Canto XXIII

938 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: hell on dante essay

Simple Fraud, 8th circle, 6th pouch

Hypocrites

Slowly walk in circles with wearing heavily lined lead cloaks, some are crucified by three stakes on the ground.

Canto XXIII Summary

Dante and Virgil walk in a single file quietly from the fifth pouch to the sixth pouch of the eighth circle. As they walk, the disturbances of the demons remind Dante of the Aesop fable, about the mouse and the frog. Dante starts to worry that they have irritated the Malebranche, who are the demons who patrol the fifth pouch. He fears that they are after them, and his hair curls up. These thoughts overwhelm Dante, and he decides to share them with Virgil. Suddenly, both of them see the demons approach with outstretched wings. Immediately, Virgil picks Dante up like a child and runs over to the slope leading down into the sixth pouch. With Dante in his arms, Virgil slides down the slope. The Malebranche are forced to stay at the top, because they are not allowed to leave the High Providence of the fifth pouch. Later, Virgil and Dante see the Hypocrites trudging in continuous circles with tired looks, wearing hats and cloaks very low around their faces. On the outside, the cloaks are yellow and dazzled. Yet on the inside, the cloaks are heavily lined with lead which force them to walk slowly. Two Jovial Friars, Catalano and Loderingo, recognize Dante’s Tuscan speech. The Friars wonder why Dante and Virgil are alive, and not dressed in a golden cloak too. Both Friars introduce themselves and talk to Dante, and explain that they are Hypocrites because they failed at keeping peace in Florence. Soon after, Dante sees a naked man crucified by three stakes on the ground squirming. Catalano explains that it is Caiaphas. Caiaphas had advised the Phari...

... middle of paper ...

...ieri”. World of Dante. University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. .

"Inferno: Canto XXIII." SparkNotes. Barnes and Noble, 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. .

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Inferno Inferno Canto XXIII (the Eighth Circle, Fifth Pouch: The Barrators; Sixth Pouch: The Hypocrites) Summary." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. .

Thompson, Diane. "Dante Study Guide." Dante Study Guide. Nova University, 04 Sept. 2007. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. .

Zimmerman, Seth, and Janet V. Fleet. "CANTO XXIII." The Inferno of Dante Alighieri. N.p., 2003. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Effects Of Gluttony In Dante's Inferno

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    In circle three of Inferno, Dante conjures a despairing tone by use of vivid imagery and extensive detail to display the harrowing effects of gluttony. This is best exemplified through the weather patterns and general landscape of this circle, the Poets’ encounter with Cerberus, and Dante’s conversation with Ciacco, the Hog. These devices also allow for the conveying of ideas embedded within the text.

    Read More

  • Dante's Relationship In Dante And His Guide Virgil

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis- Dante and Virgil have an interesting relationship that changes throughout Dante’s Inferno. They started off very different and Virgil didn’t care much for Dante. Dante looked at Virgil differently after he had heard Beatrice sent him to guide him. Throughout their travels, their relationship changed as they went through every layer of hell. Something happened in each one that changed their relationship either drastically, or barely at all. Their travels are very intriguing and their relationship is very complex. They become very close, so much that Dante acquires a deep trust in Virgil. They are no longer “just friends.” They are both poets and can communicate very well through words and Literature.

    Read More

  • Dante’s Inferno - The Evolving Relationship between Dante the Pilgrim and Virgil the Guide

    2166 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dante’s initial reaction to meeting Virgil reveals his penchant for the worldly as opposed to the divine. He addresses Virgil humbly, his words dripping with praise. “Are you then that Virgil, you the fountain/ that freely...

    Read More

  • The Allegory of the Cave and Dante

    1237 Words  | 3 Pages

    “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.” This maxim applies to the poet Dante Alighieri, writer of The Inferno in the 1300s, because it asserts the need to establish oneself as a contributor to society. Indeed, Dante’s work contributes much to Renaissance Italy as his work is the first of its scope and size to be written in the vernacular. Due to its readability and availability, The Inferno is a nationalistic symbol. With this widespread availability also comes a certain social responsibility; even though Dante’s audience would have been familiar with the religious dogma, he assumes the didactic role of illustrating his own version of Christian justice and emphasizes the need for a personal understanding of divine wisdom and contrapasso, the idea of the perfect punishment for the crime. Dante acts as both author and narrator, completing a physical and spiritual journey into the underworld with Virgil as his guide and mentor. The journey from darkness into light is an allegory full of symbolism, much like that of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, which shows a philosopher’s journey towards truth. Therefore, Dante would also agree with the maxim, “Wise men learn by others’ harms; fools scarcely by their own,” because on the road to gaining knowledge and spiritual enlightenment, characters who learn valuable lessons from the misfortunes of others strengthen their own paradigms. Nonetheless, the only true way to gain knowledge is to experience it first hand. Dante’s character finds truth by way of his own personal quest.

    Read More

  • Divine Comedy - The Trinity in Dante's Inferno

    2095 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ts notion of a "third way" as an ambiguous compromise. What is most fascinating is the degree to which one of the more stable metaphors, that of past, present, and future, has come true. The Inferno repeatedly invokes past epics, especially Virgil's Aeneid, with such cries as "O Muses, o high genius, help me now," and Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan welcome Dante and Virgil into Limbo. Now many modern poets, most notably T.S. Eliot, allude quite frequently to Dante's work. It seems that The Inferno will forever be canonically in the terza rima‹originally written as a centerpiece to the Italian epic, now accepted as a framer of world literature.

    Read More

  • Divine Love In Dante's Inferno

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    Inferno is the first and most famous of a three part series by Dante Alighieri known as the Divine Comedy that describes his journey to God through the levels of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise written in the early fourteenth century. Scholars spanning over nearly seven centuries have praised its beauty and complexity, unmatched by any other medieval poem. Patrick Hunt’s review, “On the Inferno,” states, “Dante’s extensive use of symbolism and prolific use of allegory— even in incredible anatomical detail—have been often plumbed as scholars have explored the gamut of his work’s classical, biblical, historical, and contemporary political significance” (9). In the story, each of the three main characters, Dante, Virgil, and Beatrice, represent

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis: Dante's Inferno

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dante’s work Inferno is a vivid walkthrough the depths of hell and invokes much imagery, contemplation and feeling. Dante’s work beautifully constructs a full sensory depiction of hell and the souls he encounters along the journey. In many instances within the work the reader arrives at a crossroads for interpretation and discussion. Canto XI offers one such crux in which Dante asks the question of why there is a separation between the upper levels of hell and the lower levels of hell. By discussing the text, examining its implications and interpretations, conclusions can be drawn about why there is delineation between the upper and lower levels and the rationale behind the separation.

    Read More

  • Virgil's Purpose in the Divine Comedy

    1745 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is difficult to determine the true nature of Virgil in Dante's Commedia. At times, he grants incredible advice that parallels the wisdom of some early church fathers, and other times he shows no expertise in any situation, to the point of conferring entirely misinformed counsel. This disparity is confusing mainly because Virgil looked like he would be an infallible guide at the beginning of the Divine Comedy. Yet there are plenty of occurrences confirming Virgil's shortcomings beyond doubt. So what is Dante trying to convey in Virgil's personage? Virgil is not shown to be completely wicked or just in his appearances in the poem, but there is no moral middle ground, as shown by the structure of Dante's afterlife. So, all the reader is left with is Paradise's estimation of Virgil, which is the only ensured truth the Poet gives the reader. Since Heaven chose Virgil to guide escort Dante the Pilgrim to Heaven, but Virgil can continue no further than the entrance to earthly paradise, Virgil must represent a transitional phase that Dante must shed in order to achieve full salvation.

    Read More

  • The Weakness of Human Nature in Dante's Inferno

    2210 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lummus, David. "Dante’s Inferno: Critical Reception and Influence." Dantes Inferno. Engerda: Arun, 2000. 63-79. Print.

    Read More

  • Language in Dante’s Inferno

    3866 Words  | 8 Pages

    Durling, Robert M., Ronald L. Martinez. Notes. The Inferno. Vol 1. By Dante Alighieri. Trans. Robert M. Durling. New York: Oxford UP, 1996.

    Read More

  • Dante's Divine Comedy - Close Reading of Canto V of the Inferno

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dante Alighieri presents a vivid and awakening view of the depths of Hell in the first book of his Divine Comedy, the Inferno. The reader is allowed to contemplate the state of his own soul as Dante "visits" and views the state of the souls of those eternally assigned to Hell's hallows. While any one of the cantos written in Inferno will offer an excellent description of the suffering and justice of hell, Canto V offers a poignant view of the assignment of punishment based on the committed sin. Through this close reading, we will examine three distinct areas of Dante's hell: the geography and punishment the sinner is restricted to, the character of the sinner, and the "fairness" or justice of the punishment in relation to the sin. Dante's Inferno is an ordered and descriptive journey that allows the reader the chance to see his own shortcomings in the sinners presented in the text.

    Read More

  • The Role and Function of the Major Monsters in Dante’s Inferno

    1944 Words  | 4 Pages

    Moreover, Dante, the narrator of the Inferno, has succeeded in not only telling the frightening story of the Inferno, but also pointing out the importance of the relationship between human’s sins and God’s retribution, using the monsters as the symbols for each kind of sin and its punishment throughout the progress of the story, which teaches his readers to be well aware of their sins through the literature – a part of humanities; the disciplines that teach a man to be a human.

    Read More

  • The Divine Comedy vs. Paradise Lost

    3039 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Divine Comedy, written in the 14th century by Dante Alighieri, is a heroic epic. Throughout Dante’s literary work, he outlines his scientific understandings of the world, his political views and provides the reader with a moral compass and spiritual map of which to follow. This poem is written in three parts, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio, each of which is broken down into individual cantos. Inferno includes 34 cantos, whereas Purgatrio and Paradiso each contain 33 cantos, however, the first canto of Inferno is really an introduction to the poem.

    Read More

  • What Does The Woods Symbolize Dante's Inferno

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dante’s first experience that Alighieri puts him through, is through the woods. The woods symbolize Dante’s life and he goes down a wrong path of the woods, (The wrong path of life). This is where Dante meets Virgil, who is sent from the first circle of hell to be Dante’s guide for freedom of sin. Alighieri made Dante the character, to be a lost soul in his gifts and what potential he has and how he’s wasting it by not following the path of God, but the path of philosophy. As Dante enters the first few circles of Hell, he is concerned for those who have been sent here by God. Dante is confused because to him it makes no sense for these people to be put through so much pain and suffering. He starts to have sorrow. Virgil tries to explain to him that God did this for their good and for good reason. Dante is still having trouble understanding, until he recognizes a familiar face. When he sees him, he calls out “May you weep and wail for all eternity, for I know you, Hell-dog, filthy as you are.” As he pushes him back with the other sinners. This is the start to Dante finally understanding why these sinners are here. Virgil then congratulates him for understanding.

    Read More

  • Divine Grace and Justice in Dante's Inferno

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: Inferno. Trans. Allen Mandelbaum. Notes Allen Mandelbaum and Gabriel Marruzzo. New York: Bantam Books, 1980

    Read More

More about Canto XXIII

Open Document