Today’s Agenda:
1) Journal Entry: (7-10 minutes)
a. For the next 7-10 minutes, I want you to write on the following subject:
Describe, in specific detail, an experience you have in which you felt lost. Being lost can happen in a couple of ways: you can be physically lost, emotionally lost, even spiritually lost. What was that experience like for you? What were the strongest sense memories you have from this experience? Did it change how you look at the world?
2) Group Work: (5-7 minutes)
a. In groups of 3-4, I want you to discuss the reading for today. What caught your interest? What did you make of Columbus’ writing? How did you answer the questions I asked you to answer? Are you seeing any of yourself in him? Everyone should have a chance to share.
3) Class discussion of Christopher Columbus: (5-10 minutes)
These understandings are going to serve as the foundation for our journey this semester, which is going to begin with an examination of Dante Alighieri and a selection from his most famous work, The Divine Comedy.
4) Lecture on Dante Alighieri (10 minutes)
Our subject today is Dante Alighieri and the first Canto of his Divine Comedy.
Important Facts about Dante:
Remember how, last time, I said that the end of the medieval period was an era of significant cultural transformations?
Well, Dante lived right in the thick of it!
He was born in Florence, Italy in 1265.
Florence, Italy was relatively small town at the time of Dante’s birth. It only had 45,000 people, a little bit larger than Bangor at Christmas time.
Here is the kind of countryside Date might have seen as a child. It may not be all that different from what you saw looking out a window when you were growing up. It’s certainly similar to what I saw, minus the hills.
But Florence was growing rapidly. By the time Date was 35, there were 100,000 people living there, about the size of the Portland region. It was as big as Paris at the time.
The kind of city Florence grew up into while Date was living there 1265-1301:
Like all urban growth, Florence’s rise was tumultuous.
It was spurred on by industry, which radically changed the nature of Florence over the course of Date’s life. Why is this important? Remember I said that our authors were living in very unsettling times?
Well, imagine if your hometown more than doubled in size as you were growing up? What kinds of changes would that create?
Not only did Dante’s city undergo major changes during this time, but so did his family. His mother died when he was a child, and his father died when he was 18.
Dante was alone in a town crowed with people.
As Florence grew, it became the financial and commercial center of Italy. This transformed the role of the Catholic Church, which became involved in this economic development — a fact that did not sit well with intellectuals like Dante.
Popes and emperors began to get into conflicts and wars all over Europe, and people began and continued to debate the differences between the Church and the Holy Roman Empire. In Florence, two factions emerged, the “White” army and the “Black” army. Dante was affiliated with the White army.
He went with a group to see the Pope to get the Pope to mitigate the fighting between the White and Black armies. Unfortunately, the Pope had already picked a side, the Black army. While Dante was visiting the Vatican, the Black army actually took over Florence, and Dante — on the losing end, here — was exiled on pain of death in 1301
He was charged with forgery, embezzlement, and opposition to the Pope. If caught, he would have been burned at the stake.
The “stakes,” as it were, were quite high for Dante!
So, he fled — but there was no way for him to become a citizen of another nation.
Dante, with no family and no nation, moved out into Europe, which was itself undergoing massive cultural and political transformations.
He was a known intellectual and poet, raised to understand Latin, and influenced greatly by Virgil, Aristotle, and the Vulgate version of the Bible (the Latin bible). He also would have been influenced by the Romance of the Rose, but that is a book we will talk about when we get the Chaucer.
All of this bears on your reading for next time.
This is the context for your reading assignment for Monday (there is a link further down the page), which is the first Canto of The Divine Comedy. While you will get the most out of this if you actually read it, I am here going to include a YouTube video which has several pictures that relate to the reading, and which is narrated. You may want to watch this, as hearing this poetry can greatly improve your understanding of it.
5) Discussion of journal writing from the beginning of class (10 minutes)
6) Homework and conclusion
Read: Dante’s Inferno: Canto I (Pages 3-11)Link:
http://books.google.com/books?id=52IrknghBZkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Divine+Comedy#PPA3,M1
This poem was first written in Italian, not English. In this version, you will see a page of English poetry followed by a page of the same poetry in Italian. Obviously, you do not need to read the Italian. However, I want you to see this because I want you to understand that before great works of art were written in English, they were written in other languages, too. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be talking about the growth and development of the English language, so this is an important concept for you to be aware of.
Write: Before next class, I want you to write and post to this page a 1.5 page journal entry on the following topic:
Dante’s writing mixes classical and naturalistic imagery with Christian themes and symbols. Can you detect when and where this is happening in the poem? What might the significance of these symbols be? Also comment on who you think the speaker and audience are in this poem. If you have any insightful comments to make on the situation, they would be welcome as well.
It may help to begin by considering the following quote, which comes from the end of the Canto when Dante is speaking to Virgil:
And I to him: “Poet, I beg of you,
In the name of God, that God you never knew,
Help me escape this evil and even worse,
And lead me to the place you spoke about
That I may see the gate Saint Peter guards
And those whose anguish you have told me of.”
Then he moved on, and I moved close behind him.
And just for fun, here is a link to the trailer for the new Dante’s Inferno Video Game:
[...] Wednesday, January 14 [...]
Tim McGuire
Eh 241 Major British Writers
Divine Comedy Canto 1 Analysis
Dante’s journey seems to be the artistic expression of his feelings of being lost. I got the feeling from his writing that he worked was working through this with his literature. Because Dante was a religious man trained in the classics these themes color his writing. I think this whole story is actually symbolic and the story is just a means of conveying a message through a fantastic tale. An example of this is when Dante writes “I had become so sleepy at that moment when I first strayed, leaving the path of truth.” In my opinion I think Dante is talking about his being spiritually lost as well as his being physically lost. This characters journey is analogous to the feelings of being lost that Dante had experienced in his life.
I’m not versed in very well in Christianity so much of the symbolism probably escapes me. The choice of lions and wolves as the beasts blocking his path might have something to do with the fact that the Romans used to throw Christians to those very animals for entertainment.
The poet Virgil as Dante’s rescuer was I felt, very symbolic. I believe he did this as a means of mixing his religious and his philosophical beliefs. I think Dante was trying to say that Virgil’s writing and philosophy somehow put him back on the right path. I think he best expressed this when he writes “and I (Virgil) shall be your guide and lead you out through and eternal place.” Virgil then goes on to discuss the journey to hell and then to heaven he believes will save Dante. Virgil however cannot take Dante to the gates of heaven because had worshiped Pagan Gods. As Virgil says “since in life I rebelled against his law”
I feel that the audience of this book was to be the major populace. I feel that he wanted to exonerate his Pagan hero in the eyes of a Christian society. Or perhaps just to give people someone else to look up to other then the corrupt Catholic Church and despotic Holy Roman Empire of that time. In my opinion I think Dante rightly felt that Virgil better exemplified the virtues of Christianity then did the Pope of that era. I think this book written to bring people of a journey that would wake them
…up.
(it cut off my last word for some reason) lol
Sarah Rackliffe
EH 241
Adam Crowley
January 15, 2009
The Divine Comedy
While reading The Divine Comedy the first Christian theme that I picked up was when Dante wandered off the straight path. At first this passage meant nothing to me but as I started to read further I noticed that the path he wandered off was the path of truth and not just a normal trail in the woods. “How I entered there I cannot truly say, I had become so sleepy at the moment when I first strayed, leaving the path of truth.” (The Divine Comedy 3). In this passage you begin to notice that he isn’t sleepy as in I need a nap but maybe sleepy in his faith. He became lazy to his duty for god and wandered off this path of truth.
The Divine Comedy also uses animals to block this man from following this path. The animal’s that really stood out to me were the lion, leopard and the wolf. “But then good hope gave way and fear returned when the figure of a lion loomed up before me” (5). “Then suddenly, there where that hill starts rising appeared a leopard, trim and very swift, all covered by a pelt of many spots” (5). “Then a she-wolf appeared, that in her leanness seemed laden with the craving of her greed” (5) This stood out to me because in the bible the lion, the leopard, and the wolf are all mentioned together along with a bear as a prophetical reference to the millennium. The prophecy says the in the millennium the lion, leopard, bear and the wolf will get along with the lamb, child, kid, calf, and the ox. Obviously in this group the Lion, leopard, and the wolf are the evil creatures and where we are not in the millennium at this point they are not getting along with the child.
Now we are at the point of the story where our traveler meets Virgil. Virgil tells him that he is no longer a living man and comes from the city of Rome where they worshiped false gods. As he talks to Virgil he learns that he is in hell and the beasts such as the lion, leopard and the wolf are blocking him from making his way to heaven. I believe that the speaker of this poem is Dante himself. “While halfway through the journey of our life I found myself lost in a darkened forest, for I have wandered off from the straight path” (3). Here you see Dante is referring the leading character as I, even thought that doesn’t prove that he is the main character I think that it may give a hint to that he is in fact the main character. He also never introduces anyone as being the main character leaving only him to take the position. I believe that the audience is anyone who has picked up this book to read, he is telling his story to anyone who wants to listen.
William Dow
1/18/2009
Eh241.001
Investigation of Dante paper
In the first canto of The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, we were introduced to the main character who also happens to be the narrator. The main character’s name is Dante so we are lead to believe that this is all happening to the author of the story. The story is full of symbols, the first one is that the narrator is lost in the woods this is shown by the first few lines of the story where he states he has lost his way in the woods “for I have wandered off from the straight path” (Dante 3). This gives off the idea that the “straight path “is a metaphor losing his way mentally in the story. In history of the author’s life, he has been exiled from his hometown so he is lost physically and has to be questioning himself and his choices so the author seems conflicted mentally. Then there is the point when he is trying to climb the mountain and a “panther” stops him, but you question whether the panther was real or not as the narrator then describes it as a lion, then later on it becomes a wolf. The animal that stopped him seems to be a symbol for something. Resembling something that Dante has to deal with whether it is something emotional or something he has been questioning about something he has done. The mountain itself seems to symbolize the ascent into the afterlife maybe or maybe climbing the mountain is a metaphor for find the information or clarity that the narrator seeks that would clear up the questions and doubts that the narrator has.
There may have been things that were religious symbols but I real cannot pick them out, as I am not a religious person or a person who knows anything about religion. The narrator is the main characters as it jumps to points were the narrator uses I, and me. The audience is hard to pin down exactly who we is talking to other then it seems that he is telling the story to another person, then just to himself.
Caleb Ashey
EH 241 Major British Writers
Professor Adam Crowley
Divine Comedy Canto I Analysis
Dante’s journey through this imaginary land is definitely his interpretation of himself being lost. Most noticeable are his religious symbols in the story, so I’m going to say that he is spiritually lost along with emotionally lost. I get this feeling because he doesn’t really mention anything specific about God until the end of the Canto when he makes references to Saint Peter, and God himself. At the very beginning he writes “ How I entered there I cannot truly say, I had become so sleepy at the moment.” This to me sounds like he is very depressed about himself being in this state of mind. He has seemed to lost his faith for a brief moment in time. But with the use of his vocabulary it seems as though he is reflecting back on it and not writing about it in the present. Although there are other symbols in the Canto which represent other things, I am not sure of what they represent. Like the use of the animals. All are predatory animals used as a way to scare the main character and make him give up on his journey of finding himself. I am sure that each animal was picked to be in there for a reason, and he did not write them in there just as a something he thought was frightening. Just when things look like he is about to give up entirely, incomes the character Virgil, who is made to look like the main characters salvation and a means to come back into his faith. Virgil explains to him why he is here, and tells him what path to go down and also that he will be his guide. “ But you must journey down another road” “If you ever want to leave this wilderness.”
I think the speaker in this poem is Dante himself. He mentions no other possibility. My theory is reinforced when me mentions Italy towards the end of the poem, because that is where Dante is from. He calls it “ Fallen Italy” though, which I think he means that since he was exiled from his home, he believes that Italy has fallen out of good grace with him, and possibly god. The audience is anyone who will listen to this tale. I don’t think anyone in particular is targeted to read it.
Kacey Beckwith
1/18/09
EH 241 Major British Writers
Professor Adam Crowley
In the Inferno Canto 1, Dante seems to be telling a story in order to represent the feeling of being lost in a spiritual sense. He uses imagery in order to have a double meaning throughout the poem. Rather than simply writing the poem about being spiritually lost, Dante writes the poem about being lost from a trail. The “trail” could be taken to mean a literal trail in the woods. However, once the reader gets farther along in the poem the double meaning presents itself. Dante isn’t simply talking about being lost in the woods; he uses this as a way to show his spiritual confusion. Dante himself, or the main character, is the speaker, while the audience is the reader.
Dante uses both classical imagery and Christian symbols in this piece of writing. Virgil was a way for Dante to show classical imagery. Dante looked to Virgil and his poetry during his lifetime and by using him as a character in the Inferno, Virgil himself becomes a way of showing imagery. As far as other imagery used in this poem, phrases such as “felt my heart plunged deep in fear” (page 3, line 15) and “just a swimmer, still with panting breath, / now safe upon the shore, out of the deep, / might turn to stare back at this dangerous waters,” (page 3, line 22-24) are also used to paint very detailed pictures of what Dante is trying to get across to the reader.
I noticed some Christian symbols, which were used as well. When Dante writes “wandered off from the straight path.” (page 3, line 3), this is a very commonly used phrase that is used when people feel spiritually lost. Other phrases that Dante uses are “’But you must journey down another road,’/ he answered, when he saw me lost in tears, / ‘if ever you hope to leave this wilderness;” (page 7, lines 91-93) and “His law. /… Everywhere He reigns, and there He rules; / there is His city, there is His high throne. Oh happy those He makes His citizens!” (pages 9-11, line 126-129) are very obviously Christian symbols.
Jason Stewart
Adam Crowley
18 January 2009
The first Canto of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy is rife with symbols and the underlying theme of Christianity and the arduous task of living the virtuous life. Dante uses such symbolism to draw the reader’s attention to the hardship one can face when trying to live as a devout Christian and what it takes to be accepted into Heaven. He also introduces his greatest literary influence Virgil into his Canto to also show that even for a great poet of the past, not all are granted entry through St. Peter’s Gates.
In the very first lines of the Canto, Dante makes mention of “wandering off the straight path” (3) which he literally means becoming lost but he means metaphorically that in his life he had become lost emotionally and perhaps lost his way from the “straight path” meaning the life of a virtuous and true Christian. This is the first bit of evidence that the reader finds that solidifies Dante’s message that the Christian way is the correct or “straight” way of life. To further drive his Christian theme, Dante uses language like “climbing the mountain” (7) and “Diving Love set their beauty turning” (5) implying life is like climbing a mountain. He also says of that same mountain after leaving the darkness “I raised my head and saw the hilltop shawled / in morning rays of light sent from the planet / that leads men straight ahead on every road” (3). This means that at the top of the mountain that is silhouetted in rays of light is heaven and life is like climbing that mountain.
To accompany Dante’s symbol of a mountain representing the life of a good Christian, he has a fearsome lion representing the trials that that good Christian will face. Virgil’s description that unholy creature helps to draw the picture of Dante’s symbol. Virgil says of the creature, “the beast, the one that makes you cry in fear, / allows no soul to succeed along her path, / she blocks him even to the point of death” (9). This means that the beast represents the hardships that face a Christian man in life, like the death of a family member or a famine that could make a man question his faith in God. Dante has this creature blocking his path and way back to his mountain of life representing not only the generic hardships that any man could face that could drive him off the path of virtuosity, but also representing his own life.
The speaker of this Canto is Dante himself. The man that has become lost and now faces a beast that he fears greatly is Dante because he himself was a man that faced many hardships that could have easily driven him far away from God and Christianity. He lost both of his parents before the age of twenty and was exiled from the very city that he watched grow with him. Further proof that the speaker is Dante himself is when Virgil is introduced into the Canto (Dante’s greatest influence), the character becomes quite humble as if channeling how Dante would act in the presence of the ancient poet.
Kristen Porter
January 18th 2009
EH21 Major British Writers
Divine Comedy-The Inferno Dante Analysis
Dante’s first canto of The Inferno makes me believe this is his own interpretation and expression of what it means to be spiritually and emotionally lost. I believe this poem conveys his own depressed feelings that he has bottled up inside of him as well as Dante looking for his own meaning in the world. Dante writes “I have wandered off straight from the path” (stanza 1-line 3-the inferno) this brings me to believe that Dante was not only taken away from what he knew, but he does not know where he will end up next. A few more lines further we not only take in that he is lost and not know where to go but Dante again writes “How I entered there I cannot truly say, I had become so sleepy at the moment when I first strayed, leaving the path of truth” (stanza 4-lines 10-12-the inferno) his sleepiness depicts his weariness of not knowing where or who he is in the world.
Dante takes the time to mention how he encounters a panther, a lion and a wolf before he crosses paths with Virgil. Although I am not familiar with Christianity, this is symbolic of classical writing because it is almost as these animals are prophets that are keeping him on the right path, before he meets his savior. I use this reasoning because as the poem begins, he is lost in the dark, he is tired, weary and lost. Then after meeting each animal or prophet the world begins to open up for him and he starts seeing more than darkness. He sees the beauty of each animal as well as a guiding star to where he is headed. Dante proves my connection analysis when he encounters the first prophet the panther “And everywhere I looked the beast was there, blocking my way so time and time again…and so the hour and sweet season of creation encouraged me to think I could get past” (stanza’s 12-13 lines 34-39 the inferno). Dante trusts the panther, for blocking him to all the wrong paths and bringing him to where he needs to be in his life. Dante is awaiting to be saved by these creatures, as well as what lies before him.
When Dante finally finds Virgil I believe this is also another form of Classical writing because, in Dante’s eyes Virgil becomes his savior or a God-like figure to him. I believe he uses Virgil to represent not only his religious beliefs but his philosophical roots that have inspired him in so many ways as a person. Without his philosophical background Dante would have never made it to this point to begin with, or have to find himself in anyway.
It is quite obvious that Dante himself is in fact the protagonist of the poem, but I feel who the audience may be is a better question. Could the audience be someone who also is looking for a way to get in touch with their own spirituality? Or could the audience be someone who is looking for answers, because they are lost by their emotions or actions as a person that has lead them to hit rock bottom? I personally feel that the Inferno is not only Dante’s work of self expression, but almost like a guide for someone who has nothing left, to give them inspiration to start over.
Lisa Randall
January 18, 2009
EH 241 Major British Writers
Dante’s Inferno: Canto 1
Dante’s Inferno – Canto 1, uses Christian themes and symbols throughout the poem. In the first lines of the poem he writes “While halfway through the journey of our life/ I found myself lost in a darkened forest/ for I had wandered off from the straight path.” Here, the theme is religion, and the symbols are the ‘journey of our life’, being the presence of religion throughout our life; the ‘darkened forest’ would be the time in Dante’s life where he found himself lost from his religion and how he had ‘wandered off from the straight path’, such as the road he was taking at the time he had his religion. Virgil offers to help guide Dante to find his path back to religion so that he may be able to enter the gates of Heaven, but only if he is willing to struggle to get there throughout his lifetime. The speaker in this poem is Dante, who is speaking to the audience, which includes the reader, whoever hears the story read, and to his favorite poet, Virgil.
Brian Commette
Dante Post
Major British Writers
Dante’s writing mixes classical and naturalistic imagery with Christian themes and symbols. Can you detect when and where this is happening in the poem? What might the significance of these symbols be? Also comment on who you think the speaker and audiance are in this poem. If you have any insightful comments to make on the situation, they would be welcome as well.
Dante does mix classical and naturalistic imagery with Christian themes and symbols and they are easily detected in the poem. His prose about the natural earth corresponds with Biblical or Christian themes by their descriptions.
I believe that when he is describing that he is sleepy and lost his way in life he is really talking about losing his hope in faith and has lost hope in his savior. The opening passage could mean this. Throughout the poem he is climbing a mountain or trying to, and by doing this he is trying to rediscover his faith. (Or at least I think so). He comes to many obstacles that try to turn him away from getting to the top (or the gates of heaven). Like every Christian strives to do in his or her life.
When he comes to Gabriel and begs him to help him reach the top and protect him for the beasts that are blocking they path, Gabriel responds: (or alludes) that they are indeed in hell and the top of the mountain is heaven and they must traverse through the many paths and get by the creatures to gain access to the gates of heaven.
I think the speaker is Dante since he says I and is the writer of this poem. I think he is talking about his spiritual journey through life. I think the beasts in the poem are the obstacles that he has encountered in his life that have tried to lead him stray from his spirituality. The audience could be anyone reading this poem. I think he is trying to reach out to people who feel they are “lost” and who are climbing a mountain to reach the fulfillment of their faith.
The audience could be anyone indeed, even a person who does not believe in a particular faith but they could relate to the poem itself. Every person has some kind of struggle in his or her life. Whether it’s with a job, a relationship or family, there is a mountain to climb to reach happiness.
Benjamin McGray
EH 241
Adam Crowley
January 18, 2009
When reading Dante Alighieri’s Inferno it is interesting to note his use of symbolism throughout the text. I believe that he uses this symbolism to express the conflict that was going on, at that time, in Florence. When Dante wrote this piece he was exiled from Florence by what is known as the Black Army due to his affiliation with the White Army. So the first example of symbolism that I observed, which was the dark, scary wilderness that the narrator finds himself in at the beginning of the story, could be seen as representing the state of Florence as it was during the time of the author. Because the Black Army had taken control Dante looked at Florence as being lost in a wilderness that was “stubborn, so savage,”. However he still holds out hope for his beloved city, which is realized when the narrator looks up past the wilderness and sees a “hilltop shawled in morning rays of light sent from the planet that leads men straight ahead on every road.” This quells the mans fear noting that if he reaches that summit he will again be on the right path. Therefore it seems that Dante uses the symbols of light and dark to convey the conflict of Godliness and sin. It is also interesting to note that the sun is coming up and is mixed with the stars which he describes as, “the sun climbing with those very stars that had accompanied it the world’s first day.”. I could contend that this is Dante describing Florence as in a sort of twilight state; mostly in darkness but not completely, for the light is still obtainable.
At this point of the story the character decides to embark upon the dark and wild path up the light filled hilltop, however when he does he is prohibited from doing so by a series of beasts that stand in the path. These beasts, especially the lion which is a symbol of high authority, represents the powers that are hindering Florence from reaching the light. The wolf could represent the Black Army, and the lion could represent the pope, a person of high stature and authority, who had aligned himself with the Black Army at that time.
When considering the poem through this perspective, the question of who the speaker is, as well as the audience, becomes a little easier to handle. The speaker appears to be a personification of the city of Florence, lost in a dark wilderness trying to reach the proverbial light at the top of the hill. Therefore the audience seems to be Florentine citizens, to whom Dante is trying to reach out. It is as though the poem is a warning to Florentines, cautioning those who have strayed that they need to once again step on the right path in order to bring Florence back into the light.
Gavin Kennedy
Eh 241 Adam Crowley
Jan 19, 2009
While I read the first canto of Dante’s Inferno I was captivated by the richness of meaning. The lines were full of innuendos and double meanings, and seeing as this is a translation I can only imagine how much more depth the original test would have had. It will be curious to see how much of a role Jesus will have seeing as the poet he meets, Virgil, would have been pre-Jesus and Dante, as far as my knowledge stretches, is post-Jesus.
The poem seems to be told as a first person account, this being very self evident by uses of “me” and “I.” Most stories that I have personally read are formed from a character that you are indetift with that is someone other than the author. Dante seems to just write this as if he were there, as if he were the one that experienced this walk into Hell, and maybe beyond? It seems as though his audience is anyone, presumably the reader, that will listen. It is written as though he is telling a story from after the events have occurred rather than as they are happening: “To talk about the good I found there, I’ll have to tell of other things I saw.”
The symbolism of the path was not lost on me. Paths are very often used to show direction in a persons life, the “path” you are on. “I had wandered from the straight path,” shows that, before this event, he had had some sort of direction, that he might have been at least okay with the way things were going. It also shows that his path was clear and straight, foreshadowing him being taken to a path that will be not-so-straight. Being astray from your path, or a path in general, means to be lost, it seems as though he is emotionally and physically. He has no true idea where he is, he just starts to walk in hopes of getting somewhere, hope fades, fear starts taking hold as each line passes, it seems as though he is just being plunged deeper and deeper into despair and uncertainty. All these things just exemplify a person that is either totally lost or fast becoming so. His path is already filled with dangerous beasts that would see to it that he would not reach his destination, I take these beasts to be real world dangers. Dangers of depression and doubt, of the day to day set backs that would push him from his path into the wilderness of being lost . He tries to grasp to any hope that still may linger around, and so enter Virgil.
Virgil is beset with a dire request from who I will now call Dante, as it would seem to me this is written as a personal narrative. He cries out to Virgil, “have pity on my soul,” then asks whether is be a mortal man of some sort of dark shade. He knows this poet, hanging his head low is shame, as though it is a great honor to have meet him. Virgil it would seem to me is Dante’s first glimpse of hope returning, that there is at least someone here he can converse with that has a better understanding of what is going on. Virgil gives him new direction in his life, setting him on a course to a new path, to a place that Virgil never actually has been, to Heaven. Virgil, seemingly not admitted into Heaven, was an ungodly man during his life, “…that Emperor dwelling on high will not allow me entry to his city, since I in life rebelled against His law” The capitalizations and the basic reference would mean that this emperor would be God and that His city would be heaven. It leads me to believe that maybe he is in purgatory right now, the space between heaven and hell where lost would preside, once again bringing back the theme of being lost.
Leah Gomes
Dante: Inferno
Themes & Symbols
This section of the story reminded me very much of “Pilgrim’s Progress”. In Dante’s first Canto, the Christian themes and symbols seemed to stand out to me. I think that they would have to, because the piece is about hell. It is kind of hard to talk about heaven and hell without talking about religion. At the beginning of the first Canto, Dante says: “Midway upon the journey of our life / I found myself within a forest dark.” There comes a time, I think, in everyone’s life when they get to a place they just can’t get out of. When Dante is talking about how he has lost the “straightforward pathway”, it seems that he is having trouble finding the virtuous road – the road that will get him to heaven. No matter what they try, there always seems to be something there to knock them back down. People seem to be more easily discouraged when they are alone, but even with a group of people, I think a three-fold attack would send me back to where I came from, too. While reading the part about the three beasts, I was reminded of a Bible verse: “Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, and a leopard shall watch over their cities,” Jeremiah 5:6. I think that these three beasts symbolize the trials that must be faced in order to make it to heaven. We can’t constantly be turning back just because we come to a rough patch. I think that when Virgil offers to be Dante’s guide, he is that ‘spirit’ that helps us get through life. Dante talks about the wolf, saying that she will reign “until the Greyhound comes, who shall make her perish in her pain” and “he shall have driven her back to Hell.” This reminded me of Judgment Day; when God will send Satan, who has had free-reign on Earth, back to Hell.
As far as the speaker and audience in this piece: I think that Dante is acting as the writer, narrator, and protagonist. I am not sure about to whom he might be speaking to.
Stefanie Foutch
01/19/09
EH 241
Major British Writers
Dante’s Inferno
To me Dante is the speaker, he is the one telling the story. Which would also make him the main character. Dante is the main character because he uses the word I frequently. For example, “I’ll have to tell you of other things I saw.” (9).
I can not explain why, but to me the audience is whoever is reading, or has read this poem. It also seems as if Dante wants to share this poem or “story” with the world. As if he is trying to help someone by giving them insight to a hard situation. Also, to show people what he has been through and what he has dealt with in his life. Maybe also to give people more insight on him. To show what kind of person he is, and his struggles.
I am not a religious person, therefore I know next to nothing about religion. I did not too many religious connections with this poem, only a few. By reading the text I understood that Dante was a religious man in one way or another. I believe this because he uses the word Hell, and the name Virgil. Also, because he uses Greek or Roman gods, and the name Saint Peter. For example, he mentions Virgil, “Are you that Virgil then, that very fount from which pours forth so a rich a stream of words?” (81). Dante mentioned Saint Peter in the line 132, “And I to him: ‘Poet, I beg of you, in the name of God, that God you never knew, help me escape this evil and even worse, and lead me to that place you spoke about that I may see the gate Saint Peter guards and those whose anguish you have told me of.”. Also in that line Dante speaks of Christian or Catholic God, which also shows me that Dante was religious in some way.
My understanding of this poem is that Dante is not dead in the story. He did not die, and is not in the “waiting room” to Heaven. He is still in real life, only that he is emotionally lost in a “forest”, when he is actually lost in life. “ While halfway through the journey I found myself lost in a darkened forest, for I had wandered off from the stray path.” (3). Dante did not actually fall asleep, he had just become so focused on his stress that he became dazed or incoherent. “How I entered there I cannot truly say, I had become so sleepy at the moment when I first strayed,” (12). To me the mountain he is trying to climb is life. Life is a challenge and can be quite a struggle. Trying to get through it can be hard. However it is an obstacle we all must face, whether we make it to the top or not. “ I raised my head and saw the hilltop shawled in the morning rays of light sent from the planet that leads men straight ahead on every road.” (18). The beasts such as the leopard, the lion and the she-wolf that Dante is facing in this poem are the challenges of climbing that mountain, the challenges of life. “Then suddenly, there where the hill starts rising, appeared a leopard, trim and very swift, all covered by a pelt of many spots.” (33). Dante’s troubles and stress are getting in the way of getting through life. He seems as if he is almost ready to give up on life. “And everywhere I looked, the beast was there blocking my way, so time and time again I was about to turn and go back down.” (36).
This poem is Dante’s journey through his struggles in life. He meets Virgil, who to me is Dante’s conscience. Virgil explains the beasts to Dante and shows him how to get out of this “Hell”. Virgil explains the she-wolf to Dante by saying, “The beast, the one that makes you cry with fear, allows no soul to succeed along her path,” (96). Also saying that if you let things get to you, you will never succeed in life, and get to the top of that mountain. Virgil becomes Dante’s motivation and savior when he says, “Therefore, I think it best you follow me, for your own good, and I shall be your guide and lead you out through an eternal place.” (114). Dante gets out of his “rut” when he starts listening to his conscience, motivation, Virgil. “Then he moved on, and I moved closed behind him.” (135).
Meghann Peterson
January 24, 2009
Response to Dante
Professor Crowley
I think it is easy to identify the audience for the first canto of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The verses of the first canto seem to be aimed at non-believers or people struggling with their Christian faith. The verses are an allegory for the hardships endured by a good Christian. There are the “beasts” that make it hard to stay on the right path. The poet says, “the beast, the one that makes you cry with fear, / allows no soul to succeed along her path,.” This line, as well as others, seems to identify the beasts as representing the devil. In its simplest definition the devil is what keeps people from being good. It is the devil’s roadblocks that keep good people from going astray. So the problem of the struggling Christian is identified and then a solution is presented by the poet. He says, “And he will hunt her down through every town/until he drives her back to hell once more.” He is saying if you are having trouble staying on the right path because of the devil, God will eventually drive the devil out and back to hell. These lines are more for the person struggling with their faith then the reader who does not believe in the teachings of Christianity. But there are other lines included for the non believers. Virgil reminds the wanderer that he cannot go to that eternal place, “because that Emperor dwelling on high/ will not allow me entry into his city,/ since I in life rebelled against His Law.” Although Virgil seems to be an upstanding guy, reflected in his helping the narrator, he is not allowed into heaven because he did not believe in just one God. The speaker was a little harder to define, but once I identified the audience the speaker became more clear. If the audience is people struggling with their faith then the speaker is also someone struggling with their faith. And if the original narrator is struggling then the character of Virgil is the one to lead him on the right path.
I do not know a whole lot about Christianity so it is a little harder for me to find the symbols in Dante’s writing. The most obvious of the symbols, to me, seems to be the symbols of the beasts. There are three beasts keeping the narrator from getting to where he is going. The beasts seem to be representing the devil. The narrator says, “Then the she wolf appeared that in her leanness/seemed laden with the craving of her greed.” Greed is of course a sin, and sins are associated with the devil. The lion is described as being “hungry” which can be attached to the sin of gluttony. So each of the beasts is associated with one of the big sins. This makes it easy to relate them as symbols of evil.
In the end of the first canto we see the narrator request that Virgil help to save him. The narrator says, “In the name of God, that God you never knew, /Help me escape this evil and even worse, /and lead me to the place you spoke about/ that I may see the gate Saint Peter guards.” He is asking Virgil to help him find salvation. He does not want to end up like Virgil alone to wander in the dark forest. So Virgil, acting as some kind of angel, leads him on the path to heaven.