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WRITTEN REPORT IN WORLD LITERATURE

THE DIVINE COMEDY: INFERNO

Reporters:

Jonel P. Calimlim

Ellen Mae R. Orias

Rafael Carlo C. Paredes

Ara Mae F. Santos

Professor:

Ms. Jennifer Aguas

August 19, 2019

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 THE DIVINE COMEDY: INFERNO

By: Dante Alighieri

SOCIO - HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Dante Alighieri's immortal poem, The Divine Comedy - written in Italian ('Divina Commedia') is an
allegory in three parts (or three books) of the soul's journey towards the Christian God, through the
Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Dante writes it at thirty five during 1300 - which he sees as halfway
through his life's journey. The poem's dramatis personae include people from Classical and Biblical history
and mythology, the history of Christianity, and the Europe of the Medieval period.

From the twelfth century to the fourteenth century, the struggle for power in Florence between
church and state for temporal authority was a reflection of a crisis that affected all of Italy, and most of
the Europe. The struggle was between the two greatest powers of that age: the papacy and the Holy
Roman Empire (HRE). Each claimed to be of divine origin and to be indispensable to the welfare of
mankind. Originally, the Ghibellines represented the medieval aristocracy, which wished to retain the
power of the Holy Roman Emperor in Italy, as well as in other parts of Europe. In contrast, the Guelphs,
of which Dante was a member, were mainly supported by the rising middle class, represented by rich
merchants, bankers, and new landowners. They supported the cause of the papacy in opposition to the
Holy Roman Emperor.

Dante completed Inferno, which depicts an allegorical journey through Hell, around 1314.
Inferno is also a landmark in the development of European language and literature, for it stands as the
greatest medieval poem written in vernacular language—the common tongue of a people. One of the
models for Dante’s Inferno was Virgil’s Aeneid. Virgil was considered the most moral of all the poets of
ancient Rome. It is said that Dante had memorized the entire Aeneid and that he had long revered Virgil
as the poet of the Roman Empire, especially since the Aeneid tells the story of the founding of the Roman
Empire. Furthermore, in Virgil's Fourth Eclogue, he writes symbolically about the coming of a Wonder
Child who will bring the Golden Age to the world, and in the Middle Ages, this was interpreted as being
prophetic of the coming of Christ. Thus in the figure of Virgil, Dante found a symbol who represented the
two key institutions: the papacy and the empire, destined by God to save mankind.

SUMMARY / PLOT REVIEW

Canto I that he does not remember how he lost his way,

but he has wandered into a fearful place, a dark
Midway on our life’s journey, I found myself
and tangled valley. Above, he sees a great hill
In dark woods, the right road lost.
that seems to offer protection from the
Halfway through his life, the poet Dante finds shadowed glen. The sun shines down from this
himself wandering alone in a dark forest, having hilltop, and Dante attempts to climb toward the
lost his way on the “true path” (I.10). He says light. As he climbs, however, he encounters

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three angry beasts in succession—a leopard, a Virgil lives) to ask Virgil to help him. This woman
lion, and a she-wolf—which force him to turn was Beatrice, Dante’s departed love, who now
back. has an honored place among the blessed. She
had learned of Dante’s plight from St. Lucia, also
Returning in despair to the dark valley, Dante
in Heaven, who in turn heard about the poor
sees a human form in the woods, which soon
poet from an unnamed lady, most likely the
reveals itself to be the spirit, or shade, of the
Virgin Mary. Thus, a trio of holy women watches
great Roman poet Virgil. Thrilled to meet the
over Dante from above. Virgil says that Beatrice
poet that he most admires, Dante tells Virgil
wept as she told him of Dante’s misery and that
about the beasts that blocked his path. Virgil
he found her entreaty deeply moving.
replies that the she-wolf kills all who approach
her but that, someday, a magnificent hound will Dante feels comforted to hear that his beloved
come to chase the she-wolf back to Hell, where Beatrice has gone to Heaven and cares so much
she originated. He adds that the she-wolf’s for him. He praises both her and Virgil for their
presence necessitates the use of a different path aid and then continues to follow Virgil toward
to ascend the hill; he offers to serve as Dante’s Hell.
guide. He warns Dante, however, that before
Canto III
they can climb the hill they must first pass
through the place of eternal punishment (Hell) [A]bandon all hope, you who enter here.
and then a place of lesser punishment
Virgil leads Dante up to the Gate of Hell, upon
(Purgatory); only then can they reach God’s city
which they read a foreboding inscription that
(Heaven). Encouraged by Virgil’s assurances,
includes the admonition “abandon all hope, you
Dante sets forth with his guide.
who enter here.” As soon as they enter, Dante
Canto II hears innumerable cries of torment and
suffering. Virgil explains that these cries
Dante invokes the Muses, the ancient goddesses
emanate from the souls of those who did not
of art and poetry, and asks them to help him tell
commit to either good or evil but who lived their
of his experiences. Dante relates that as he and
lives without making conscious moral choices;
Virgil approach the mouth of Hell, his mind turns
therefore, both Heaven and Hell have denied
to the journey ahead and again he feels the grip
them entry. These souls now reside in the Ante-
of dread. He can recall only two men who have
Inferno, within Hell yet not truly part of it, where
ever ventured into the afterlife and returned:
they must chase constantly after a blank banner.
the Apostle Paul, who visited the Third Circle of
Flies and wasps continually bite them, and
Heaven, and Aeneas, who travels through Hell in
writhing worms consume the blood and tears
Virgil’s Aeneid. Dante considers himself less
that flow from them. The souls of the
worthy than these two and fears that he may not
uncommitted are joined in this torment by the
survive his passage through Hell.
neutral angels—those who sided with neither
Virgil rebukes Dante for his cowardice and then God nor Satan in the war in Heaven.
reassures him with the story of how he knew to
Virgil leads Dante to a great river called Acheron,
find Dante and act as his guide. According to
which marks the border of Hell. A crowd of newly
Virgil, a woman in Heaven took pity upon Dante
dead souls waits to be taken across. A boat
when he was lost and came down to Hell (where

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approaches with an old man, Charon, at its helm. Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan—the greatest
Charon recognizes Dante as a living soul and tells poets of antiquity. They lead Dante to a great
him to keep away from the dead, but after Virgil castle with seven walls, wherein he sees the
informs him that their journey has been souls of other great figures from the past: the
ordained from on high, Charon troubles them no philosophers Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato;
longer. He returns to his work of ferrying the Aeneas, Lavinia, and other characters from
miserable souls, wailing and cursing, across the the Aeneid; the mathematician Euclid and the
river into Hell. As he transports Virgil and Dante astronomer Ptolemy; and many others. Virgil
across, Virgil tells the frightened Dante that guides Dante out of the castle and again off into
Charon’s initial reluctance to ferry him bodes the darkness.
well: only damned souls cross the river.
Canto V
Suddenly, an earthquake shakes the plain; wind
and fire rise up from the ground, and Dante, Dante and Virgil now descend into the Second
terrified, faints. Circle of Hell, smaller in size than the First Circle
but greater in punishment. They see the monster
Canto IV
Minos, who stands at the front of an endless line
A clap of thunder restores Dante to of sinners, assigning them to their torments. The
consciousness. When he wakes, feeling as sinners confess their sins to Minos, who then
though he has been asleep for a long time, he wraps his great tail around himself a certain
finds himself on the other side of the river, number of times, indicating the number of the
apparently having been carried off the boat by circle to which the soul must go. Like Charon,
Virgil. He looks down into a deep valley that Minos recognizes Dante as a living soul and
stretches in front of him: the First Circle of Hell, warns him not to enter; it is Virgil’s word that
or Limbo. Virgil informs him that this circle, again allows them to pass unmolested.
which contains the souls of those who led
Dante and Virgil pass into a dark place in which
virtuous lives but either were born before the
torrential rains fall ceaselessly and gales of wind
advent of Christianity (and thus could not
tear through the air. The souls of the damned in
properly honor God) or were never baptized.
this circle swirl about in the wind, swept
Dante asks if any souls have ever received
helplessly through the stormy air. These are the
permission to leave Limbo for Heaven, and Virgil
Lustful—those who committed sins of the flesh.
names a number of Old Testament figures—
Noah, Moses, and others. Christ granted these Dante asks Virgil to identify some of the
souls amnesty when he descended into Hell individual souls to him; they include many of
during the time between his death and great renown, including Helen, for whose sake
resurrection (an episode commonly known as the Trojan War was fought, and Cleopatra. Dante
the Harrowing of Hell). immediately feels sympathy for these souls, for
essentially they are damned by love. With Virgil’s
Many other notable figures, however, remain in
permission, he calls out to the souls to see if they
Limbo. Virgil himself resides here, and has been
will speak to him and tell him their story. One
given only a brief leave to guide Dante. Dante
woman, Francesca, recognizes Dante as a living
watches a group of men approach and greet
soul and answers him. She relates to him how
Virgil as a fellow poet. Virgil introduces them as
love was her undoing: bound in marriage to an

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old and deformed man, she eventually fell in love after the Last Judgment. Virgil replies that since
with Paolo da Rimini, her husband’s younger that day will bring the perfection of all creation,
brother. One day, as she and Paolo sat reading their punishments will be perfected as well.
an Arthurian legend about the love of Lancelot
Canto VII
and Guinevere, each began to feel that the story
spoke to their own secret love. When they came Virgil and Dante continue down toward the
to a particularly romantic moment in the story, Fourth Circle of Hell and come upon the demon
they could not resist kissing. Francesca’s Plutus. Virgil quiets the creature with a word and
husband quickly discovered their transgression they enter the circle, where Dante cries out at
and had the young lovers killed. Now Paolo and what he sees: a ditch has been formed around
Francesca are doomed to spend eternity in the the circle, making a great ring. Within the ring,
Second Circle of Hell. Overcome with pity, Dante two groups of souls push weights along in anger
faints again. and pain. Each group completes a semicircle
before crashing into the other group and turning
Canto VI
around to proceed in the opposite direction. The
When Dante wakes, he finds that he has been souls condemned to this sort of torturous,
moved to the Third Circle of Hell, where the rains eternal jousting match, Virgil explains, are those
still fall. Now, however, the drops consist of filth of the Avaricious and the Prodigal, who, during
and excrement, and a horrific stench fills the air. their lives, hoarded and squandered,
A three-headed dog, Cerberus, tries to stop Virgil respectively, their money.
and Dante’s progress, but Virgil satisfies the
Dante, as before, inquires whether he knows any
beast by throwing it a chunk of earth. Dante and
of the souls here. Virgil informs him that most of
Virgil then advance into the circle of the
the Avaricious are corrupt clergymen, popes,
Gluttonous, who must lie on the ground as the
and cardinals but adds that the experiences they
sewage rains down upon them.
undergo here render them unrecognizable. He
One of the Gluttonous sits up when he sees Virgil notes that the Avaricious and Prodigal share one
and Dante, and asks if Dante recognizes him. essential characteristic: they were not prudent
When Dante replies that he does not, the shade with the goods of Fortune. Dante asks Virgil to
announces himself as Ciacco, saying that he explain the nature of this “Fortune.” Virgil replies
spent his earthly life in Florence. At Dante’s that Fortune has received orders from God to
request, he voices his predictions for Florence’s transfer worldly goods between people and
political future, which he anticipates will be filled between nations. Her swift movements evade
with strife. Dante then asks about figures from human understanding; thus, men should not
Florence’s political past, naming individuals he curse her when they lose their possessions.
believes to have been well intentioned. Ciacco
Pondering this explanation, Dante follows Virgil
replies that they reside in a much deeper circle
down to the Fifth Circle of Hell, which borders
of Hell. Before lying back down, he asks Dante to
the muddy river Styx. They see souls crouched on
remember his name when he returns to the
the bank, covered in mud, and striking and biting
world above.
at each other. They are the Wrathful, those who
As they leave the Third Circle, Dante asks Virgil were consumed with anger during their lives.
how the punishments of the souls will change Virgil alerts Dante to the presence of additional

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souls here, which remain invisible to him as they Virgil describes the particular heresy of one of
lie completely submerged in the Styx—these are the groups, the Epicureans, who pursued
the Sullen, those who muttered and sulked pleasure in life because they believed that the
under the light of the sun. They now gurgle and soul died with the body. Suddenly, a voice from
choke on the black mud of the swampy river. one of the tombs interrupts them and addresses
Dante as a Tuscan (Tuscany is the region of Italy
Canto VIII
in which Florence is located). The voice belongs
Continuing around the Fifth Circle of Hell, Virgil to a soul whom Virgil identifies as Farinata, a
and Dante come to a tall tower standing on the political leader of Dante’s era. Virgil encourages
bank, its pinnacle bursting with flames. Virgil and Dante to speak with him.
Dante encounter the boatman Phlegyas, who
Dante and Farinata have hardly begun their
takes them across the Styx at Virgil’s prompting.
conversation when another soul, that of
On the way, they happen upon a sinner whom
Cavalcante de’ Cavalcanti, the father of Dante’s
Dante angrily recognizes as Filippo Argenti. He
intimate friend Guido, rises up and interrupts
has no pity for Argenti and gladly watches the
them, wondering why his son has not
other sinners tear him apart as the boat pulls
accompanied Dante here. Dante replies that
away.
perhaps Guido held Virgil in disdain. (According
Virgil announces that they are now approaching to some translations of Inferno, Dante says that
the city of Dis—Lower Hell. As they near the Guido held God, or Beatrice, in disdain. The point
entrance, a host of fallen angels cries out. They is a matter of considerable debate among
demand to know why one of the living dares to scholars.) Frantic, the shade reads too much into
try to enter Dis. Virgil again provides a rationale Dante’s words and assumes that his son is dead.
for Dante’s presence, but, for the first time, he In despair, he sinks back down in his grave.
proves unsuccessful in gaining entrance. The
Farinata continues discussing Florentine politics.
demons slam the gate in Virgil’s face, and he
He and Dante clearly represent opposing parties
returns to Dante hurt but not defeated.
(though these parties are not named), yet they
Canto IX treat each other politely. From Farinata’s words
and those of the nearby soul, Dante realizes that
Dante grows pale with fear upon seeing Virgil’s
the shades in Hell can see future events but not
failure. Virgil, who appears to be waiting for
present ones. Farinata can prophesy the
someone impatiently, weakly reassures Dante.
future—he predicts Dante’s exile from
Suddenly, Dante sees three Furies—creatures
Florence—but remains ignorant of current
that are half woman, half serpent. They shriek
events. Farinata confirms that, as part of their
and laugh when they notice Dante, and call for
punishment, the Heretics can see only distant
Medusa to come and turn him into stone. Virgil
things.
quickly covers Dante’s eyes so that he will not
see Medusa’s head. Virgil calls Dante back, and they proceed through
the rest of the Sixth Circle. Farinata’s words have
Canto X
made Dante apprehensive about the length of
Still in the Sixth Circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil time remaining for his exile, but Virgil assures
wander among the fiery tombs of the Heretics.

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him that he will hear a fuller account when they The passage to the First Ring of the Seventh
come to a better place. Circle of Hell takes Virgil and Dante through a
ravine of broken rock. At the edge, the
Canto XI
monstrous Minotaur threatens them, and they
At the edge of the Seventh Circle of Hell rises a must slip past him while he rages to distraction.
stench so overpowering that Virgil and Dante As they descend, Virgil notes that this rock had
must sit down at the tomb of Pope Anastasius in not yet fallen at the time of his previous journey
order to adjust to it. Virgil takes the opportunity into the depths of Hell. Coming into the ring,
to explain the last three circles of Hell and their they see a river of blood: here boil the sinners
respective subdivisions. The Seventh Circle of who were violent against their neighbors. A
Hell, which contains those who are violent, is group of Centaurs—creatures that are half man,
subdivided into three smaller circles: they punish half horse—stand on the bank of the river with
the sins of violence against one’s neighbor, bows and arrows. They shoot at any soul that
against oneself, and against God. Worse than tries to raise itself out of the river to a height too
any violence, however, is the sin of fraud, which pleasant for the magnitude of his or her sin.
breaks the trust of a man and therefore most
The head Centaur, Chiron, notices that Dante
directly opposes the great virtue of love. The last
moves the rocks that he walks on as only a living
two circles of Hell thus punish the Fraudulent.
soul would. He draws an arrow, but Virgil
The Eighth Circle punishes “normal fraud”—sins
commands him to stand back, and he obeys.
that violate the natural trust between people.
Because the broken rocks make the ring
Such fraud includes acts of hypocrisy and
treacherous to navigate, Virgil also asks that a
underhanded flattery. The Ninth Circle, the seat
Centaur be provided to guide them through the
of Dis, punishes betrayal—sins that violate a
ring around the boiling blood. Chiron provides
relationship of particularly special trust. These
one named Nessus, on whose back Dante climbs.
are the loyalties to kin, to country and party, to
guests, and to benefactors. Leading Virgil and Dante through the ring,
Nessus names some of the more notable souls
Dante asks Virgil why these divisions of Hell exist,
punished here, including one called Alexander
wondering why the sinners they have seen
(probably Alexander the Great), Dionysius, and
previously do not receive this same degree of
Atilla the Hun. Those who lived as tyrants, and
punishment, as they too have acted contrary to
thus perpetrated violence on whole populations,
divine will. In response, Virgil reminds Dante of
lie in the deepest parts of the river. After fording
the philosophy set forth in Aristotle’s
the river at a shallow stretch, Nessus leaves the
Nicomachean Ethics, which posits the existence
travelers, who continue on into the Second Ring.
of “[t]hree dispositions counter to Heaven’s will:
/ Incontinence, malice, insane brutality” (XI.79– Canto XIII
80). The disposition of incontinence offends God
In the Second Ring of the Seventh Circle of Hell,
least, says Virgil, and thus receives a more
Virgil and Dante enter a strange wood filled with
lenient punishment, outside of the city of Dis.
black and gnarled trees. Dante hears many cries
Canto XII of suffering but cannot see the souls that utter
them. Virgil cryptically advises him to snap a twig
off of one of the trees. He does so, and the tree

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cries out in pain, to Dante’s amazement. Blood of sand. The falling flakes of fire keep the sand
begins to trickle down its bark. The souls in this perpetually hot, ensuring that the souls burn
ring—those who were violent against from above and below. Among these sinners
themselves or their possessions (Suicides and Dante sees a giant, whom Virgil identifies as
Squanderers, respectively)—have been Capaneus, one of the kings who besieged
transformed into trees. Thebes. Capaneus rages relentlessly, insisting
that the tortures of Hell shall never break his
Virgil tells the damaged tree-soul to tell his story
defiance.
to Dante so that Dante may spread the story on
Earth. The tree-soul informs them that in life he The poets reach another river, which runs red,
was Pier della Vigna, an advisor to Emperor and Virgil speaks to Dante about the source of
Frederick, and that he was a moral and Hell’s waters. Underneath a mountain on the
admirable man. But when an envious group of island of Crete sits the broken statue of an Old
scheming courtiers blackened his name with lies, Man. Tears flow through the cracks in the statue,
he felt such shame that he took his own life. gathering at his feet. As they stream away, they
form the Acheron, the Styx, the Phlegethon, and
Dante then asks how the souls here came to be
finally Cocytus, the pool at the bottom of Hell.
in their current state. The tree-soul explains that
when Minos first casts souls here, they take root Canto XV
and grow as saplings. They then are wounded
Crossing the stream, Virgil and Dante enter the
and pecked by Harpies—foul creatures that are
Second Zone of the Seventh Circle’s Third Ring,
half woman, half bird. When a tree-soul’s branch
where the Sodomites—those violent against
is broken, it causes the soul the same pain as
nature—must walk continuously under the rain
dismemberment. When the time comes for all
of fire. One of these souls, Brunetto Latini,
souls to retrieve their bodies, these souls will not
recognizes Dante and asks him to walk near the
reunite fully with theirs, because they discarded
sand for a while so that they may converse. Latini
them willingly. Instead, the returned bodies will
predicts that Dante will be rewarded for his
be hung on the soul-trees’ branches, forcing
heroic political actions. Dante dismisses this
each soul to see and feel constantly the human
prediction and says that Fortune will do as she
form that it rejected in life.
pleases. Virgil approves of this attitude, and they
Canto XIV move on as Latini returns to his appointed path.

Dante gathers the bush’s scattered leaves and Canto XVI

gives them to the bush. He and Virgil then
Still in the Second Zone among the Sodomites,
proceed through the forest of tree-souls to the
Dante is approached by another group of souls,
edge of the Third Ring of the Seventh Circle of
three of whom claim to recognize Dante as their
Hell. Here they find a desert of red-hot sand,
countryman. The flames have charred their
upon which flakes of fire drift down slowly but
features beyond recognition, so they tell Dante
ceaselessly. As Virgil expounded in Canto XI, this
their names. Dante recalls their names from his
ring, reserved for those who were violent against
time in Florence and feels great pity for them.
God, is divided into three zones. The rain of fire
They ask if courtesy and valor still characterize
falls throughout all three. The First Zone is for
the Blasphemers, who must lie prone on a bank

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their city, but Dante sadly replies that acts of the other. On both of the pouch’s containing
excess and arrogance now reign. ridges, demons with great whips scourge the
souls as soon as they come within reach, forcing
Before leaving the Second Zone, Virgil makes a
them back to the opposite ridge. Dante
strange request. He asks for the cord that Dante
recognizes an Italian there and speaks to him;
wears as a belt, then throws one end of it into a
the soul informs Dante that he lived in Bologna
ravine filled with dark water. Dante watches
and now dwells here because he sold his sister to
incredulously as a horrible creature rises up
a noble. This pouch is for the Panders (pimps)
before them.
and the Seducers—those who deceive women
Canto XVII for their own advantage. Moving on, Virgil and
Dante also see the famous Jason of mythology,
Dante now sees that the creature has the face of
who abandoned Medea after she helped him
a man, the body of a serpent, and two hairy
find the Golden Fleece.
paws. Approaching it, he and Virgil descend into
the Third Zone of this circle’s Third Ring. Virgil As Virgil and Dante cross the ridge to the Second
stays to speak with the beast, sending Dante Pouch, a horrible stench besieges them, and they
ahead to explore the zone, inhabited by those hear mournful cries. Dante beholds a ditch full of
who were violent against art (Virgil has earlier human excrement, into which many sinners have
denoted them as the Usurers). Dante sees that been plunged. From one of these souls, he learns
these souls must sit beneath the rain of fire with that this pouch contains the Flatterers. After a
purses around their necks; these bear the few seconds, Virgil says that they have seen
sinners’ respective family emblems, which each enough of this foul sight. They progress toward
“with hungry eyes consumed” (XVII.51). As they the Third Pouch.
appear unwilling to talk, Dante returns to Virgil.
Canto XIX
Canto XVIII
Dante already knows that the Third Pouch
Virgil and Dante find themselves outside the punishes the Simoniacs, those who bought or
Eighth Circle of Hell, known as Malebolge (“Evil sold ecclesiastical pardons or offices. He decries
Pouches”). Dante describes the relationship the evil of simony before he and Virgil even view
between the circle’s structure and its name: the the pouch. Within, they see the sinners stuck
circle has a wall running along the outside and headfirst in pits with only their feet protruding.
features a great circular pit at its center; ten As these souls writhe and flail in the pits, flames
evenly spaced ridges run between the wall and lap endlessly at their feet.
the pit. These ridges create ten separate pits, or
Dante notes one soul burning among flames
pouches, in which the perpetrators of the
redder than any others, and he goes to speak
various forms of “ordinary fraud” receive their
with him. The soul, that of Pope Nicholas III, first
punishments. Virgil leads Dante around the left
mistakes Dante for Boniface. After Dante
side of the circle, where they come upon the First
corrects him, the soul tells Dante that he was a
Pouch.
pope guilty of simony. He mourns his own
Here, Virgil and Dante see a group of souls position but adds that worse sinners than he still
running constantly from one side of the pouch to remain on Earth and await an even worse fate.
Dante asserts that St. Peter did not pay Christ to

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receive the Keys of Heaven and Earth (which Malacoda, the leader of the Malabranche (his
symbolize the papacy). He shows Nicholas no name means “evil tail”), informs them of the
pity, saying that his punishment befits his grave exact moment that the bridge fell: 1,266 years
sin. He then speaks out against all corrupt and nineteen hours (or, as he puts it, five hours
churchmen, calling them idolaters and an later than the same time yesterday) before the
affliction on the world. Virgil approves of Dante’s present moment. Malacoda adds that a nearby
sentiments and helps Dante up over the ridge to ridge provides an alternate route.
the Fourth Pouch.
Canto XXII
Canto XX
The group goes forward, with Dante carefully
In the Fourth Pouch, Dante sees a line of sinners watching the surface of the pitch for someone
trudging slowly along as if in a church procession. with whom to converse. He has few
Seeing no apparent punishment other than this opportunities, as the sinners cannot stay out of
endless walking, he looks closer and finds, to his the pitch long before getting skewered. Finally,
amazement, that each sinner’s head points the Virgil manages to talk to one of the sinners who
wrong way—the souls’ necks have been twisted is being tortured outside of the pit. The soul, a
so that their tears of pain now fall on their Navarrese, explains that he served in the
buttocks. Dante feels overcome by grief and pity, household of King Thibault and was sent to the
but Virgil rebukes him for his compassion. Fifth Pouch because he accepted bribes—this
pouch, then, contains the Barterers. The
Canto XXI
conversation breaks off as the tusked demon
Entering the Fifth Pouch of the Eighth Circle of Ciriatto rips into the soul’s body. Virgil then asks
Hell, Dante sees “an astounding darkness.” The the soul if any Italians boil in the pitch. The soul
darkness is a great pit filled with a kind of boiling replies that it could summon seven if the
tar similar to what the Venetians used to patch travelers wait for a moment. A nearby demon
their ships (XXI.6). As Dante examines the pitch voices the suspicion that the soul merely intends
to determine its composition, Virgil yells for him to escape the demons’ tortures and seek the
to watch out: a demon races up the rocks on the relative relief of the pitch below. The other
side of the pit, grabbing a new soul and tossing demons turn to listen to their coworker, and the
him into the blackness. As soon as the sinner soul races back to the pitch and dives in, not
comes up for breath, the demons below—the intending to return. Furious, two of the demons
Malabranche, whose name means “evil claws”— fly after the soul but become mired in the sticky
thrust him back underneath with their prongs. blackness. As the other demons try to free their
comrades, Virgil and Dante take the opportunity
Virgil now advises Dante to hide behind a rock
to make a discreet exit.
while he tries to negotiate their passage. The
Malabranche at first act recalcitrant, but once he Canto XXIII
tells them that their journey is the will of Heaven,
As he and Virgil progress, Dante worries that
they agree to let the two travelers pass. They
they may have provoked the demons too much
even provide an escort of ten demons—a
with this embarrassment. Virgil agrees.
necessary accompaniment, they say, as one of
Suddenly, they hear the motion of wings and
the bridges between the pouches has collapsed.
claws from behind, and turn to see the demons

[9]
racing after them in a mad pack. Virgil acts Virgil speaks to this soul, who identifies himself
quickly. Grabbing hold of Dante, he runs to the as a Tuscan, Vanni Fucci, whom Dante knew on
slope leading to the Sixth Pouch of the Eighth Earth. Fucci tells them that he was put here for
Circle of Hell. He then slides down the slope with robbing a sacristy—the Seventh Pouch holds
Dante in his arms, thus foiling the demons, who Thieves. Angered that Dante is witnessing his
may not leave their assigned pouch. miserable condition, he foretells the defeat of
Dante’s political party, the White Guelphs, at
Now in the Sixth Pouch, Virgil and Dante see a
Pistoia.
group of souls trudging along in a circle, clothed
in hats, cowls, and capes. Dante soon notices Canto XXV
that lead lines their garments, rendering them
Cursing God with an obscene gesture, Fucci flees
massively heavy. One of the shades recognizes
with serpents coiling around him, and Dante now
Dante’s Tuscan speech and begs Dante to talk
relishes the sight. Moving further along the pit,
with him and his fellow sinners, as they include
he and Virgil behold an even more incredible
Italians in their ranks. These are the Hypocrites.
scene. Three souls cluster just beneath them,
The sight of one of them in particular stops
and a giant, six-footed serpent wraps itself so
Dante short: he lies crucified on the ground, and
tightly around one of them that its form merges
all of the other Hypocrites trample over him as
with that of its victim; the serpent and soul
they walk. The crucified sinner is Caiphus, who
become a single creature. As the other souls
served as high priest under Pontius Pilate. Virgil
watch in horror, another reptile bites one of
asks one of the sinners for directions to the next
them in the belly. The soul and the reptile stare
part of Hell. He finds that Malacoda lied to him
at each other, transfixed, as the reptile slowly
about the existence of a connecting ridge, and
takes on the characteristics of the man and the
now learns the proper route.
man takes on those of the reptile. Soon they
Canto XXIV have entirely reversed their forms.

Making their way to the Seventh Pouch of the Canto XXVI

Eighth Circle of Hell, Virgil and Dante face many
Having recognized these thieves as Florentines,
dangers. Because of the collapsed bridge, they
Dante sarcastically praises Florence for earning
must navigate treacherous rocks, and Virgil
such widespread fame not only on Earth but also
carefully selects a path before helping his mortal
in Hell. Virgil now leads him along the ridges to
companion along. Dante loses his breath for a
the Eighth Pouch, where they see numerous
moment, but Virgil urges him onward, indicating
flames flickering in a deep, dark valley. Coming
that a long climb still awaits them. They descend
closer, Virgil informs Dante that each flame
the wall into the Seventh Pouch, where teeming
contains a sinner. Dante sees what appear to be
masses of serpents chase after naked sinners;
two souls contained together in one flame, and
coiled snakes bind the sinners’ hands and legs.
Virgil identifies them as Ulysses and Diomedes,
Dante watches a serpent catch one of the sinners
both suffering for the same fraud committed in
and bite him between the shoulders. He watches
the Trojan War.
in amazement as the soul instantly catches fire
and burns up, then rises from the ashes to return Dante desires to speak with these warriors, but
to the pit of serpents. Virgil, warning him that the Greeks might disdain

[10]
Dante’s medieval Italian, speaks to them as an cannot precede repentance and repentance
intermediary. He succeeds in getting Ulysses to cannot precede the sin. Such preemptive
tell them about his death. Restlessly seeking new absolution he deemed “contradictory,” and thus
challenges, he sailed beyond the western edge of invalid. Calling himself a logician, the devil took
the Mediterranean, which was believed to da Montefeltro to Minos, who deemed the
constitute the rim of the Earth; legend asserted sinner guilty of fraudulent counsel and assigned
that death awaited any mariner venturing him to the Eighth Pouch of the Eighth Circle of
beyond that point. After five months, he and his Hell.
crew came in view of a great mountain. Before
Canto XXVIII
they could reach it, however, a great storm arose
and sank their ship. Virgil and Dante continue on to the Ninth Pouch,
where they see a line of souls circling
Canto XXVII
perpetually. Dante sees they bear wounds worse
After hearing Ulysses’ story, Virgil and Dante than those suffered at the battles at Troy and
start down their path again, only to be stopped Ceparano. A devil stands at one point of the
by another flame-immersed soul. This soul lived circle with a sword, splitting open each sinner
in Italy’s Romagna region, and now, hearing who walks by. One of the sinners speaks to Dante
Dante speak the Lombard tongue, he asks for as he passes—it is Mohammed, prophet of the
news of his homeland. Dante replies that Muslims. These are the Sowers of Scandal and
Romagna suffers under violence and tyranny but Schism, and for their sins of division they
not outright war. He then asks the soul his name, themselves are split apart. Worse, as they follow
and the sinner, believing that Dante will never the circle around, their wounds close up so that
leave the abyss and thus will be unable to spread they are whole by the time they come back to
word of his infamy, consents to tell him. the sword, only to be struck again.

He introduces himself as Guido da Montefeltro Many others in this line look up at Dante, hearing
and states that he was originally a member of the his living voice. The Italians among them beg
Ghibellines. After a time, he underwent a Dante to carry messages to certain men still
religious conversion and joined a Franciscan living on Earth. They make predictions of a
monastery, but he was then persuaded by Pope shipwreck and give a warning for Fra Dolcino,
Boniface VIII to reenter politics on the opposing who is in danger of joining them when he dies.
side. At one point, Boniface asked him for advice Finally, Dante sees a man carrying his own head
on how to conquer Palestrina (formerly called in his hands: it is Bertran de Born, who advised a
Penestrino, it served as the fortress of the young king to rebel against his father.
Ghibelline Colonna family). Da Montefeltro
Canto XXIX
showed reluctance, but Boniface promised him
absolution in advance, even if his counsel were Virgil reprimands Dante for staring so long at the
to prove wrong. He then agreed to give his wounded souls, reminding him that their time is
advice, which turned out to be incorrect. When limited; this time, however, Dante stubbornly
he died, St. Francis came for him, but a devil follows his own inclination. He takes note of one
pulled him away, saying that a man could not more soul, an ancestor of his who died
receive absolution before sinning, for absolution unavenged.

[11]
Finally, Virgil and Dante follow the ridge down Circle, at the very bottom of Hell. One of the
and to the left until they can see the Tenth Pouch giants begins to speak in gibberish; he is Nimrod,
below them. This pouch houses the Falsifiers, who, via his participation in building the Tower
and it is divided into four zones. In the First Zone, of Babel, brought the confusion of different
souls huddle in heaps and sprawl out on the languages to the world.
ground. Scabs cover them from head to foot;
Virgil names some of the other giants whom they
they scratch at them furiously and incessantly.
pass until they come to Antaeus, the one who
Canto XXX will help them down the pit. After listening to
Virgil’s request, Antaeus takes the two travelers
Beholding the Second Zone in the Tenth Pouch
in one of his enormous hands and slowly sets
of the Eighth Circle of Hell, Dante recalls stories
them down by his feet, at the base of the
of antiquity in which great suffering caused
enormous well. They are now in the Ninth Circle
humans to turn on each other like animals. But
of Hell, the realm of Traitors.
the viciousness portrayed in these stories pales
in comparison with what he witnesses here, Canto XXXII
where the sinners tear at each other with their
Walking past the giant’s feet, the two come upon
teeth; these are the Falsifiers of Others’ Persons.
a vast frozen lake, as clear as glass—Cocytus. In
Dante sees a woman, Myrrha, who lusted after
the ice, souls stand frozen up to their heads,
her father and disguised herself as another in
their teeth chattering. The First Ring of the Ninth
order to gratify her lust. Some of the sinners of
Circle of Hell is called Caina (after Cain, who, as
the Third Zone, the Falsifiers of Coins, mingle
Genesis recounts, slew his brother, Abel), where
among these souls. Dante speaks with Master
traitors to their kin receive their punishment.
Adam, who counterfeited Florentine money;
Virgil and Dante see twins frozen face to face,
part of his punishment is to be racked with thirst.
butting their heads against each other in rage.
Adam points out two members of the Fourth
Walking farther, Dante accidentally kicks one of
Zone, the Falsifiers of Words, or Liars: one is the
the souls in the cheek. Leaning down to
wife of Potiphar, who falsely accused Joseph of
apologize, he thinks he recognizes the face—it
trying to seduce her, and the other is a Greek
turns out to belong to Bocca degli Abati, an
man, Sinon. The latter apparently knows Adam
Italian traitor. Dante threatens Bocca and tears
and comes over to pick a fight with him. Dante
out some of his hair before leaving him in the ice.
listens to them bicker for a while. Virgil harshly
Virgil and Dante progress to the Second Ring,
reprimands his companion, telling him that it is
Antenora, which contains those who betrayed
demeaning to listen to such a petty
their homeland or party. Continuing across the
disagreement.
lake, Dante is horrified to see one sinner gnawing
Canto XXXI at another’s head from behind. He inquires into
the sin that warranted such cruelty, stating that
As Virgil and Dante finally approach the pit in the
he might be able to spread the gnawing sinner’s
center of the Eighth Circle of Hell, Dante sees
good name on Earth.
what appear to be tall towers in the mist. Going
closer, he realizes that they are actually giants Canto XXXIII
standing in the pit. Their navels are level with the
Eighth Circle, but their feet stand in the Ninth

[12]
I did not open them—for to be rude the icy lake, his torso rising above the surface.
To such a one as him was courtesy. Gazing upward, Dante sees that Lucifer has three
horrible faces, one looking straight ahead and
The sinner raises himself from his gnawing and
the others looking back over his shoulders.
declares that in life he was Count Ugolino; the
Beneath each head rises a set of wings, which
man whose head he chews was Archbishop
wave back and forth, creating the icy winds that
Ruggieri. Both men lived in Pisa, and the
keep Cocytus frozen.
archbishop, a traitor himself, had imprisoned
Ugolino and his sons as traitors. He denied them Each of Lucifer’s mouths holds a sinner—the
food, and when the sons died, Ugolino, in his three greatest sinners of human history, all
hunger, was driven to eat the flesh of their Traitors to a Benefactor. In the center mouth
corpses. dangles Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ. In
the left and right mouths hang Brutus and
Dante now rails against Pisa, a community
Cassius, who murdered Julius Caesar in the
known for its scandal but that nevertheless has
Roman Senate. Brutus and Cassius appear with
remained unpunished on Earth. He and Virgil
their heads out, but Judas is lodged headfirst;
then pass to the Third Ring, Ptolomea, which
only his twitching legs protrude. The mouths
houses those who betrayed their guests. The
chew their victims, constantly tearing the
souls here lie on their backs in the frozen lake,
traitors to pieces but never killing them. Virgil
with only their faces poking out of the ice. Dante
tells Dante that they have now seen all of Hell
feels a cold wind sweeping across the lake, and
and must leave at once.
Virgil tells him that they will soon behold its
source. Putting Dante on his back, Virgil performs a
startling feat. He avoids the flapping wings and
Canto XXXIV
climbs onto Lucifer’s body, gripping the Devil’s
Still journeying toward the center of the Ninth frozen tufts of hair and lowering himself and his
Circle of Hell, Dante becomes aware of a great companion down. Underneath Cocytus, they
shape in the distance, hidden by the fog. Right reach Lucifer’s waist, and here Virgil slowly turns
under his feet, however, he notices sinners himself around, climbing back upward. However,
completely covered in ice, sometimes several Dante notes with amazement that Lucifer’s legs
feet deep, contorted into various positions. now rise above them, his head below. Virgil
These souls constitute the most evil of all explains that they have just passed the center of
sinners—the Traitors to their Benefactors. Their the Earth: when Lucifer fell from Heaven, he
part of Hell, the Fourth Ring of the Ninth Circle, plunged headfirst into the planet; his body stuck
is called Judecca. here in the center. According to Virgil, the impact
caused the lands of the Southern Hemisphere to
As they approach through the fog, they behold
retreat to the North, leaving only the Mountain
its true form. The sight unnerves Dante to such
of Purgatory in the water of the South. Dante
an extent that he knows not whether he is alive
and Virgil climb a long path through this
or dead. The figure is Lucifer, Dis, Satan—no one
hemisphere, until they finally emerge to see the
name does justice to his terrible nature. The size
stars again on the opposite end of the Earth from
of his arms alone exceeds all of the giants of the
where they began.
Eighth Circle of Hell put together. He stands in

[13]
GROUP ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT (TEXTUAL AND CONTEXTUAL EVIDENCES)

TEXTUAL CONTEXTUAL

''I found myself within a shadowed forest, for I The dark and shadowy forest is standing in for
had lost the path that does not stray. /Ah, it is sin's ability to blind people from seeing the
hard to speak of what it was, / that savage forest, delicate balance between good and evil. It blinds
dense and difficult, / which even in recall renews people from staying in God's good graces. When
my fear:/so bitter - death is hardly more severe!'' one sins, they are thrown into darkness.

“He is met by a beautiful Leopard, which keeps

distracting his attention from the Hill, and makes In life, we have our own goals and ambitions to
him turn back several times. The hour of the reach but there will be time that fate challenges
morning, the season, and the gay outward aspect us and there would be obstacles and trials that
of that animal, give him good hopes at first; but we may face. But if you keep going forward and
he is driven down and terrified by a Lion and a have faith you can reach your destination
She-wolf.”

“Through me you pass into the city of woe:

Through me you pass into eternal pain: Through
When you commit into something you have all
me among the people lost for aye. Justice the
the responsibility that comes with it. You cannot
founder of my fabric moved: To rear me was the
escape nor abandoned what you have obligated
task of power divine, Supremest wisdom, and
to. You have to face all consequences bound by
primeval love. Before me things create were
it, For you have sinned, you have to be punished.
none, save things Eternal, and eternal I shall
endure. All hope abandon, ye who enter here.”

“The mind which is created quick to love, is

responsive to everything that is pleasing, soon as
by pleasure it is awakened into activity. Your
apprehensive faculty draws an impression from a
real object, and unfolds it within you, so that it
makes the mind turn thereto. And if, being
turned, it inclines towards it, that inclination is
love; that is nature, which through pleasure is
bound anew within you.”

[14]
 As you are going through the succession, the
more fruitful it is the more struggles you have to
“The more a thing is perfect, the more it feels face. A success in life that comes from various
pleasure and pain.” hardships, obstacles and temptations that you’ll
only have a bittersweet victory and feel
accomplished.

COMPARISON TO OTHER LITERARY WORK

The Divine Comedy (Inferno)

1. Dante’s Inferno, Minos is an “accomplished judge of sins/decides what place in Hell is fit for it”. (Canto
V: 9-10)

2. The segmentation of Hell in The Inferno points to a further influence by the Church. Each of Dante’s
Circles houses souls based upon their sin, grouped generally into sins of incontinence, violence, fraud,
and betrayal. He subdivides these general categories into sections that map (generally) to the seven
deadly sins: gluttony, wrath, sloth, avarice, lust, envy, and pride.

3. The tree-soul informs them that in life he was Pier della Vigna, an advisor to Emperor Frederick, and
that he was a moral and admirable man. But when an envious group of scheming courtiers blackened
his name with lies, he felt such shame that he took his own life. (Canto XIII)

4. In the Styx, Dante finds people immersed in mud, striking one another with hands, feet, and head, as
well as biting one another. Virgil tells him that he is looking at souls destroyed by anger, and that more
lie under the waters of Styx, making bubbles with each cry. (Canto VII)

5. One of the giants begins to speak in gibberish; he is Nimrod, who, via his participation in building the
Tower of Babel, brought the confusion of different languages to the world.(Canto XXXI)

The Odyssey

1. Odysseus also sees “Minos, glorious son of Zeus… holding a golden scepter, and passing judgments
on the dead, who stood and sat around the king, seeking justice, throughout the spacious gates of
Hades’ home” (Homer, 11.733-37).

The Aeneid

2. Virgil does not rank the places in the Underworld based on the metric of sin—although those souls in
Hell are there because of violations of his society’s older code of ethics: cheaters, hoarders, adulterers,
and betrayers.

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 Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

3. Romeo mourns over her body, and then drinks poison because he believes that Juliet is truly dead. He
falls next to her. Juliet wakes up moments afterwards.

Friar Laurence has come assist her. When he discovers that Romeo is dead, he attempts to convince
Juliet to leave. Juliet insists on staying, and discovers Romeo's dead body beside her. Friar Laurence
leaves her alone in the tomb. Juliet stabs herself in the heart.

Romeo and Juliet each commit suicide within the Capulet family tomb.

Greek Mythology

4. The River Styx is a principal river in the Greek underworld (also called Hades). The river forms a border
between the underworld and the world of the living. The word means hate in Greek and is named
after the goddess, Styx.

Biblical Literature

5. But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as
one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will
be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand
each other.”

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is
why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From
there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

CONNECTION TO PHILIPPINE CONTEXT

The Divine Comedy (Inferno)

1. Dante a good man who strays from the path of virtue, finding himself in the dark wood at the
beginning of the poem. He is saved by his beloved Beatrice, who sends Virgil to guide him on his
spectacular journey through hell. Dante feels comforted to hear that his beloved Beatrice has gone to
Heaven and cares so much for him. He praises both her and Virgil for their aid and then continues to
follow Virgil toward Hell.”(Character)

2. Dante wrote the Inferno partly as a warning to the people of Florence. Dante’s request, he voices his
predictions for Florence’s political future, which he anticipates will be filled with strife. Dante then
asks about figures from Florence’s political past, naming individuals he believes to have been well

[16]
 intentioned. Ciacco replies that they reside in a much deeper circle of Hell. Before lying back down,
he asks Dante to remember his name when he returns to the world above”. (Cantos VI)

3. Dante strays from the right path in the beginning of Canto 1, he has symbolically strayed from the
right kind of life. His journey with Virgil through hell is both a physical journey toward heaven and a
more allegorical journey of spiritual progress toward God and away from sin. Halfway through his life,
the poet Dante finds himself wandering alone in a dark forest, having lost his way on the “true
path”.” (Symbol)

4. Virgil leads Dante up to the Gate of Hell, upon

which they read a foreboding inscription that
includes the admonition “abandon all hope, you
who enter here.” (Cantos III)

5. Dante accidentally kicks one of the soul sin the cheek.

Leaning down to apologize, he thinks he recognizes
The face—it turns out to belong to Bocca degli Abati,
An Italian traitor. ”I did not open them—for to be rude
To such a one as him was courtesy”.(Cantos XXXII)

Philippine Context / Current Situation

1. In Philippine context, General “Bato” Dela Rosa was chosen and appointed by our President Rodrigo
Roa Duterte as the Chief of Philippine National Police and he was supported by the president, take
responsibilities on what may possibly come during the war on drugs campaign.

2. In Philippine context, Dr. Jose Rizal once open our mind about Philippine situation from the past, while
Dante Explain the journey a man through hell and the sins he/she has committed.

3. In Philippine context, JM De Guzman was drift away on his acting career because of drug issues he has
symbolically strayed from the right kind of life causing him to take the rehabilitation center for drug
addicts.

4. In current situation, New Bilibid Prison in Multinlupa is a gate of hell for those who was convicted
guilty from the crime they committed.

5. In Philippine context, we as Filipino has a lot of superstitious beliefs which leads us to apologize on
something we cannot see like dwarf, ghost and etc. We usually say this phrase ”tabi-tabi po”.

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