Jessi Genske: Dante's Inferno, chapter 8

Circle five and six begin with Virgil and Dante standing at the endge of Styx. An unkown signal of flames come from the great tower. It is then answered form the other side and almost immediately, Virgil and Dante see Phlegyas, race toward them. He thinks they are new souls for him to torment. Once he sees it is once again the poets, he becomes filled with anger. First he does not want to take them, but Virgil again defeats him with devine will. As the cross the marshy river, a soul from below the muck rises up, it is Filippo Argenti. Dante knows him and wishes to see him farther punished. Virgil approves of this and suddenly, Argenti is attacked by all the other souls and ripped to pieces. The boat soon moves on. Dante then sees the flames which rise from the towers of Dis. Great iron walls guard the the lower Hell which lies inside to seperate the upper and lowers hells. Phlegyas drops them off at the gate only to find it being guarded by the Rebelious Angels. Virgil cannot get the angles to let them through, Human Reason by itself cannot defeat the essence of evil. Virgil sends a prayer and they wait for the assistance of Divine Aid from the Heavenly Messenger.

Circle:five and six
Sin:the wrathful and the fallen angels
Punishment:wrathful are to be sunk in the river of styx constantly attacking one another. The angels are to guard the gates of dis.
Retribution:They were wrathful in life so in death they are to attack and be attacked for all eternity.
Quote: "And I 'Master, it would suit my whim to see the wretch scrubbed down into the swill before we leave this stinking sink and him."
Question: In the quote above, who is the person talking and what are they talking about?
Sinners:Filippo Argenti

Canto 2--Jeremy Kundtz

As Virgil and Dante are about to enter the Vestibule of Hell, Dante becomes nervous. He questions why it is he who has been chosen to descend, alive, into Hell. To ease Dante's nerves, Virgil explains to Dante that his journey through Hell has been willed by great, heavenly powers. Virgil tells Dante that Beatrice, Dante's symbol of Divine Love, descended into Hell to tell Virgil to be Dante's guide through Hell. Virgil also tells Dante that along with Beatrice, The Virgin Mary (Dante's symbol of Compassion), Santa Lucia (Dante's symbol of Divine Light), and Rachel (Dante's symbol of the Contemplative Life), have all willed Dante's journey into Hell as a living man. Upon learning of the great, heavenly powers that have willed his journey, Dante's confidence is restored to him. Thus, with renewed confidence, Dante and Virgil walk on to the Gates of Hell.

• What is Rachel's significance? Explain the meaning of living the contemplative life and explain why it is important to Dante.

Tommy Ritz 6th Canto XXII

In canto XXII the poets set off for the 2nd bridge, since the 1st one lay shattered, leaving the second bridge as their only way to the 6th Bolgia. As Dante walks by the tormented sinners he notices how they behave like frogs in a way. This is because when no one is near they leave their heads out of the burning pitch, but whenever a demon draws close they immediately put their heads under the pitch to evade the demon’s wrath. As the poets and their demonic guardians walk by Dante notices an unidentified Navarrese who tries to submerge too late, and is caught by the demons. However before the demons can set upon the Navarrese, Dante asks the demons if he may speak to him. The sinner speaks of how his service to the king and queen of Navarrese forced him to start grafting, which is why he resides in hell. After this brisk conversation, the demons prepare to set upon the sinner; however he tries to cut a deal with the malicious demons. He says if the demons let him go free that he would whistle which would draw all the sinners hiding nearby beneath the pitch to him, whom the demons could then attack. Though suspicious of his plan, the demons agree and as soon as they let the sinner go he jumps into the pitch and escapes. The demons become enraged over this, and two demons even jump into the boiling pitch after him. When they hit the burning pitch, it finally dawns on them that the Navarrese is long gone, so they begin to fight each other. The other demons begin to organize a rescue party to get their brethren to safety. During the chaos, the poets slip away.

1. Why did the unidentified Navarrese tell his story to Dante?
2. Why did the poets slip away while the rest of the demons were distracted?

Maurell James

Canto XVIII
This is circle eight called the Malebolge, and this contains the fraudulent and Malicious. These people sinned because they harmed their neighboor. In the first ditch the poets enconter the panderes and Seducers, and they form two files walking in oppostite directions. They walk at a fast pace, and are hurried by demons who whip them with great lashes. The retribution of this sinner punishment is they hurried others to benefit themselves and in hell they are the ones who are driven. Also the horned demons represent their consicous of their sin. Dante also sees Venedico Cacciamemcio who sold his sister to win favor of the Maquis. They also see Jason who carrried of women and abandoned others. He was a sinner who was a seducer. They also enconter the souls of the flatterrs who are immersed in excrement filled fieces, and they see in the pit Alessio and Thais. In life these people were filled with crap, and telling lies and so they are forever filled in crap.
Quote"And as he spoke, one of those lashes fell across his back, and a demon cried/Move on, you pimp, there are no women left to sell."
-What is the significance of the demon rushing these sinners?
lines 64-66

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Mackenna Crosby Canto III- Canto IV

Canto III

Circle: Vestibule of Hell

Sin: Opportunists- Took no sides in the Rebellion of the Angels

Punishment: Forced to chase after a banner that runs forever
-Stung by wasps/hornets who make them bleed
-Worms and maggots below them feast on their blood

Sinner: Pope Celestine V

Retribution: In life, the Opportunists were not committed to either good or evil, they shifted back and forward for their own personal gain, instead of being loyal to one side. In Hell, these sinners are now punished by being forced to continuously move with no definite direction.

In this canto, Dante and Virgil enter the Vestibule of Hell, where they find the opportunists. The vestibule is neither in Hell, nor out of it. They are given no place, because they took no sides. Here the poets come across Pope Celestine V, who was tricked into leaving his position as Pope, so that Boniface VIII could replace him. Dante does not pity him, and does not stop to speak to him. When reaching the river called Acheron, the ferry man, Charon, notices that Dante is alive and refuses to allow him to cross. Virgil forces Charon to take them on his ferry, and once they are aboard, Dante swoons for the first time in his journey.

Question: Who is Dante referring to in this quote?
"And some I knew among them; last of all/ I recognized the shadow of that soul/ who, in his cowardice, made the Great Denial." (line 55-57)

Canto IV

Circle: Circle one-Limbo

Sin: The Virtuous Pagans- Those who were born before Christianity, or those who were never baptized.

Punishment: They have no hope.

Sinner: Homer, Horace, Ovid, Lucan

Dante awakes after swooning and is now in Limbo, the first circle of Hell. This is the circle in which Virgil resides and he explains to Dante that he pities these souls because they are punished for never learning Christianity. Dante sees souls in the distance coming towards them, and Virgil identifies them as Homer, Horace, Ovid and Lucan. These souls greet Virgil and Dante courteously, addressing Virgil as the "Prince of Poets". The souls lead Dante to the Citadel of Human Reason, where recognizes many Virtuous Pagans, all of whom he considers to be noble. The poets continue their voyage, and make their way to the edge of Circle two.

Question: Refer to the quote below and explain why Dante's assumption of the reason for Virgil's pale face is incorrect.
"And I, sick with alarm at his new pallor,/ cried out, 'How can I go this way when you/ who are my strength in doubt turn pale with terror?'" (line 16-18)

Dante's Inferno canto XXI- Tommy Ritz 6th

In canto XXI the poets reach the 5th Bolgia of the 8th circle. Here grafters, or those who bribed, cheated, and used corrupted means to gain political, social, or economical power are punished. The sinner’s punishment is being kept under a ditch full of boiling pitch. Pitch, is the disgusting sticky byproduct of tar. The sinners are surrounded by demons that wield pitch forks, and attack any of the sinners who put their heads above the pitch’s surface. The pitch symbolizes a few things. First off it represents the sticky fingers that the grafters, who ascended to their positions on earth through theft and deceit. Also, the grafters being under the dark colored pitch symbolizes their shady actions being hidden from the eyes of men. The demons can symbolize a few things as well. They probably symbolize how even though the grafters are trying to free themselves from the pitch, aka their sins, their being pushed back in by the demons, aka their corrupt ways. Upon the poets arrival they see a senator from Lucca being thrown into the pitch. Virgil then has Dante hide behind some jagged rocks, as he goes out to the demons to try to negotiate the poet’s safe passage across the Bolgia. Just before the demons stop listening to their leader and give in to their rage and tear Virgil to shreds, Virgil manages to gain safe passage from the leader named Malacoda. He tells the poets about a bridge they can take to go to the 6th Bolgia, and the poets set off to it under the protection of Malacoda who brings a group of demons with him. Upon reaching the bridge the poets discover that it is shatter and uncrossable, but Malacoda tells them of a second bridge a ways away so they set off to it.

1. What does the pitch symbolize?
2. What could the demons symbolize?
3.Why do you think the bridge is shatterd?

Katie McCluskey

Canto XXIX (29)

• The Canto covers Circle 8, Bolgia 10. The sinners in this Bolgia are the Falsifiers. They are in class one, also known as the Alchemists.


• Punishment: The sinners are punished by darkness, stench, thirst, filth, loathsome diseases, and shrieking din.


• Retribution: The people corrupted society by their falsifications, so the sinners are subjected to corruption.
  
• Key Sinners: Some key sinners in the canto are Griffolino D'Arezzo and Capacchio. Dante speaks with both Griffolino D'Arezzo and Capacchio in this Class Level.
  
• Key Plot Points:
  o Geri Del Bello was making threatening gestures at Dante so Virgil had to step in and bring Dante to Bolgia 10.
  o Dante figures out in this Canto that there are four classes of Falsifiers.
  o Bolgia Ten is the Alchemists, or the Falsifiers of Things
  
• Question: Use the quote below to answer the question.
  o “The moon already is under our feet; the time we have is short, and there is much that you have yet to see.” --Virgil
  § Lines 10-12
  o What does the above quote mean and why does Virgil say it?

Canto XXX (30)

• This canto covers Circle 8, Bolgia 10. The sinners in this Bolgia are the Falsifiers. This Canto includes the last three types of Falsifiers, Evil Impersonators, Counterfeiters, and False Witnesses.


• Punishment: The Falsifiers are punished with darkness, stench, thirst, filth, loathsome diseases, shrieking din, and running without pause.
  
• Retribution: The people corrupted society so they are subjected to corruption.
  
• Key Sinners: Gianni Shicchi, Myrrha, Master Adam, Potiphars Wife, and Sinon the Greek. Gianni Schicchi and Myrrha run through the pit endlessly and snatch at the souls, rending them. Master Adam is a Falsifier of Money. Potiphars Wife and Sinon the Greek are Falsifiers of Words.


• Key Plot Points
  o Dante finds out who Schicchi and Myrrha are when they come to tear apart Capocchio, whom Dante was talking to.
  o Sinon gets angry when Master Adam identifies him so Sinon hurts Master Adam.
  o When Dante sees the Counterfeiters, he is disgusted at the way they look.
  o Virgil makes Dante feel ashamed for watching Master Adam and Sinon fight.


• Question: Use the quote below to answer the question.
  o “Now keep on looking a little longer and I quarrel with you.”—Virgil
  § Lines 130-133
  o What does the quote above mean and why does Virgil say this?

Shawn Cooper

Canto XXVII
Circle: Eight- Bolgia Eight
Sinners: The Evil Counselors
Sin: Those who abused the gifts of the Almighty, to steal his virtues for low purposes
Retribution: They stolen from sight and hidden in the great flames which are their own guilty consciences. ( This is because in their lives they stole from God in their lives and worked in hidden ways)
Key Sinners: Count Guido da Montefeltro
Summary: This Canto begins with Dante and Virgil entering the Eigth Bolgia of the Eigth Circle. They meet the soul of Count Guido Da Montefeltro, a previous Lord of Romagna. Dante tells the count about the current state of Italy and The count tells Dante about his story and how Pope Boniface VIII pursuaded him to sin.

Question: How did Boniface VII pursuade the count to sin?

Canto XXVIII
Circle: Eight - Bolgia Nine
Sinners: The Sowers of Discord (Religious, Political and Those that created discord between kinsmen)
Sin: Those that split apart and mutilated what God wanted to be united
Retribution: Forever mutilated by a giant demon with a bloody sword
Key Sinners: Mahomet, Pier Da MedicinaTrubune Curio, Mosca Dei Lamberti and Bertrand De Born
Summary: This Canto begins with Dante and Virgil entering the Ninth Bolgia of the Eigth Circle. In this Bolgia the sinners are sorted into three separate groups. First Dante and Virgil Encounter the Sowers of Religious Discord where they meet Mahomet, who warns them about Fra Dolcino. Next they meet the Sowers of Political Discord and meet Dier Da Medicina, th Tribun Curio and Mosca Dei Lamberti. Finally Dante and Virgil meet the Sowers of Discord between Kinsmen where they meet Berterand De Born.

Question: Why was Berterand De Born assigned to The Sowers of Discord between Kinsmen?

Canto XXXIII- Skylor Gomes

Canto XXXIII

Circle: 9 Cocytus

Rounds: 2 (Antenora) and 3 (Ptolomea)

Sin: Compound Fraud, The treacherous to country, Treacherous to guests and hosts.

Punishment: Sinners lay in ice on their backs with only faces exposed. Some sinners in round 3 are not actually dead. Their crimes were so bad, they are predestined to be in circle 9 round 3. Demons posess their bodies on earth. Sinners are even denied the comfort of tears. The tears freeze on their face, leaving them unable to cry.

Key sinners/stories/monsters: Count Ugolino, Archbishop Ruggieri. The two plotted together but Ruggieri betrayed him, and Ugolino starved to death. Ugolino gnaws at the head of Ruggieri as his new source of food. Friar Alberigo and Branca D'Oria. They are not yet dead, but their sin is so bad, they are predestinied to be in round 3 of circle 9.
Summary: Dante and Virgil meet Ugolino and Ruggieri. As mentioned earlier, Ugolino told his story. Dante and Virgil continue on. Dante asks what is causing the freezing wind, which Virgil says he will see soon enough. That means they will soon be coming on something important. They are coming near the end of their journey. This circle makes Dante feel grief for the sinners once more.

Questions:
Why is Count Ugolino gnawing on the head of Archbishop Ruggieri?

What is different about some sinners in Circle 9 round 3?

What are the sinners trapped in?

Instructions-Mrs. Mitchell

Summarize each canto
Identify the Sin (explain)/Punishment/Key Sinners
Write your question after the summary. Make sure you bold the type on your question.
If you use a quote in your summary or question, remember to include the line number(s) and use quotation marks.

Mike VeVerka Cantos 25-26

CANTO 25
Circle- 8, Bolgia 7
Sin- Thievery
Punishment- Sinners in this canto become forced into one another so that the two creatures become one. Sinners constantly attack each other and capture their traits.
Sinners- Vanni, Agnello, Cianfa, Buoso, Francesco, Pucio Sciancato.
Summary- Canto 25 is set in circle eight, bolgia seven in Hell. The sinners in this canto were thieves during their time on Earth. Their assigned punishment is that they are compelled to attack and morph with other sinners. This represents their actions in life because when they were on Earth, the sinners took the substance of others and transformed it to their own. No sinner knows which body is his own. This justifies why they are compelled to do the action stated above.
Q: From what city are Agnello, Ciafa, Buoso, Francesco, and Pucio Sciancato?


CANTO 26
Circle- 8, Bolgia 8
Sin- Evil Counsel
Punishment- Eternally surrounded behind giant flames.
Sinners- Ulysses, Diomede
Summary- this canto is set in circle eight, bolgia 8 in Hell. The Evil Counselors of that infected people on Earth now inhabit this fiery land in the Inferno. Their punishment is that they are eternally hidden behind giant flames so they cannot be seen. This punishment is justified because in life, these people stole from God and abused His virtues for low purposes. Therefore, in Hell, they are stolen from sight, just like how they worked in hidden ways on Earth. I see this punishment fair because their eternal suffering matches the trouble they cause during their time on Earth.
Q: How did Ulysses describe his death?

Taylor Tercek Canto XXIII and XXIV

Canto XXIII
Virgil and Dante merely escaped from the demons in Bolgia 5 who were sent by Malacoda. They ran and slid down the slope that led to the Sixth Bolgia, and could no longer be pursued by the demons. While exploring this pouch of Circle 8, Dante and Virgil saw many souls walking along a narrow track dressed in leaden capes and hats. These sinners are the Hypocrites. The chief sinner of Bolgia 6 is Caiaphas, who is punished by being crucified to the floor of Hell inside the narrow track by three stakes. The retribution is significant because Christ had to suffer the pain of all the world's sins, so Caiaphas must suffer the pain of all the world's hypocrisy. Virgil and Dante also meet Friar Catalano and Friar Loderigo while traveling along the track. The two friars gave them directions as to how to exit Bolgia 6, and Virgil realized that Malacoda lied to them about the connecting bridge.

What is the name of the soul being described?
"--and then I saw a figure crucified upon the ground by three stakes, and I fell still in awe" (pg 201 lines 106-108).


Canto XXIV
After finally navigating past the rocks of the collapsed bridge, Virgil and Dante entered the Seventh Bolgia of Circle 8. The thieves are the sinners of this bolgia, and they are punished by the reptile monsters. The reptiles curl around the sinners and they fly through the air pierceing their veins. The sinners then burst into flames and turn to ashes. Then, they slowly and painfully reform. Since the thieves's hands are the part of them that they commited their crime with, the reptiles bind their hand together behind their back. By stealing in life, the thieves made substances disappear, so they are punished by disappearing temporarily over and over again when they turn to ashes. Virgil and Dante also met a thief-Vanni Fucci, who unwillingly revealed his identity and told a dark prophecy against Dante.

What did Vanni Fucci say in the prophecy that he told Dante?

Cantos XIII-XIV - Emily Gatautis

CANTOS XII-XIV

Canto XII
Circle- circle seven, round two; the wood of suicides

Sin- those who were violent against themselves; those who committed suicide.

Punishment- the suicidal souls are are trapped in gnarly, thorny trees and can only speak when the Harpies rip their branches off of them, causing them to bleed.

Retribution- They who destroyed their own bodies are, in Hell, denied a human form. since they expressed themselves through self-destruction, the only way for them to speak or express emotion is through what tears and destroys them. only through their own blood can they voice opinion. also, since the Harpies destroy everything they touch, it is fitting that they be the ones to bring destruction and pain to the suicides.

Key Sinners- Pier delle Vinge, Jacomo da Sant Andrea, and Lano da Siena. Pier is a suicide trapped in a tree that Dante, in the beginning of this canto, rips a branch from. this causes Pier to bleed, and where he then tells Dante and Virgil his story. Jacomo and Lano are both famous squanderers and destroyers of goods. both of these souls are considered Violent Against their Substance—those who intentionally harmed themselves. these sinners are being constantly pursued by a pack of hounds, who rip their limbs from them.

Key Plot Points- in this round, Dante and Virgil travel through the Wood of Suicides and meet with a couple of suicide victims. they also go to see the Violent Against their Substance and see two naked souls being tormented by a pack of hounds.

Question-
Here we shall drag them and in this mournful glade
our bodies will dangle to the end of time,
each on the thorns of its tormented shade.
(lines 106-108)

What is this quote talking about? Interpret the what the language means.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canto XIV
Circle- circle seven, round two, the Plain of Burning Sand

Sin- the Violent Against God, Nature, and Art. Included are Blasphemers(violent against God), Sodomites(violent against nature), and Usurers(violent against art)

Punishment- all of these souls are trapped on the Plain of Burning Sands, and are rained upon by fiery rain. However, each sin has a slightly unique punishment. the Blasphemers are sprawled out on the burning sand, the Sodomites are forced to run endless circles, and the Usurers are huddled, crying, on the burning sand.

Retribution- The burning plain is symbolic of sterility and the fiery rain is symbolic of the wrath of God. since all of these sins are unnatural habits had by humans, the unnaturally hot sands is the sinners' eternal resting place. also, the rain descends as fire, when in nature it should descend as cool fertile water. in conclusion, these sinners were unnatural with their actions during life, so they are placed in torturous and unnaturally horrible conditions to punish them for their sins.

Key Sinners- Capaneus(chief sinner of this round, Blasphemer) Capaneus was a Blasphemer, and blamed God for everything that happened to him, when in all actuality, it was his temper and way of doing things that got him into trouble. the legend is that when Zeus struck Capaneus with a lightening bolt, he still had an insult toward god on his lips. now, in Hell, he still speaks badly about God and blames him for his troubles.

Key Plot Points- In this canto, Dante and Virgil leave the Wood of Suicides and onto the Plain of Burning Sand where they find the Blasphemers, Sodomites, and Usurers all being rained on by fire. the poets speak with Capaneus and Virgil tells Dante the legend of the rill that runs along the River of Boiling Blood

Question-
He is chosen of iron from there down,
except that his right foot is terra cotta;
it is this foot that he rests more weight on.
(lines 103-105)

Who is Virgil talking about in this quote? What does the terra cotta foot represent, and how does the meaning reflect Dante's religious views?

Maurell James

Canto XVII
This is cirlce sven round three here contains the usures which are the sinners against the Art. These sinners sinned because they did not use the skills, gifts, and talents that God blessed them with. Instead they used the talents of others to bendefit themselves. Their punishment is thety sit on a plain with fiery sand with a purse around their neck with a coat of arms that causes them enternall lameting. The retribution of theri punishment is since they burdedned others by using them; they are forever with a burden of a purser around their neck forever lameting. Also in this chapter is Dante and Virgil's transportation Geryon which is the symobolical creature for fraud. He carries Dante and Vrigil to the outer edge of the seventh circele. Once the poets rich this part of hell a man questions Dante who is among the living why he is their in hell. After this comment Dante retires back to Virigil who warned him that tat would happen if Dante stayed there too long.

Quote: " Dogs in the Summer bit by fleas and gadflies, jerking their snouts about, twiching their paws now heree, behave no other wise."
-interpreing from the quote how does this metaphor relate to their punishment?

Cantos IX & X- Drew Humphrey

Canto IX

Circle: Six

Sinners: The heretics

Sin: These souls did violence to God by denying him immortality

Punishment: Sinners here are placed in tombs forever that are incased by fire, on judgement day their tombs will be closed for eternity.

Summary: In this canto Dante and Virgil are stopped at the Gate of Dis. The Three Infernal Furies are introduced and call upon Medusa to come and turn Dante to stone because he is alive and they want him to go no further. Right at the moment of greatest anxiety a godly messenger rumbles down to the gate and with a touch and it opens for the poets. they then enter circle six where they discover a large cemetery filled with cries of pain and anguish. This is the eternal resting place of The Heretics.

"Outcasts of Heaven, you twice-loathsome crew,"/he cried upon
that terrible sill of Hell,/"how does this insolence still live in you?/Why
do you set yourselves against that Throne/ whose Will none can deny, and which, times past,/has added to your pain for each rebellion?" (canto IX lines 88-93)

Who is talking in the quote above?

Who is he/she talking to and why?

Canto X

Circle: Six

Sinners/Key sinners: The heretics are the sinners, including Farinata Degli Uberti and Cavalcante Dei Cavalcanti

Sin: These sould did violence to God by denying him immortality

Punishment: Sinners here are placed in tombs forever that are incased by fire, on judgment day their tombs will be closed for eternity

Summary: Canto X continues the poets walk through circle six, the eternal cemetery for the Heretics. As they walk by a tomb, a soul inside a tomb, Uberti, recognizes the accent of Dante and appears, strating to talk with Dante about their differing political views. Soon another sould appears and asks why his son Guido is not with Dante, after mistakenly hearing Dante, the soul swoons back into his grave, thinking his son had died. Uberti than continues where he left off when he was interrupted, soon telling Dante the prophesy of Dante's banishment from Florence. Uberti than explains how the Heretics can see into the future but not the present. Dante waits for a moment pitying these souls slightly, but than quickly goes on his way.

Why does Cavalcanti think his son is dead?

Why can the Heretics see into the future but not the present?

Connor Judson - Cantos V-VI

Dantes Inferno



Canto V

Circle: 2
Sin: The Carnal : Those who abandoned themselves to the tempest of their passions.
Punishment: The souls are swept around in a tempest (tornado) for all of eternity.
Retribution: The souls were swept away by love in life and controlled by lust, so in death, they are swept around and controlled by a enourmous tempest or tornado.
Key Plot Points:

• 1) Minos, who assigns souls to their punishments, is silenced by Virgil and they are allowed to pass.
• 2) Dante and Virgil pass through Circle 2 and see the many souls punished there.
• 3) Dante swoons after hearing the tale of Paolo and Francesca.
  

Key Sinners: Paolo and Francesca: These two lovers tell Dante of how they fell in love while reading the story of Lancelot and had an affair while they were still livng (which puts them in circle 2). They were then killed by the husband of Francesca, who was the brother of Paolo, when they were caught. Dante swoons after he is touched by their sorrowful tale.


Summary: Dante and Virgil enter circle two, as they see Minos, who is the judge of the dead, and the one who sends the dead souls to their correct punishment with his devil's tail. As Virgil did with Charon, he silences Minos, and the two pass by without any trouble. Dante then sees the punishment for those who reside in circle two, which is that they are whipped around in a never ending tornado/tempest. Virgil points out a few sinners who reside there, including Dido, Achilles, Helen, Cleopatra, Paris, and Tristan. This is when Dante spots the two souls who are swept away together and wishes to speak with them. Paolo and Francesca come down to where the two are, and they tell their tragic love story. At the end, Dante is so full of simpathy and sorrow that he swoons, which provides a transtiton into the next canto.

How did Paolo and Francesca end up in circle two?




Canto VI


Circle: 3
Sin: The Gluttons
Punishment: The sinners here must lie in a slush that is like a garbage dump, while the monster, Cerberus, rips and tears up those who reside here.
Retribution: These sinners did nothing in life with the gifts God gave them but eat and drink, and create garbage, so they are placed in garbage. Also, they drooled over their food in life, so in death, Cerberus drools over them.
Key Plot Points:

• 1) Dante wakes up from his swoon in circle 3, and sees the slush and freezing rain, which gives it the appearance of a garbage dump.
• 2) Dante sees Cerberus, the three-headed dog, ripping and tearing up the sinnners who reside in the circle.
• 3) After Virgil gets them past the monster, they are walking when a sinner sits up and begins to talk to Dante, who finds out it is Ciacco the Hog.
• 4) Ciacco gives Dante the first political prophecy about the future of Florence.
• 5) Dante and Virgil walk to the next circle, when they encounter Plutus.

Key Sinners: Ciacco: He was a resident of Florence that must have seen Dante sometime in life for Dante was alive when Ciacco died. He was nicknamed, "Ciacco the Hog" and his sin was gluttony. He tells Dante of what he sees in the future for politics in Florence.

Summary: This circle begins with Dante awakening from his swoon, and seeing circle three, with snow and freezing rain falling, creating a layer of slush. This represents a garbage dump, and all of these sinners are foced to lay in this layer. The poets approach Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog, who starts to howl, so Virgil picked up a handful of the slush and throws it down the throat of the dog, who silences and lets them pass.While they continue walking, a sinner sits up and asks Dante if he recognizes him. This is Ciacco, who was from Florence, and he was nicknamed, "Ciacco the Hog", by the Florentines. He gives the first political prophecy about Florence for Dante. The poets commence walking once again and reach the edge of the circle, where they encounter Plutus.

Why is Ciacco in the third circle?

Jessi Genske: Chapter 7, Inferno

Virgil and Dante enter the fourth circle to find a war against the hoarders and the wasters. Each “side” consists of each soul starining madly to push a boulder-like weight. The two “teams” crash the boulders together then separate, pushing the two weights farther apart then start over again. Virgil and Dante then move on as Virgil explains to Dante the point of dame fortune in the divine Scheme. Past midnight of Black Friday, they come across the Marsh of Styx which is the fifth circle, the last of the upper hell. They then see souls attacking each other in the slimy spring. These sinners are the wrathful. Virgil points out the bubbles in the spring and inform Dante that they are from the souls of the sullen who are entombed under the mud for all eternity chanting a hymn.

Circle: four and five

Sin: Hoarders and Wasters, Wrathful and Sullen

Punishment: For the hoarders and wasters, the punishment is to push a great boulder-like weight and clash it into the other. They then push them apart again and restart. Punishment for the wrathful is to be stuck in the Marsh of Styx and attck eachother. Punishment for the sullen is to be sunk under the nasty marsh chanting a hymn for all eternity.

Retribution: The symbolismof the hoarders' and wasters' punishment is, in life, they did not regulate their expenses; "they destroyed the light of God within themselves by thinking of nothing but money. Thus in death, their souls are encumbered by dead weights and one excess serves to punish the other. Their souls moreover, have become so dimmed and awry in thier friutlss rages that there is no hope of recognizing any among them."

For the wrathful, their punishment fits them because in life they were wrathful, so in death they attck each other in eternal rage/wrath.

The sullens' punishment is fit because in life they refused to welcome sunlight and in death they are burried forever below the stinking waters of the Styx.

Quote: "Hoardering and squandering wasted all their light and brought them screaming to this brawl of wraiths. You need no words of mine to grasp their plight" (lines 58-60)

Question: What does the boulder symbolize in the punishment for the hoarders and wasters?

Jessie Wilschek - Canto XXXI

Canto XXXI
Circle: 8 - Central Pit of Malebolge
Sin:
Nimrod - did not finish the Tower of Babel
Ephialtes - warred with the gods
Antaeus - murderer
Punishment:
Nimrod - must babble forever
Ephialtes - his arms are bound forever
Antaeus - must suffer with the other giants even though he belongs in a less evil circle
Retribution:
Nimrod - his babbling goes on forever because his building of the Tower of Babel was interrupted by a confusion of babbling
Ephialtes - since he was not in control when he was living, he must spend eternity being controlled with his arms bound
Sinners: Nimrod, Ephialtes, Briareus, Tityos, Typhan, Antaeus

Dante and Virgil come to the end of Circle 8. They reach the Central Pit of Malebolge. This is where the giants live. This pit is filled with coldness, ice, and strong winds. Dante thinks he sees a city with buildings, but Virgil tells him that those are, in fact, the sinners. Dante meets all of the sinners and hears all of their stories.

Questions:
Number 1: Do you believe it is fair that Antaeus has to suffer in a lower circle than he should just because he is a giant?
Number 2: Explain how the quote below shows that Nimrod is guilty.
lines 76-78: ""His very babbling testifies the wrong/he did on Earth: he is Nimrod, through whose evil/ mankind no longer speaks a common tongue."