"There are below this wall/three smaller circles, each in its degree/like those you are about to leave, and all/are crammed with God's accurst." (16-19)
This canto is less about describing Circle Six, which Dante and Virgil are now in, but more about giving a preview of the levels of hell yet to follow, and the sins that lead to them. Upon coming to the Sixth Circle, the two poets feel "the stink /thrown up by the abyss" (3-4), which is a metaphor for the foulness of hell and sin. Dante also mentions "a circle of great broken boulders" (2), which were supposedly formed by an earthquake that occurred in hell at Christ's death. This image is important, since it demonstrates that Christ's death for the sins of humanity affected even the lower depths of hell. Also, Dante seems to be undertaking his journey on Good Friday, the day when Christ was crucified, further emphasizing the Christian symbolism. More figurative language appears at the end of the canto, when Virgil compares the passage of time to the turning of a wheel, and personifies constellations, speaking of the "Fish...quivering low on the horizon" (114).
While Dante and Virgil attempt to get used to the "foul breath" (12) of the abyss of hell (which, as a personification, seems to almost make hell a living thing), Virgil tells Dante of the organization of the circles below them. The lower levels of hell hold the violent, as well as the fraudulent and malicious. What is interesting is that flatterers, thieves, and "evil counselors" are considered to have sinned more severely, than, for example, murderers, destroyers, and suicides. Virgil's justification of this logic is that, "since fraud/is the vice of which man alone is capable,/God loathes it most." (24) Apparently, Dante is hinting that animals are also capable of violence, but only humans can be deliberately malicious. However, violence for humans can also be deliberate and premeditated, so I do not really understand Dante's reasons for this subdivision of the lower circles.
Reading this canto, I realized how much Dante's definitions of sin differ from modern ones. For example, usury, or the lending of money with interest, is held to be an act of violence against nature. According to Virgil, this is because, by the will of God, humans were meant to work and prosper by imitating nature. It's possible that Dante thought that, since usurers made money on other people, they did not work honestly, though it's not clear why he didn't then put them in with the rest of the fraudulent.
Looking at The Inferno, I think that it provides an interesting perspective on the literature and beliefs of the Middle Ages, but its value is purely historical and aesthetic. The religious beliefs presented in it are too dated to apply to modern life. Also, Dante might have meant this poem to be somewhat satiric, as he mentions many historical and political figures of the time, outlining how each of them had sinned. In Canto XI, he mentions Anastasius the Pope, who supposedly accepted the "heresy" of the Greek church. Apparently, Dante did not check his sources too well, since he confused Anastasius II, the pope, with Anastasius I, the emperor, who actually accepted the Acacian heresy.
This canto is less about describing Circle Six, which Dante and Virgil are now in, but more about giving a preview of the levels of hell yet to follow, and the sins that lead to them. Upon coming to the Sixth Circle, the two poets feel "the stink /thrown up by the abyss" (3-4), which is a metaphor for the foulness of hell and sin. Dante also mentions "a circle of great broken boulders" (2), which were supposedly formed by an earthquake that occurred in hell at Christ's death. This image is important, since it demonstrates that Christ's death for the sins of humanity affected even the lower depths of hell. Also, Dante seems to be undertaking his journey on Good Friday, the day when Christ was crucified, further emphasizing the Christian symbolism. More figurative language appears at the end of the canto, when Virgil compares the passage of time to the turning of a wheel, and personifies constellations, speaking of the "Fish...quivering low on the horizon" (114).
While Dante and Virgil attempt to get used to the "foul breath" (12) of the abyss of hell (which, as a personification, seems to almost make hell a living thing), Virgil tells Dante of the organization of the circles below them. The lower levels of hell hold the violent, as well as the fraudulent and malicious. What is interesting is that flatterers, thieves, and "evil counselors" are considered to have sinned more severely, than, for example, murderers, destroyers, and suicides. Virgil's justification of this logic is that, "since fraud/is the vice of which man alone is capable,/God loathes it most." (24) Apparently, Dante is hinting that animals are also capable of violence, but only humans can be deliberately malicious. However, violence for humans can also be deliberate and premeditated, so I do not really understand Dante's reasons for this subdivision of the lower circles.
Reading this canto, I realized how much Dante's definitions of sin differ from modern ones. For example, usury, or the lending of money with interest, is held to be an act of violence against nature. According to Virgil, this is because, by the will of God, humans were meant to work and prosper by imitating nature. It's possible that Dante thought that, since usurers made money on other people, they did not work honestly, though it's not clear why he didn't then put them in with the rest of the fraudulent.
Looking at The Inferno, I think that it provides an interesting perspective on the literature and beliefs of the Middle Ages, but its value is purely historical and aesthetic. The religious beliefs presented in it are too dated to apply to modern life. Also, Dante might have meant this poem to be somewhat satiric, as he mentions many historical and political figures of the time, outlining how each of them had sinned. In Canto XI, he mentions Anastasius the Pope, who supposedly accepted the "heresy" of the Greek church. Apparently, Dante did not check his sources too well, since he confused Anastasius II, the pope, with Anastasius I, the emperor, who actually accepted the Acacian heresy.
1 comment:
I really like your overall response Oksana! It's very detailed and you hit on a lot of points I hadn't noticed before =]
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