dante
Dante takes the character of Minos both from the Aeneid and from ancient mythology. By placing a pagan god in a Christian view of the afterlife, Dante once again demonstrates that has no problem with mixing vastly different traditions. The punishment of the Lustful is fitting: Those who were obsessed with the stimulation of the flesh in life now have their nerves unceasingly stimulated by the tempest. They are also prone and in the dark, in the manner in which lust is most often acted out. The punishment of the Gluttonous, whose sins also involved an obsession with bodily pleasure, is similarly fitting. Those who could not have enough of things pleasing to the taste and other senses now have an overabundance of the most unpleasant food--for eternity. The excrement with which they are doused is both the literal and figurative product of their gluttonous consumption. Dante's great pity for those suffering in the Second Circle probably stems from his
Finally, this Canto also provides further insight into the material aspects of Dante's Hell. As Virgil says, the dead do not have their earthly bodies at the time of Dante's journey; in fact, the two poets walk across the shades as they cross the Third Circle. Each soul will, however, "once again take on his flesh and form...upon the coming of the hostile Judge" (VI.98,96)--that is, upon Christ's coming at the Last Judgment. This agrees precisely with traditional Catholic theology, both in Dante's time and ours. It is not exactly clear, though, how the souls are now suffering physical torment without bodies. We must assume that they have some sort of solid form or they would not even be visible to Dante. Virgil's last comment is also important to note: He says that all will be brought to perfection at the Last Judgment. Those that are now being punished will then receive perfect (read: more painful) punishment. A fundamental characteristic of Dante's af
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Approximate Word count = 646
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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