organization of hell say about his values?
DeleteI absolutely agree with your assessment, and also that the fact that it is a good way of getting insight into Dante's values. To go further with this, I think one of the problems with his organization of hell is that each type of sin for each level can come in degrees. For example, someone could steal an apple from a fruit merchant because they are starving and are close to dying from starvation, having gone many days without any food, or someone could steal an apple simply out of resentment of that fruit merchant and wanting to see misfortune fall upon that person. While they are both thieves, and would be condemned to the circle of greed, clearly the former is not nearly as callous in intent as the latter. There is a definite difference in degrees of malicious intent here. With that said, why would both receive the same degree of punishment just because both are thieves, yet the circumstances and intent are so greatly different in degrees? The punishment is not proportional to the circumstances of the crime, which is something that is greatly emphasized in the US justice system (although by no means not always fairly done!). Dante's hell, which is instituted by it's creator, God, whom is supposed to be just and fair, is by no means fair to all in this instance. What this says about Dante is that he deals with sinners in a very crude and broad sweeping manner. It is as if instead of taking the time to devise a system where all punishments are just based on the severity and circumstances of the crime, he just creates a basic layout of hell based on the major types of sins, and then just says to hell with them all!
Alec Wolsiefer
ReplyDeleteHum1
Dante’s The Divine Comedy
Blog post week 14
The Gluttons are in the third circle of hell. Why is Cerberus a fitting choice to be a guard over the Gluttons? What is the punishment of the Gluttons?
Cerberus is a three-headed dog from Greek and Roman mythology that guarded spirits from escaping the underworld. In Dante’s Divine Comedy Cerberus guards over the Gluttons because the creature, having three heads, is gluttonous in nature. The three heads fight over food to get as much as they can even though it goes to the same stomach. The guard reflects the sins of the Gluttons.
The punishment of the Gluttonous is grotesque. In life they were obsessed with physical pleasure and pursued it excessively. They were greedy and wasteful so now it seems fitting that their punishment is to lay on the ground as waste and excrement fall down upon them. They are covered in this waste and the stench saturates the air that they breathe in. The punishments in Dante’s Dive Comedy are very intriguing and always match the sin perfectly.
Dante’s Inferno is one of my favorite works in this course. The way it was written and the ideas of the punishments are ingenious. I think one of the reasons I like it so much is that The Divine Comedy can be interpreted in so many ways. It can be a warning to Christians, an allegory for the journey of the human spirit, or just a tale of a regular man overcoming his fear and facing his inner demons. The punishments Dante envisions are poetically just and always mirror the sin committed. I would like to believe that there is some sort of karmic justice for people like the sinners in Dante’s Inferno, even though I do not personally believe in god. One of the more interesting aspects of the work for me as a biology student is the 3 animals Dante meets in Canto 1. The lion is supposed to represent violence, the leopard mean-spiriteness and fraud, and the she-wold lust. Male lions spend roughly 20 hours sleeping, so they would seem better representatives of the sloth sinners. The leopard is stealthy and nimble so Dante got that representation right. The she-wolf couldn't be more far off though. She-wolves are loyal to their families and highly protective of their cubs. They are proud and loving creatures that have gotten a bad rep over the years just for killing a few livestock. They are not sneaky or tricksters, they hunt in packs and coordinate effortlessly in the open when facing prey. The she-wolf is even revered as a motherly figure in Roman culture, with a great she-wolf raising Romulus and Remus. I do not see how Dante could have seen the connection between she-wolves and lust.
I like your point about Cerberus being a fitting guard for the third level of hell. Like you mentioned, everything in Dante's hell has a very simple sort of connection about it, everything seems to be justified in an almost 'eye-for-an-eye' manner. Perhaps the she-wolf connection has to do with the fact that wolves are such protective mothers, and as such rather instinctual in nature/easily controlled by their emotions as such, although I would agree that the three animals in the beginning of the poem are some of the more abstract symbols in the entire work.
DeleteHUMN 220
ReplyDeleteWhat is with Dido's presence in the Inferno?
While I got hung up on the inclusion of a character from a work of fiction into another work of fiction, I still think it is worth some thought. Dido was placed in the Underworld by Virgil in the Aeneid, where she hung out much more peacefully than in the Divine Comedy. The issue at hand is that Virgil is also present in this work of art, and more or less revered, so is Dante inadvertently causing parts of Virgil's work to be false? It seems paradoxical, because unless Dido exists outside of the Aeneid then everything about her is known through that text, making it "truth" in the Divine Comedy. I think I may be grasping at straws, but the issue sincerely bugged me.
Are the other beings in Hell also being punished?
There are a handful of characters in the Divine Comedy that are not being overtly punished in any way. Not speaking strictly of the poets, but more so of the "guards" of hell, like Charon, Minos, and Cerberus. Dante describes these beings as being gross, old, and generally never good things, but they are never seem to be deliberately punished. As far as I know, Charon has always been the ferryman of the dead, being a demon and all. Is he inherently punished by being farther from the love of God? And Minos, a pagan who made brutal sacrifices just became a gruesome looking decider of fates. There is no recall of any pain being conflicted on him consistently, unless is ugliness is the only sin. I don't think that these beings are being punished, but unfortunately carry the duties that are necessary for Hell to run smoothly and efficiently.
Is The Divine Comedy the first piece of fantasy?
As far as I can tell, no other Christian text has gone as far to detail and describe some of the more gruesome things that hell has to offer. Dante is approached by some of the most awesome displays of torture at magnitudes that were impossible to comprehend at his time. So, with such an emphasis on the fantastical nature of Hell, does the Divine Comedy serve as a piece of fantasy? Defined as fiction that primarily uses the supernatural in the plot, the Divine Comedy is without a doubt fantasy, and I believe Dante intended it to be used as an alluring escapist piece of literature. Due to his growing alienation with the church, and his attempt at revenge at those who exiled him from Florence, Dante made this world as awesome and fantastical as possible, to make it that much more enticing to those who read it. This idea of hell has carried over well into our own time, because of its attractiveness as a story. I believe Dante was capable of writing a less styled version of this tale, commenting on sin similar to St. Augustines style. But this impressive world was created to garner more attention and enact his revenge more easily.
Dido's presence in the Inferno is very interesting and paradoxical. I think by bringing her into the work he is attempting to reach out to his audience and make the book more accessible by introducing a familiar character. One of the main goals of this work was for it to be accesible to as many people as possible and the majority of his audience at that time would have recognized Dido's name.
DeleteI agree that it does not seem like the guards of the circles are being punished in the Inferno. It seems they are just there to show how sub -servant polytheistic religions were to Christianity and to ensure Hell runs smoothly. I know some people that would love to do MInos job, lazing about all day judging others.
The Divine Comedy definitely brings a more gruesome part of hell to light. One main Christian belief is that hell is really just the absence of being in god's presence when you die, and Dante sticks to that in his punishment of he betrayers. They are so cold and frozen because they are far from god. But he does elaborate on the degrees of how far certain sinners are from god's love/presence. The gruesome nature of the work comes off as a warning to Christians on how truly terrible hell can be.
Personally, I thought that it was a bit strange when I saw that Dido was included in The Divine Comedy. I thought it was weird that a fictional character, and even weirder was that her punishment was for lust and not suicide. I also thought about the other creatures in Hell. My guess would be that characters like Minos and Charon are not necessarily being punished.I feel that they are demons of some sort who were put there in order to give Hell some kind of order. Even a place such as Hell has some order to it. Also, the Divine Comedy may have been the first piece of fantasy. I found it interesting how he could create a work of fantasy like this while including things from various religions such as Judas and pagan gods.
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DeleteI discussed Dido in my blog entry, but in a completely different way. I find your point about Dante making Virgil's work potentially false very interesting. It does seem almost paradoxical, but I think it is one of the small inconsistencies in the Inferno that are supposed to be overlooked.
DeleteI assumed that beings like Charon and Minos were arbitrarily designated as the officers or guardians of Hell. I did not make the assumption that they were being punished.
I think the Inferno was supposed to be a work of fantasy with a moral/religious basis. While the work on the whole reflects Christian theology, the inclusion of characters from other religions is interesting. I believe that this inclusion of these characters reinforces the idea that the Inferno is a piece of fantasy. I believe that the religious characters of Charon, Cerberus and Minos are intended to be considered "fictional" by the readers of the Inferno.
I hadn't really thought about what Virgil's reaction must have been when he saw Dido in Hell. He doesn't seem surprised, or apologize for writing something incorrect about Hell, he just sees her and keeps traveling.
DeleteAs far as the other beings in Hell are concerned, they may not have souls to begin with, preventing them from being properly punished.
Thank you for pointing out the impact Dante's work must have had on modern fantasy. His world building and imagery fit in surprisingly well with modern day novels like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. It may be my unfamiliarity with other works at the time, but The Divine Comedy seems unparalleled and could have set the trend we are seeing today.
The pagan contradiction in Dante's narrative
ReplyDeleteMy biggest issue with Dante's narrative is his contradiction between his monotheistic beliefs and his use of pagan characters and themes. On one hand, Dante is a devote Christian who believes in monotheism; that there is a single God. This, and the acceptance of Christ, are key to salvation and making it into heaven. However, Dante cherry picks various characters and themes out of Greek mythology and incorporates it into his Christian version of the underworld. The major problem with this is that as a monotheist, if you're going to use pagan characters and themes, you are validating polytheism, or the existence of the pantheon of Gods and Goddesses they came from. These characters and themes that Dante takes from Greek mythology are not mutually exclusive with the Greek pantheon, but to the contrary are dependent on the Greek pantheon as it is those pagan Gods and Goddesses who had created and facilitated those characters and themes. One glaring example of this contradiction of theological paradigms is the use of the Cerberus as the guardian of the third circle of hell, the circle of gluttony. The Cerberus is the guard dog of the ruler of the underworld in Greek mythology Hades. Cerberus' father is the dragon Typhon, who was created by the Greek goddess Gaia. Therefore, in this instance with the use of the Cerberus in Dante's Inferno, he is validating the existence of a Greek Goddess by incorporating one of her descendants in the narrative, which contradicts the Christian principle of monotheism. Another great example of this contradiction is the use of Medusa in the ring of heretics (ring 6). Medusa is the daughter of the Greek Goddess Ceto and the God Phorcys. Once again Dante contradicts the Christian belief of monotheism by validating the existence of a Greek God and Goddess by using Medusa. There are many other examples of Dante cherry picking pagan characters and themes from the Greek mythos for his story, such as: Plutus, the River of Styx, and Charon to name a few. You cannot take these characters and themes out of the context of the polytheistic Greek mythos. For example, that is the equivalent of someone saying that the first man, Adam, is the gate keeper to the 9th ring of hell, but the universe is ruled by the Greek pantheon of Gods, and to get into Elysium, or heaven, you have to accept that the universe is ruled by a polytheistic hierarchy. It just doesn't work or make any sense; Adam exists only in the context of being the first human made by a single, universal God, while characters from the Greek mythos only exist under many Gods. You cannot have both without this major contradiction, and frankly, this is one of the major flubs of Dante's Inferno.
I didn't particularly find the pagan references in Dante's inferno to be contradictions per say.
DeleteThey were more or less a way for Dante to maintain a sense of Italian identity with the classical allusions and use allusions rather than to say "Oh, these are the facts!". After all, how many paintings in the Vatican are kind to pagans? Such as the School of Athens we mentioned early in class.
DAnte wasn't a theologian in the Catholic church, he was a man with a bit of grudge against a great deal of people in the Church.
Yeah, Emma really hit the nail on the head, here. It's all a product of residual culture that's been a part of the Italian peninsula since antiquity. Humans don't particularly like to give up familiar aspects of their daily lives, so it's easier to incorporate the more benign features of the old pagan culture than to totally abandon everything and start fresh. Cultures grow with and out of each other, not just out of the blue with totally new paradigms. It's the reason why the Shah Nameh was set in Zoroastrian times, or why Japanese authors write about Ancient Japan with a sense of reverence. It's all about connection to a common past.
DeleteThis is one of the most confusing aspects of Dante and his narrative of heaven and hell. The key to salvation is a devotion to Christ and God, but these are pagan characters who serve the Greek god and goddesses. I see a connection to Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh, the author like Dante was a devote practitioner of the Abrahamic religion of Islam, but still wrote a text that contained earlier Persian characters and deities. It seems that this was a representation of his cultural legacy as an Italian member of the Western tradition, using ancient Greek monsters and Roman poets because they carried so much respect and notoriety in his nation, similar to the Persian legacy of Ferdowsi. Although Dante was a Christian and this was an epic poem based in Christian beliefs it is almost impossible to remove earlier aspects of the culture he identified with.
DeleteThis is a totally valid argument, and creates a lot of issues throughout the text. I also got hung up on the inclusion of a character, Dido, and how she damaged the fidelity of Dante's story. The line I had to tell myself over and over was "This is fiction, he can do whatever he wants". Hell, Dante was already called a heretic event before the text was written, so he could have felt the urge to live up to the title! Anyway, I think the inclusion of these Greek mythological men and beasts can be included without directly defying the truth of the Bible and God.
DeleteIn the same way that we defend plot holes and problems in our favorite films or stories, I feel as though I'm doing the same here. The text can be viewed in two different ways in this context. One, as I said before, Dante doesn't care and will create an interesting story without worrying about the possibilities of the presence of some beasts. And two, that Dante is attempting to combine some of the cultural heritage of Rome with the powerful and prominent presence of Christian theology. Assuming the second view of Dante's intention, the inclusion of these characters can be made without devaluing the monotheistic nature of Christianity. In the same way that Judaism and Islam agrees with Jesus' teachings but differ on his origin and purpose could be the same way Dante deals with these creatures. Their presence is almost identical to the ones in Greek myth, but their origins are not explicitly explained. Perhaps instead of Gaia creating Typhon and then Cerberus, he assumes the reader to believe that God created it all. According to the Bible, God is the creator of some awe-inspiring creatures, like Leviathan and Behemoth. All in all, these creatures can be included because they're origins are whatever Dante decided them to be, because however people view the text, Dante intended for it to be fiction.
The role of Virgil
ReplyDeleteSent by Dante’s lover Beatrice, Virgil acts as Dante’s guide through Hell. Virgil was likely chosen by Dante to serve as the guide in The Inferno because he reflects Dante’s Italian roots. Throughout the work, Virgil takes Dante through the various circles of Hell, explaining to him the sins that the souls in each section committed, and explaining the punishment of those souls. Virgil also serves as something of a protector to Dante, as his presence frequently allows Dante to gain access to places that the guardians of Hell do not wish him to go.
What is the significance of the ice that Satan is trapped in?
Hell is typically equated with fire. However, in The Inferno, the deepest circle of Hell consists of a frozen lake, with Satan frozen in its center. It is explained that the deepest circle of Hell is frozen because it is the farthest away from God’s warmth and love. This is also a potential reference to the Islamic cannon. In Islamic theology, Satan (Iblis) is a creature made of fire or smoke. It stands to reason that because of this, Dante realized that the traditional view of Hell (where sinners are punished by fire) would not be a fitting punishment for Satan, as he himself is made of fire. It is reasonable to assume that this is not a coincidence, and that Dante was familiar with Islamic texts, as he references Islamic philosophers such as Averroes and Avicenna.
The role of Virgil
DeleteI absolutely agree that Virgil was chosen for the role because of his Italian roots. This obviously would be a great way to captivate the Italian audience, which has always been known for their strong sense of nationalism and cultural pride since the height of Rome. It is also a great way for Dante to promote himself to a higher status in the eyes of his readers as Dante must be of some significance or importance if the famous Virgil is assigned to guide him as opposed to some no name individual, or someone of less significance.
What is the significance of the ice that Satan is trapped in?
I agree with your whole paragraph here with the exception of one minor error; Iblis is made from smokeless fire, or just fire, not fire and smoke. Your point though on using ice because he is made from fire, and because love is symbolic of being a warm, is a good one. To go further with that thought, in Christian symbolism the heart is associated with fire. It is not uncommon to see a picture of Jesus with a flaming heart, which reinforces your original connection as the heart is obviously symbolic of love. This flaming heart symbolism is also used in various other religious traditions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, to name a couple. A frozen hell can also be a fitting punishment because Satan is trapped within the ice, and thus bound to the deepest level of hell as his eternal prison. If Satan were not bound to the frozen lake, what would stop him from physically escaping and raining hell upon the Earth?
Kelsey Davidson
ReplyDeleteBlog Response
Dante’s Inferno
What is Virgil’s role in the Inferno?
Throughout Dante’s exploration of sin, Virgil is the guide and the voice of reason throughout all the levels of hell. Having read Virgil’s, The Aeneid, there are many reasons why Dante chose Virgil to be the one to guide his character through this journey. Virgil created Aeneas, a heroic character who was adventurous and brave. Virgil is the perfect guide to lead Dante on his journey because he was also a Roman poet and is very familiar with it. Virgil pushed Dante to venture through the levels of Hell and without him, Dante might have turned around and not pursued this quest. There are many instances in which Virgil legitimately saves Dante, from helping him conquer his fears, to carrying him out of harm’s way. Virgil represents the knowledge that Dante has gained along his journey and the man that Dante, the character, idolizes.
What is Beatrice’s role in the Inferno?
Beatrice symbolizes love and hope, for it was her love for Dante that gave him a guide to travel through the levels of Hell, safely. She also represents the undying love that God has for us. She sends an angel (Virgil) to help Dante and guide him carefully. Part of me wonders why she did not come to help Dante herself and why she allowed Virgil to aide him in his journey. There are many speculations as to why this is. Facts about Beatrice’s life remain uncertain in this part of the Inferno however, the only part we know is that Dante fell madly in love with her and she has sent Virgil to help him.
Where is Dido?
A question that was brought up in class was that of why Dido is placed where she is. Dido is in the Second Circle: Lustful. I also asked the question as to why she isn’t in the Circle with the souls who have harmed themselves. I also feel like she should be in Limbo with the “good people”. Dido was struck by cupid, which resulted in undivided and undying love for Aeneas. She then committed suicide because of her love for Aeneas. Because she dies out of love, she was placed in the Second Circle. I feel as though she should be placed with the souls who have committed suicide, because that is what she ultimately did. Another circle I would have placed her in was Limbo because she had no control over her actions; falling in love with Aeneas was not her own doing but a result of an outside force.
I agree with your justification of Dante's choosing of Virgil as the guide. I said something very similar in my blog entry, although I added that Dante may have chosen Virgil because they share similar Italian backgrounds.
DeleteI like your explanation of Beatrice's role in the Inferno. I had not considered that she may represent God's love for humanity, but it is a very interesting point. I also wonder why Beatrice sent Virgil instead of guiding Dante herself.
I agree with your point regarding Dido as a "good person." More or less every sin that the reader of the Aneid knows she committed was committed under the influence of the Gods. It does not seem fair that she should be punished for her lust or suicide considering that she would have been neither lustful or suicidal if left to her own devices.
Having Virgil guide Dante through hell also reflected his Italian roots, which he highly valued. I also questioned why Beatrice didn’t help Dante herself and sent Virgil instead. This could be due to Dante’s views on women. Women were considered to be either pure or a victim to their passion. So maybe they felt as if Beatrice could not have successfully guided Dante through hell, since she is a woman. It is an interesting point to bring up that Dido could be placed in limbo, due to the fact that she didn’t have full control over her life.
DeleteIn your second paragraph you mention how Dante was madly in love with Beatrice during his lifetime. Recalling this, I find it strange that Dante was so influenced by a worldly passion in writing the Inferno. Although the lustful are in one of the first circles of hell, it seems a little hypocritical for Dante to be criticizing this sin. In the introduction of my edition, there was an extensive section devoted to explaining Dante's love for Beatrice and how badly he was hurt by her death. The whole premise of the Inferno is based on understanding the true nature of sin and understanding God so I find it a little amusing that Dante himself was so overcome by passion. Perhaps in writing this he is freeing himself from his past desires.
DeleteKelly Gilbert
ReplyDeleteHUMN 220
Professor B. Akmen
4/23/13
Dante’s Inferno
I found Dante’s Inferno to be very interesting and very creatively written. I consider Dante to have quite the imagination and in some ways, a very disturbed soul. I use the term disturbed because of how graphic some of the punishments are. Although while reading it, I found myself saying “ew”, or “ughh”, I kept wanting to read on and find out what punishment would happen next. It’s such a crazy idea, when you think about it, how Dante came up with all these sins and the punishments for them. Like the idea of those who were swept away by love in life, were tortured in that exact manor, in death. They were literally swept away by strong, harsh winds for eternity. I also liked how Dante brought in such mystical characters, such as gods like Dido and Helena, and also the three headed dog like in the tail of Hercules. There were parts that confused me, however, such as why Dido was placed in Circle Two which was Lust, and not Circle Seven, which was Violence, which Dido belonged because although she was consumed by love. I really just wish I could ask Dante questions like this and I feel as though he would be quite an intimidating person just because of his ideas in The Divine Comedy, but I’m sure it would be unreal to speak to him and ask him what he was thinking when he wrote such a beautifully constructed book. I also am curious to know what the Pope thought of Dante’s book. I wonder if this made the Pope dislike Dante even more, but in this way, more because he was envious of Dante’s fortune and brilliant ideas. I’m sure there were plenty of people who despised Dante just because they were so jealous when The Divine Comedy was published. He has a great mind and is such a brilliant and intelligent person. I admire how creative he thinks, as well.
I think you posed a great question as to what the Pope must have thought about Dante's Inferno. I had never thought about that before and couldn't even imagine his reaction. I also agreed with a lot of your points, such as the confusion with Dido and where she was placed as well as the want and need to keep reading despite my initial reactions like, "ew". I too thought it was very creatively written, simply the form it was written in was enough to make me stop and think. After reading this, I felt like the choice to make it a poem and not a novel was a very stylistically interesting choice, and I quite enjoyed it. I agree that the parts that I enjoyed the most or the parts that made me most interested to read more were those of the punishments. I thought the way he created the punishments to fit the crime was very clever.
DeleteDante seems to have organized hell according to what he views as the worst sins. Many of Dantes explanations for his placement of people could be based on his exile from Florence. He has the pope predict that other popes will be in Hell to. This would fit very well because the pope helped exile Dante from Florence.
ReplyDeleteDante mixes many of the previous religions with Christian ideas. This is not an easy challenge because of all of the contrasting ideas in these religions. By mixing religions it almost seems as is Dante is giving other religions some form of validation. The punishment of Capaneus for heresey is just one of these examples. Capaneus defied Zeus a supposedly mythological god according to Christianity so why would he be punished for heresy. This example is different from Dante just incorporating other religions and mythology into this because it goes against the Christian beliefs by admitting Zeus is a God.
To Dante a unified idea of Italy was a great idea and he shows the disdain for it being separated by placing Brutus and Cassius in the deepest level of hell. The only worse punishment was that of Judas Iscariot who is being punished for betraying Jesus Christ.
I really agreed with what you said about Dante mixing many of the religions with Christian ideas. It does almost seem like Dante is trying to validate these other religions in some way. I do not know the story of Capaneus and Zeus but that's a good example, as well, and I can understand what you're saying about heresy and why there shouldn't be a punishment for Capaneus. I also liked what you said about unifying Italy and that this was one of Dante's great ideas.
DeleteI found the inclusion of different religions in the poem was very confusing, as one would assume that if Dante's reasoning behind Dante's Infernal was to create a religious text, he would not include other religions, but just speak about his own religion (Christianity). But I feel he does do this by including the other religions, because by doing so, he downplays the other religions and makes the inferior to Christianity. He holds other religions against the "rules" of Christianity, and states that they are sinful by putting them in Hell. He places many characters from many famous writings in different circles of hell because they are sinful according to Christianity, and this is a statement that Christianity is above those religions, and the other religions cannot save themselves form their follower's eventual trip to Hell for their sins.
Delete4/24/13
ReplyDeleteIs the Inferno a Christian work?
The Inferno is regarded as a canonical piece of Christian literature. I do not necessarily see it as a deeply Christian piece. It seems more to be about a personal journey, and a political commentary. The most obvious evidence of the piece being personal is the naming of the main character Dante. Of course the inclusion of other names recognizable from Alighieri’s past surface, such as Beatrice. The poem is set in Dante’s own time, not in the obscure past (such as Milton’s Paradise Lost), or even at some indeterminate future time. At the time of its writing there was a great fear in the growing power of Islam and, from Dante the church. The overwhelming violence of the punishment of sinners was a very conservative view prevalent at the time. It was most exemplified in the following century by the Spanish Inquisition. None of the punishments though are present in the actual Bible. They are all man generated imaginings. Although the ending is not incredibly dire, it does not have the same message of hope as say St. Augustine. The core of Christianity is in the redemption of man, in the end man can choose to confess his sins and be with god in heaven. This is not a possibility in the Inferno. Charon tells new arrivals that they are entering into the darkness, never to return. Again, with the imagery we see a departure from traditional Christianity, which has sought to separate itself from all ‘false idols’. Dante clearly is using the classic images, myths and figures to a specific effect. It would seem Dante studied the classics, and found them lacking. In my opinion, though the work is seminally Christian there are too many examples of non-Christian ideals and influences to make it canon of the level of Augustine or Milton even. This is not a work about why or how to worship God, this is a tale about the dangers of failing at accepted societal mores.
What treatment of other religions do we see in the Inferno, and what does it signify?
Dante does not favorably approve of any ancient figures. The major figures of Islam, Mohammed and Ali are all present in Hell. There is no logical reason for this, except that they are not Christian. They even appear maimed and weeping, clearly damaged by and regretful of their choices in life. They are not allowed a spot even in purgatory with the likes of Plato. Averroes and Avicenna are in the circle with Homer and Ovid, which is interesting. Even though they are not being punished, they are clearly not allowed in heaven though. As Dante has allowed no egress from his layers of punishment once they become placed there, even those in limbo have no real hope. Only non-Christians and sinners are banned from heaven. It is interesting to think how much this may be a result of Dante’s misunderstanding of Islam and it’s message, and how much may have been just about his own personal experiences studying the alternate philosophies.
I do not see Inferno as a particular Christian piece either. Dante incorporated Christian ideas of what sin is and some key concepts such as fallen angels, heaven, and Satan being in hell but for the most part this is him making things up. Nowhere in the bible does it say the exact punishment or location of sinners so Dante is just writing what he feels punishes them accordingly. I agree that there are too many non-Christian ideals in this story to equate it to Saint Augustine or Miltons work. I think that the placement of Muslim characters is interesting in this story, I believe Dante viewed them as having the chance to pick the “right” religion but not doing so while many of the poets such as Virgil were not around when Jesus was born. The placement of people in this story is very interesting especially with the concept that even the older biblical figures spent time in hell, which seems pretty deranged considering they followed Gods word straight from him, but this may be in order to stress the importance of Jesus.
DeleteWhat is the difference between Dante the Pilgrim and Dante the Poet?
ReplyDeleteDante the Pilgrim and Dante the Poet are, as you would guess, not the same. Dante the Pilgrim is a character in the "Divine Comedy." Dante the Poet is the author of the "Divine Comedy," whose major character is Dante the Pilgrim. The Pilgrim is somewhat naive and sometimes believes the spin that the sinners put on their stories and even shows a little sympathy. The Poet, however, has much more knowledge and experience than Dante the Pilgrim. This knowledge allows Dante the Poet to remain impervious to the stories that the sinners in the Inferno tell, as he knows that God doesn't make mistakes and if someone is in the Inferno, they deserve it.
Why is Cerberus a fitting choice to be a guard over the third Circle?
In the third circle, Dante finds the gluttons. Those that spent their lives with an uncontrolled appetite, who deliberately turned natural foods into a god, or some sort of object of worship. Cerberus is a three-headed dog and is familiar to anyone that has read Homer and Virgil. As in mythology, Cerberus requires a concession for each of his mouths before anyone is able to pass. Thus, due to Cerberus' constant hunger, he is a fitting guard over the third Circle.
Why is gluttony farther down the Inferno than lust: i.e. why is gluttony worse than lust?
As Dante the Pilgrim travels through the Inferno, he encounters lustful and gluttonous souls. The souls in the second Circle are the lustful and the souls in the third circle are the gluttonous. Lust and gluttony are generally considered the least of the seven deadly sins, however, the order of the two is inconsistent. Dante takes the reader from lust, which is a mutual/shared sin, to gluttony, which is a sin performed solitarily. The fact that a glutton is solely responsible for their sin is reason for the order in which Dante encounters lust and gluttony.
1. It is usually very important in a critical reading of any text to separate the author from the character or narrator. In this case it is very hard to do. It is very obvious that Dante the poets influences, studies and personal feelings help to organize his levels of Hell. There is not official christian doctrine or gospel stating where in Hell each person falls, or what their punishment may be. Therefor is is tasked to Dante to decide on these. Despite any feelings or proof that his work may not be wholly original, there are reasons behind each punishment and level. The reasons come from Dante the Poet, not the Pilgrim. The Pilgrim I see as an allegory for the Poet's own doubts and journeys through life.
Delete2. I think you are correct - what better way to represent the sin of gluttony than a beats who has three mouths to feed. These mouths seek to each eat only for themselves, and starve the other not thinking that they all share a goal in preserving the body. They want the food not for their sustenance but merely for pleasure.
3. If I am correct in my assessment Dante is more lenient for sins that are committed in acts of passion. Lust is a forgivable sin because people aren't really hurt by it, they just suffer from a constant sense of dissatisfaction as their lust is not satisfied or not up to their expectations. They are momentary acts of weakness. Gluttony is a more conscious choice that requires acting on and planning. Dido fell for Aeneas but is almost forgivable because it is easy to understand her actions. She did not sleep with man after man, which may be considered gluttony, but instead lost her mind because of one. If Dante were to be read as saying that any person whoever succumbed to a moment of lust were doomed to hell forever than 99% of people would be doomed.
Why can a "worthier spirit" lead Dante into Heaven when Vigil cannot?
ReplyDeleteVirgil who was in the inferno was condemned to an eternity in hell because he was born prior to Christs pardoning of human sins. Virgil takes him through hell and proves to be a very wise guide but because he never was pardoned by Christ he cannot enter heaven.
What do the leopard, the lion and the she wolf symbolize?
The three symbols of Dante symbolize carnal sins. Sins, which have three categories of severity. These are the sins of malice and fraud, the sins of violence and ambition, and the sins of incontinence. This is a possible reaction to Pre-Christian tradition which is a theme of Dante's. Virgil could not be saved because he was Pre-Christian tradition. Many religions and cultures before Christ embraced animals spiritually. The Roman's felt many animals were religious in nature like the Horse and Poseidon, the Owl and Athena, the Deer and Diana.
As you mentioned, Virgil is unable to lead Dante into heaven. As a christian, Dante was able to journey there like any other while Virgil would remain in limbo. When I try to think about why Virgil was unable to perform the task, I believe it was because, like Homer and other poets, he was a pagan and because of that, is condemned to an eternity in limbo. Also, as you said, these men and women preceeded Jesus and, through no fault of their own, had no knowledge of Christ and his teachings. It seems a little unfair though, to punish those that had absolutely no way of preventing the "crime" they committed. But, I believe that is why Virgil shows a sort of pity to the souls in Limbo, as they were morally sound human beings who, to their misfortune, unable to be saved.
DeleteDoes Dante’s Inferno help answer the question of why a loving God would send people to Hell?
ReplyDeleteEach level of Hell in Inferno involves a punishment not only appropriate based on the sin committed, but is an actual continuation of the decisions the sinners made during their time alive. The first circle is neither punishment nor reward, as the pagans neither sought paradise nor did anything deserving of punishment. They are put in a position where they can do exactly as they have always done. The second circle of Hell is for the lustful, where foul winds swirl them around for an eternity, just as their emotions did while alive. The gluttonous lived their lives eating excessively, and as a result they are rained on by the excrement that results from their actions. My favorite circle, the 4th, is where the prodigal and the greedy are weighed down by the material possessions they cared for so dearly, putting all their time and effort into moving things back and forth. The sullen in the 5th circle of Hell are submerged in the river Styx, under the mud and hidden from any “light.” It could be Dante the poet’s position that these are fitting punishments and that is why he wrote them, or it could be that each of these punishments is supposed to be what is actually happening whenever someone commits a sin in this world, which Dante the poet may consider an illusion. Dante the poet could be arguing that God and Christ are there to help guide people through this “illusion” into paradise, but some commit sins without realizing what happens in the “real” realm. Therefore it could be the case that God is not responsible for sending people to Hell, only unable to lead them to paradise without restricting free will.
Why is being trapped by ice the punishment Satan receives?
The explanation I had heard is that the ice is being cooled by Satan flapping his wings and blowing the cold air over it. Satan would be free to ascend to heaven if he would stop trying to defy God, the sin most associated with Satan. Just as in the other circles of Hell, the punishment is the result or the continuation of the very sin that put him there.
-Why does Dante feature Greco-Roman mythological characters in the inferno?
ReplyDeleteAlthough Dante's work is now considered by many to be a very pious, holy work (hence the "Divine" in "Divine Comedy"), at the time of its writing, the Catholic Church considered it a heretical work, and it's not hard to see why. The Inferno contains character after character borrowed from pagan Greek and Roman mythology. Dido from Virgil's Aeneid can be found in the second circle of hell, damned to be blown around by a putrid wind for all eternity for the sin of lust or passion.It's interesting to note that this presumably fictional character belonging to a whole other mythology and religious system than the one Dante believed in was treated as just as real, and her sins treated just as real, as say Judas or Satan and their offenses. This might demonstrate a kind of lingering Pagan faith in the old Greek and Roman myths that even the conversion of the Roman empire to Christianity couldn't fully erase.
-What's up with Virgil?
In the landscape of Hell described by Dante the poet in the Inferno, the epic poets and philosophers of non-Christian faiths (either pre-Christian pagans, like Homer or Ovid, or "virtuous Muslims" like Averroes)are the inhabitants of the first circle of hell, where they are not punished, as they are virtuous (by Dante's judgement) but also not rewarded, as they were not followers of Christ in life. Virgil's place in the story, then, is a bit odd. While he does reside in limbo with the rest of the virtuous pagans, he is apparently allowed to leave when given special, divine instruction, and is chosen above anyone to guide Dante through Hell. So why is this? My guess would be that, like Virgil's invocation of the Muse and his use of settings and characters from Homer's epics in the Aeneid, Dante is attempting to create a continuity among the classical epics, tying the Inferno into the great epic of Rome by way of including its author.
-Why are Cassius, Brutus and Judas considered to be on the same level of damnation?
Part of how Dante's Inferno functions is as a catalog and ranking of history's sinners; the least offensive sinners are in the first circe, and then as you move farther into hell, the sinners get more and more abominable in Dante's view. So why is it that at the very center of hell, you find Satan ranked at number 1, closely followed by Judas, Cassius and Brutus (who are evidently tied for the number 2 spot)? Satan being the greatest sinner ever is a pretty obvious choice. Judas being number 2 is also pretty reasonable, since he's the ultimate betrayer of Christ, humankind's lord and savior. But what are Cassius and Brutus doing in the top 4? By putting the betrayers of Caesar on the same level as Judas, Dante seems to be implying that Caesar is on the same level of righteousness or importance as Jesus, even though by the rules of Hell established by Dante, Caesar, a pagan, should be in the first ring of hell at best. This seems like another example of lingering Greco-Roman tradition that the people in the Roman empire never fully abandoned after the empire's conversion.
I think your questions invariably lead to the conclusion that Dante was trying to emphasize the greatness of the Roman empire and a unified Italy. It explains his choice of Virgil as his guide, his inclusion of Greco-Roman mythology (and by inclusion, its validation), and explains his brutal punishment of Cassius and Brutus. This exaltation of the Roman Empire appears to have successfully biased European culture for centuries, as we today still focus on the Roman Empire very heavily in history classes.
DeleteOne of the most interesting parts of The Divine Comedy for me was that Dante included different characters from Greco-Roman culture. It is interesting to find someone at that time period who would be willing to incorporate non-Christian entities. I agree with what you said about the role of Virgil in this story. It is strange that Virgil was the one allowed to guide Dante through Hell. It seems as if he was given a special powers in order to guide Dante. What makes Virgil different from any of the other virtuous pagans? On another note, I don't think that Cassius and Brutus should be on the same level as Judas. To me, it seems like Judas is the ultimate betrayer and the the other two belong in a different section. Dante must have had some resentment for the two Roman betrayers.
DeleteYou really hit on something I didn't consider, the equality of Cassius and Brutus with Judas. Using simple logic, this then equated Jesus with Caesar, woah. I wonder if Dante had thought about this contradiction before he published is work. I do agree with Grant that this was most likely another inclusion to remind people the greatness of Rome. Caesar created the empire, and the betrayal made on him lives on as one of the most famous actions in human history, due in part to men like Dante and Shakespeare. Not being a strictly Christian text, as in this is not an attempt at being Christian canon, I believe Dante had free reign over his placement of sinners, and the equating of these men to each other doesn't blatantly deny the truth of the Bible. Its the same as saying that Kevin Smith's Dogma was trying to be included into Christian thought and teachings. Whether this lax attitude to Dante's writings was apparent in his time, is clearly not the case. I don't think Dante believed Jesus and Caesar were equal, but I'm sure he would said that Caesar was a close second.
DeleteWhat was the true role Virgil played in the inferno?
ReplyDeleteDante’s inferno is an epic tale about the pilgrim Dante and his journey through the 9 circles of hell... As cool as this plot sound already it becomes even more intense when the author Dante incorporates famous people throughout the ages within the story and shows how their lives were represented by their punishment in death. Amongst these poets, philosophers, blasphemers, and pagans is one of the most intriguing characters, Publius Vergilius Maro, commonly known as Virgil the author of the epic Latin poem, The Aenied.
Virgil’s role in this tale is to accompany a weak and unfortunately lost Dante. He meets up with him at the very beginning in this tale while Dante is wondering through a forest hopelessly lost. When he embraces Dante he informs him that he has come to guide him on behalf of his true love Beatrice. He explains that Beatrice begged him to watch over Dante and ensure his safety. As humorous as the idea that the guide lived a millennia before himself Virgil’s reason and wisdom make him a perfect guide for Dante. As a respected and well renown Roman it is no wonder Dante (the author) created this character to guide his protagonist on this journey. The metaphorical nature of this entire story makes one consider that the confusing journey through life would need such a guide. As a physics major this would be the equivalent for me to request Nickola Tesla or Einstein’s assistance. What Virgil does for Dante is not that far short of everything, Dante is about as helpless as an infant in a viper den. If not for Virgil Dante would have died very quickly, he demonstrates idiotic and childish tendencies throughout the story. In every circle of hell Virgil not only gives his assistance to Dante but fills him in on how and why the circles came to be within existence. Virgil is patient with Dante and constantly watches over him and despite how much Virgil likes Dante he grows frustrated with him more than a couple times, especially when Dante expresses remorse for those who have been condemned to hell. Virgil represents that of a father figure and role model to Dante and it becomes apparent to the reader how the author views himself as an individual.
Dante wrote this story as a tour guide to his own intervention. It expresses hints of genius because of the great detail that each conflict he as a character had to face. Each individual chapter could be broken down to represent some type of learning experience that has occurred within his life. Being lost in the woods, his ignorance of evil, overcoming of fears, and evolution as a person could not have been represented in a more clear way. Not only that but I believe while he was writing it he realized that the trials that he was overcoming did not just apply to his own life but every humans life. His Divine Comedy became a guide to the health of the human soul.
It's interesting to note that Virgil acts as a father figure to Dante, considering what a heavy emphasis there is on the relationship between father and son in the Aeneid. Dante's inclusion of this similar relationship (which also resembles the Platonic ideal of a teacher and a student) definitely shows how influenced Dante was by Virgil, so by including him as his spirit guide through Hell, one poet guiding another, is a kind of meta-textual way of paying tribute to the Aeneid.
DeleteI believe that it is completely acceptable for Dante the Poet, as a individual from Florence, to choose Virgil as a guide for Dante the Pilgrim. Being from Italy and loyal to the city of Rome, Dante would consider Virgil one of the greatest writers for Roman nationalism. The Aeneid telling the story of the birth of the Roman civilization would have an intense influence on Italian culture at the time of Dante's life. A second notion is that The Aeneid tells the tale of one of the greatest epic heroes in Roman culture, Aeneas. Dante would probably want no other than Virgil, the man responsible for "guiding" Aeneas through his epic journey, to guide Dante the pilgrim through this allegory.
DeleteIt seems that the use of Virgil as a guide throughout the tale has the intent of equating Dante with the greatness of Virgil. Virgil serves as a guide for Dante through these different areas of hell, similar to the way a young author would examine the great writers that came before him for inspiration and guidance. Dante could be including Virgil in his tale to communicate that he is following in the tradition of great Roman authors, therefore he should be viewed in the same way as these great Roman authors. Also, that he is being guided by those who came before him and owes these great thinkers a great deal of respect.
DeleteI also find Liam's idea of the Platonic relationship of teacher and student to be very interesting. That Dante the Poet's ideal teacher, if he had a choice, would possible be Virgil based off of how well know the story probably was in Roman culture. In Virgil's text, Aeneas is of one of the few ever to descend into the underworld. This being that Virgil, responsible for the epic of Aeneas journey, he would be the next possible best guide for Dante the Pilgrim into the underworld.
DeleteWhat is Limbo? And why is it such a big deal?
ReplyDeleteLimbo is the place where virtuous pagans end up. Limbo is the immediate destination of those souls who, through no personal fault, are not admitted to heaven. Because this fate is not due to their personal moral failings, they are also not damned to hell. People like Homer, Horace, Aeneas, and Averroes, are all here solely because they do not believe in Jesus. It is outside the entrance of Hell, but across the river Acheron. In comparison to the rest of Hell, it is a walk in the park. There is no suffering, no punishment. There is the benefit of companionship, and the souls here are able to exercise reason. But the down fall, is that they’ll never get to paradise. They are able to see the light of heaven, but they have no hope at all of getting there, which in itself is kind of a punishment. It puzzles me why such great men, who did much for their country and the world, would be in limbo? It’s basically only because they were born before Jesus came to save the world. But, he did so that everyone could go to heaven. I’m not a fan of the idea that they are damned because they were born in the wring century.
What does Dante represent?
Dante is ‘everyman’ and represents humans in general with all our flaws. When Dante goes through, he feel compassion for some, pity for others, but by the end, he comes to grip that these people deserve to be damned. In the beginning he is very scared, and doesn’t know what to do, he runs away, looking for safety. He has emotions that are very prominent, despite the advisement against them from Virgil. Despite the fact that his emotions seem to be humorously proportioned, fainting out of pity, and a few chapter later, wishing a man to be damned more, they are perceived as very human reactions. I think he does this to help tell the reader what to feel. As he furthers his decent into Hell, it seems like he leaves his humanness behind, and becomes heartless towards those suffering.
What does Beatrice represent?
In Dante’s eyes, she is perfect in every sense of the word. She was sinless, had moral perfection and was a sincere Christian. She is literally the perfect person. So it is only natural that she represents heavens Grace, and its love for the pilgrim. I also think that she is an allegory for spiritual love, showing that Dante’s love for her was a pure as his love for God. Every time she is mentioned, it is with an air of reverence and respect.
I think it is good to recognize the first circle of hell becauase it is the only circle without punishmen. Normally when the idea of hell comes to mind punishment is the next, so this circle slightly contradicts the meening of hell. Plus the philosiphers and poets who are there I'm sure all love to just stand around and discuss all the meenings of the universe with each other so it could even be considered heaven to an extent. I'm sure one or two of those philosiphers love this punishment and the fact that they will never get to true paradice because they are already within one.
DeleteLimbo is quite strange to me. On one hand, it does seem to be a punishment, due to the fact that, for an eternity, the souls of limbo must see the light of Paradise and know that they will never be there. Yet, on the other hand, it seems like no punishment at all. The ancient philosophers are able to find company in one another and are able to discuss and exchange ideologies as they would have most likely done had they been in Paradise. These men and women are, essentially, able to continue the lives they led previous to afterlife as souls in the afterlife.
DeleteAs Dante descends further into the Inferno, he becomes less sympathetic towards the sinners. I'm not so sure it's Dante becoming any less human(e), as it is Dante being a christian and realizing that any sinner placed in Hell was placed there by God, and therefore, it is exactly the punishment that they deserve.
I share a share a similar perspective with Mark on this issue. I believe Dante does represent the building of men and what they must go through. It is good to note though that the author does indeed use himself to represent the protagonist. It shows how he himself has overcome challenges and he makes it easy for others to share the same perspective. So if you take in this story in a very hypothetical view it can be considered a sort of guide.
DeleteWhat part does Virgil play in Dante’s journey?
ReplyDeleteVirgil plays the role of Dante’s guide through the levels of hell. He was sent because Dante’s love Beatrice saw how sad and miserable he was without her, and knew he needed guidance through to get to heaven. Virgil helped Dante pass judgment at the hands of Minos, as well as avoids certain punishments, such as feeding Cerberus earth so they can pass by without being eaten. Without Virgil’s guidance and knowledge, Dante would barely have made it past Circle One.
What is a sin being punished in a circle of Hell?
One sin being punished is gluttony. Those residing in this circle are surrounded and rained on by filth and excrements. They live within their own filth as their punishment, which I feel is fitting for their sin. What you take in must come out!
While that is all true about Virgil's role in the Inferno, there is still more that he represents. Not only does he guide Dante physically through Hell, but Spiritually as well. Virgil is an allegory for reason and human wisdom. He is there to aid Dante by helping him overcome his sins by understanding them, and then, by repudiating them. Virgil is there to help guide Dante through the understanding of the nature of sin, and the reparations of those different sins.
DeleteAlso, just to clarify, I believe that it was the Virgin Mary who took pity upon him, and then sent Beatrice as the messenger to Virgil.
I completely agreed with what you said about Virgil and being such a help to Dante in his Journey. There's absolutely no way Dante would've made it past Circle One without Virgil's help. Virgil was the perfect guide, in my opinion. He knows Rome and is familiar with the area, and is also a very intellectual and tough person. I couldn't see anyone else being chosen for this job. I found gluttony to be the most interesting sin to read about. I found that the punishment was also very fitting. I liked your ending comment, "what you take in must come out!", this is a very appropriate lesson for this crime.
DeleteI thought that the most interesting and one of the most fitting punishments was that of gluttony. I found myself almost laughing while reading this part because I thought the punishment fit so well. I almost felt like these punishment were a form of karma and what goes around, comes around. As an education major, this is definitely a great lesson I would teach children, maybe not as graphic for elementary school students, but something along those lines would be a great way to get children to understand the overall message of these punishments which in some cases is "treat others as you want to be treated" or even "sharing is caring".
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