The Inferno recounts Dante's journey through Hell guided by the Roman poet Virgil. During their journey through each of the nine circles of Hell, Dante and Virgil witness contrapasso, or the law that guarantees that every sinner is punished with a punishment appropriate to the severity of his guilt according to medieval expectations. Some punishments observed by Virgil and Dante logically fit the corresponding crimes. Other punishments, however, are more symbolic and obscure. While the nature of the sins may be related, each punishment is tailored to torture each sinner to reflect how the sins affected others, thus allowing the punishments to vary greatly. During their journey, Dante and Virgil observe and converse with sinners to explore the relationship between sin itself and its corresponding contrapasso. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayWhen Dante and Virgil arrive in the third circle of Hell, it rains, as this is always the weather that accompanies the punishment of gluttons. Dante describes rain as “eternal rain, cursed, cold and strong; its rule and its quality never change" (6,7-9). The rainwater is dirty and large hailstones and snow also fall from the sky. The "land that welcomes them" stinks (6.11-12). In these few short verses Dante manages to convey the disgusting atmosphere of this circle to emphasize the idea of the misery of Hell. A monstrous three-headed dog-like beast called Cerberus watches over the gluttons, who howl like dogs along with the creature. When Cerberus sees Virgil and Dante, he opens his mouth and shows his fangs. Virgil "opened his hands, took the earth and with both fists threw it into those hungry pipes" (6.25-27). The beast devours the mud and then falls silent, symbolizing that he himself is a glutton. Retaliation and punishment are clearly evident as sinners are tormented by this beast that reflects their earthly ways. The vile sludge symbolizes the personal degradation of someone who indulges too much in food, drink, or other worldly pleasures. The inability to see others lying nearby represents the selfishness and coldness of the greedy. These souls who overindulge in food, drink, and other addictions are eternally tortured for it, and their punishment directly reflects and satirizes these specific earthly sins. Virgil and Dante enter the sixth chamber of the eighth circle of Hell which punishes those who commit fraud. They bear witness to the hypocrites who are "pictured as people who walked very slowly, weeping and in their expression tired and defeated" (23.58-60). Hypocrites wear hooded robes resembling those of monks. However, these robes are "dazzlingly gilded, but inside they are all lead, so heavy that those which Frederick wore on people might have been made of straw" (23.64-66). Note that Dante's interpretation of hypocrisy derives from the Magnae derivations of Uguccione of Pisa who attributes the etymology of "hypocrisy" to "hypo", meaning below, and "crisis", meaning gold (64-65nn). Similar to the golden cloaks, in their lives, sinners appeared good on the outside. Yet in reality they contained evil within. Hypocrites walk listlessly wearing the heavy cloaks of golden lead, representing the factionalism behind the appearance of their actions. This falsehood weighs them down and makes spiritual progress impossible for them. The retaliation of hypocrites is appropriate for sin itself as sinners are now tortured and.
tags