The Frozen Sinners

A detailed Summary of The Frozen Sinners

In Dante’s Inferno, the poet devised tortures for his collection of sinners

that in some way fit the crimes they committed in life. But Dante’s tortures also

reflect a vision of Hell that is very different from that which we imagine through

popular culture. His hell is not a lake of fire, but rather a series of concentric

rings winding into the earth; and the very deepest part is not burning hot, but

freezing cold. In this ice, a group of sinners, who have betrayed their family, is

trapped for ever. For Dante, being frozen in ice clearly symbolizes being

In Canto XXXII, Dante comes across a lake of sinners locked in ice up to

their waists or, as Dante says, “the place / where shame can show itself” (Dante,

XXXII, 34-35). This is the ring of Hell for those who have done violence to their

relatives, hence that rung’s name, Caina, so called after the man in the Biblical

book of Genesis who killed his brother in cold blood. The symbolism of the ice

then becomes clear. Just as in the upper rungs of Hell, two lovers buffeted by

their passions are forever buffeted by wind, and the wrathful fight in the mud of

their own accusations, we find that these individuals encased in

the water, with only his head protruding above the surface. At first glance, this

that any God who would condemn his fallen creatures to such a fate cannot have

may seem much like the state of the frozen sinners, who also have half their

trampled upon as well. Then Dante looks down and sees them: "At this I turned

Dante tells us, during the season when peasant women dream of gleaning. In

other words, late summer and fall; and also, the frogs can leap up out of the

creativity. Through the types of punishments he used, Dante is able to illustrate

creaked" (XXXII, lines 23-30) . People encased in this ice, Dante implies, will

conversely succeeds in invoking our pity.

penalize each sin through his law of counter penalty. I think that by showing us

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dante XXXII, Mount Tambernic, XXXII Dante, Dante’s Inferno, Russia Italian, Robert Pinsky, canto xxxii dante, canto xxxii, Canto XXXII, xxxii lines, encased ice, xxxii dante, croaking frog,

Approximate Word count = 857
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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