Essay Week 13: Dante's Inferno

This week I read Dante’s Inferno. I chose to read this because in high school I read several of the cantos, however, that was a long time ago and I don’t remember much about it. The main thing I remembered was the final circle of hell and how the devil was depicted.

Because I had not read this story in so long, I fully enjoyed being able to rediscover each level of hell with Dante. As a child I always just figured that hell was one big sea of bad people, I never thought of there being different levels. This interpretation of hell seemed very creative and opened up a whole new can of worms when picturing hell.

Dante’s Inferno was a very creative book. The use of imagery and detail provides a way for the reader to feel as if they are experiencing the journey with Dante. One thing I wished this story would have done though is have expanded on the last level of hell. There was a huge build up to finally reaching the devil and then the last story about him was almost too brief. Everything finished up way too quickly which left me extremely disappointed. I understand that when he reaches the devil, the devil seems rather pathetic but the way the story was told made me feel like the ending was a huge let down. Additionally, it just kind of ended at that point. They never mentioned what happened to Dante and where he was destined to go. You would think that visiting hell would change a person’s life and reaffirm their belief in God. Did it even have any affect on Dante and how he lived his life. I really wish that it would have had a chapter on him after his journey. Other than that, this was a great array of stories. I enjoyed being able to revisit a story I enjoyed reading and learning about in high school.

Picture of the levels of hell

Retrieved From Ms. Shook's English Class

Reading Diary Week 13: Dante's Inferno

Dante’s Inferno

Dante and Virgil

So Dante meets this guy named virgil who warns him about things he will encounter on his journey. Virgil will be his guide on his tour through hell.

The Gate of Hell and Charon

The gate to hell had a bunch of confusing phrases above it. Virgil said when Dante didn’t understand the gate that, “Here, all uncertainty must be left behind; all cowardice must be dead. We have come to the place where I told you that you would see the sad people who have lost the good of the intellect.” I liked William Blake’s illustration; I have studied some of his works before.

Limbo

The first circle is the heathens. These are the people who were good people but never got baptized. Virgil says that he belongs to this circle because he lived before Jesus and didn’t know how to properly worship God. Then he talked about how Jesus had come and saved some of the people long ago.

Poets and Philosophers, Heroes and Heroines

Homer was in this part of hell. It was a nicer part reserved for those who helped the art of science. As far as heroes go he saw Caesar and Brutus to name a few. Then in another part of hell he saw Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, and several other philosophers.

Paolo and Francesca

This is where hell starts to get a little bit more intense. Cleopatra was in this ring of hell. I believe many of these people in this circle were killed with love as the cause. Dante fainted at the end of this circle.

Cerberus and Plutus

This is the third circle of hell. This circle is all stormy and rainy. Cerberus is a grotesque monster. They then find Plutus who is the god of wealth and he is in the fourth circle. Even priests and popes were in this circle of hell because wealth had overcome them.

Fortune and Phylegyas

There is a quick story about Fortune and how she controls everything. Then they moved on to the fifth circle of hell. There were a lot of angry people in this story.

The Fallen Angels

They enter deep hell where fire burns from within the people there. It’s the farthest place from heaven and sounds awful. Even Dante seems fearful of passing through.

The Furies and the Heretics

Virgil has Dante close his eyes for a while because if he were to see one thing, he would be stuck there. I think it was Medusa that he couldn’t see. Then a messenger from heaven came and it seemed as if he was saying that all they would need to do is accept God in order to leave hell. They then went into the sixth circle where ther heretics are.

The Minotaur and the Centaurs

The Minotaur was crazy scary and chased them into the seventh circle of hell. Then there was a river of blood where those who were violent to others were boiled. Then one of the men in this circle started to escort them around to keep them safe.

The Harpies and Capaneus

Then they started going through where the tyrants, murderers, and warriors were. Then they moved into the second ring of this circle where those who committed suicide were. Then the third ring was those who were violent towards God. 

The Old Man of Crete and Geryon

More fire in this area. There is a burning river. I did not like this section of the story. I thought it was boring and rather uneventful. It was more informational than anything.

Descending on Geryon’s Back

So the rode Geryon’s back down to the eighth circle of hell. It was a scary ride down but very quick and efficient.

Jason and the Demons

There were pimps and seducers followed by flatterers. Dante was scared yet again, mostly by the demons in the flatterers chasm.

Caiaphas

Now they were escorted by the demons to where the hypocrites were. There they saw Caiaphas stretch out and crucified on the cross.

Ulysses and Diomede

This was a confusing story. There was a story within this section and it was an unfortunate one that took place on a ship. They then went on to the ninth chasm. The story the immediately skips the tenth. This is all starting to drag on a little too much. 

The Giants

Dante comments on the fact that he is glad that nature stopped creating such giants. The giant was named nimrod, this must have been where the nickname came from. The giants are chained yet Dante expresses how he has never feared death this much. The two then continue on into the ninth circle of hell.

Ugolino

So this was an odd tale. I didn’t like it nor did I follow it very well. It was hard to understand. I thought it was gross he was eating and gnawing at the person next to him.

Satan

So Satan had three faces on his head and six eyes that continuously wept. Was he sad because he was stuck in hell and would never be forgiven by God? Or that he could be forgiven but doesn’t have the guts to ask for forgiveness? Then Judus, Brutus and Cassius were there with him. He was chewing on each of these sinners in each of his mouths. So now Dante has seen all of hell. When he descends back to earth it is Easter morning. Interesting. I was hoping the chapter on Satan would be longer.

Essay Week 12: The Canterbury Tales

This week I decided to read the Canterbury Tales. The Canterbury Tales is about a group of strangers that are talking a pilgrimage to the town Canterbury. On their way, they decide to go around telling stories to make the time go by faster. This is where each story from this unit is derived from.

I chose to read this unit because I had read most of the Canterbury Tales in my high school English class. My professor even made us memorize the first 100 lines of the introduction in Middle English. To my surprise, I can still recite about three fourths of it.  One thing I remember about the Canterbury Tales is that Chaucer was unfortunately never able to finish it. So although the book is already long, I don’t think it was even halfway done. What it did contain though was witty stories about people.

What I liked most about the Canterbury Tales was that each story was told as if the person telling it had actually experienced it. If I remember correctly, they were actual stories the characters had supposedly experienced, and some where even based off of people in the group that they started to dislike as the pilgrimage progressed.

My favorite story from this unit was the Wife of Bath’s story. If you haven’t read the introduction to the Canterbury Tales, you wouldn’t quite understand but the wife of bath is one colorful character. In her tale, The Unknown Bride, a knight is sent out by the queen to seek the answer of what women want most. I almost died laughing when he figured it out and told the queen that it was “To rule their husbands.” I also really enjoyed the fact that the knight had to marry the woman who gave him that answer. She was a grotesque and old looking woman, however, after they married and he finally accepted her she turned into a beautiful woman. I love stories like this because they show that you need to look deeper than what you see on the outside and if you can do that then you will see true beauty.

Other than that, this unit is filled of wonderful stories. Some stories are of trickery, some of love, and some of God. It is a great unit that I would suggest people to read. I enjoyed it and wish that I could read some more!

Picture of the characters on their journey to Canterbury

Photo Retrieved From Luminarium