dantes inferno

A detailed Summary of dantes inferno

In The Inferno - Dante's Immortal Drama of a Journey Through Hell, Dante allows the reader to experience his every move. His mastery of language, his sensitivity to the sights and sounds of nature, and his infinite store of knowledge allow him to capture and draw the reader into the realm of the terrestrial hell. In Canto 6, the Gluttons; Canto 13, the Violent Against Themselves; and Canto 23, the Hypocrites; Dante excels in his detailed portrayal of the supernatural world of hell. In each canto, Dante combines his mastery of language with his sensitivity to the sights and sounds of nature to set the stage. He then reinforces the image with examples that call upon his infinite store of knowledge, and thus draw a parallel that describes the experience in a further, although more subliminal, detail to the reader.

Through his mastery of language, Dante allows the reader to see what he sees, to hear what he hears, and to feel what he feels, and thus experience his sensitivity to the sights and sounds of nature. In Canto 6, Dante introduces the vicious monster, Cerberus and details his grotesque features to the reader. He states, "His eyes are red, his beard is greased with phlegm, / his belly is swollen, and his hands are claw

s / to rip the wretches and flay and mangle them" (66). This quote vividly depicts the man-beast Cerberus that Dante encountered, and allows the reader to feel present in the scene with Dante. He further emphasizes the sights and sounds to portray the hellish environment when he states "Huge hailstones, dirty water, and black snow/ pour from the dismal air to putrefy/ the putrid slush that waits for them below" (66). This example is one of many that illustrate Dante's ability to exhibit the sights that he encounters. Dante adds another dimension by providing the ability for the reader to hear the sounds present in Circle III of Hell. An example of this is when he states "and they (the victims), too, howl like dogs in the freezing storm" (66). Furthermore Dante greatly describes how the victims are feeling about their whole situation with the statement "I lie here rotting like a swollen log" (67). This quote helps the reader to not only understand how the victims of gluttony are feeling, but also to picture them laying in the sodden mush of garbage. The picture is almost complete.

"All wore cloaks cut to as ample a size / as those worn by the Benedictines of Cluny. / The enormous hoods were drawn over their eyes. / The outside is all dazzle, golden and fair; / the inside, lead, so heavy that Frederick's capes, / compared to these, would seem as light as air" (199).

As in the previous Cantos discussed, Dante once again exhibits his mastery of language and sensitivity to the sights and sounds of nature. In Canto 23 Dante does not describe in great detail the land that the hypocrites dwell so the reader can assume it to be plain and barren. He does however describe the hypocrites and their punishment in an excess of detail. He states

Similar to Canto 6, Dante expresses in Canto 13 his infinite store of knowledge through Greek mythology and the history of his society. Dante again uses characters from Greek mythology in the punishing of the sinners. The harpies role in Greek mythology changes from "soul takers" to obsessive eaters. He respectively uses them to feed on the sinners who are in the form of trees. Dante expresses his knowledge of the history of his society by mentioning Frederick II and Pier delle Vigne. Both individuals are well known in history in this time period. At this point, the reader is able to understand the punishment and people present in this layer.

"Seizing me instantly in his arms, my guide- / like a mother wakened by a midnight noise / to find a wall of flame at her bedside / (who takes her child and runs, and more concerned for him than for herself, does not pause even / to throw a wrap about her) raised me, turned / and down the rugged bank from the high summit / flung himself down supine onto the slope / which walls the upper side of the next pit" (199).

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Approximate Word count = 1988
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels