Discussion Question on Canto XIII

How does the geography of the wood of suicides contribute to the meaning and significance of suicide?

Dante uses quite severe imagery when dealing with the setting of the seventh circle of hell in Cantos XIII through XV. In Canto XIII, Dante introduces the unfortunate setting of this circle. He begins describing a dark and twisted wood:

"Not yet had Nessus reached the other side,

When we had put ourselves within a wood,

That was not marked by any path whatever.

Not foliage green, but of a dusky colour,

Not branches smooth, but gnarled and intertangled,

Not apple-trees were there, but thorns with poison."

(lines 13.1-6)

Here, Dante makes yet another epic simile, describing not only the ecology of the circle through which he passes, but also using that same description to comment on the nature of that sin. The scene is a potentially beautiful and graceful wood, but instead, Dante and Virgil tread through a "twisted" and distorted forest. There are fruit trees, but there are no fruits that it produces.

Similarly, the sin of committing suicide cuts short one's own life, and makes them "barren" to do anything else. The same simile is used across to Canto XV in description of the Sodomites. In both cases, the wood which was once beautiful is now corrupt due to the sinners choices.

Also, those who committed suicide may have sought out honour and glory in their actions. In contrapasso, perhaps the superiority they sought is now the inverse. The suicide-spirits exist only as commonly as trees in a forest, not one set apart from another.

Close Encounters with Farinata (Canto X)

In Canto X of Inferno, Dante and Virgil still travel through the sixth circle of hell, where all heretics dwell. As the two walk through the graves intersecting their path, Dante pauses at one. Here, lies Dante's political enemy, Farinata degli Uberti, a ghibelline. The two figures recognise each other, but unfamiliar of what context, both present their ancestry. As soon as their backgrounds are established, tension arises between the two as they argue and defend their respective political parties.

This growingly tense argument is quickly interrupted by Cavalcante d'Cavalcanti, father of Dante's close friend, Guido Cavalcanti. He desperately asks Dante what became of Guido. Dante begins to respond, but hastily Cavalcante assumes Dante said that Guido died, and in pure desolation, descends back into his grave. The character introduces the righteous value of family in contrast to Farinata's value and obsession with political stature. 

Farinata and Dante continue their discussion. Even though the two political figures are enemies, they demonstrate a degree of respect for each other. Farinata and Dante have something in common, they both valued the city of Florence over their own political career. Farinata sacrificed his in order to salvage Florence from being "leveled", Dante refers to Farinata as "defender of Florence". However, both characters imply the irrelevance of Florentine politics in relation to their current position in hell.

Virgil summons Dante to continue on their journey.

Summary of the Papal Seat in Avignon from the West

Papal Palace at Avignon

When Pope Clement V came to power, he set up a[n initially] temporary papal headquarters in Avignon, France. There, he also established a College of Cardinals followed by a secondary Church court. Avignon became a very popular spot for those looking to give their lives to the Church, and as more people cycled through the College, Clement V built more extensions and lavish facilities. Gradually, nearly all of the Church leaders were relocated to Avignon, and the Vatican was left abandoned.

The cardinals that arose from the College of Cardinals at Avignon were more popular among the entire Christian population due to the fact they were not tangled up in the political debuggery of the papal italian states. 

Avignon declared many (and even more) power than the Vatican. They claimed the power to, but certainly not limited to, appoint candidates to clerical offices, collect all vacant and unclaimed revenues, heard all appeals of ecclesiastical courts, and more. 

Because Clement V was unable to collect Church money toward building Avignon, money had to come by other means. The authorities at Avignon began using secular means (read trade and taxation) to gather funds. The papal seat gradually turned to a bureaucratic-like state, and attracted many secular business conducts.

Italians among other Christians saw the corruption at Avignon and demanded that the papal seat return to Rome. At this time Pope Gregory XI was in power, and reluctantly gave into their will. After returning to Rome, he declared the place "not fit to live in", mostly due to the fact it had abandoned for nearly a century, and began to move back to Avignon. However this move was interrupted by his death.

An italian Pope was elected next, Pope Urban VI. The cardinals, who were mostly French, still wanted to live in Avignon. Defiantly, these French cardinals moved back to Avignon without the Pope! 

Summary of Dante's Inferno through Canto XVIII

Through the eighteenth Canto of Inferno, Dante has experienced a long and treacherous journey. He has reached Malebolge, the eighth circle of Hell. He has trudged his way through fiery swamps and burning mud, through rivers of fire and seven circles of deafening sounds of pain. Despite how miserable this sounds, Dante is in fact in a better position than when he begun.

At the beginning of the poem, as you should recall at this point, Dante was hopelessly lost in a dark wood before Virgil came his way. Though geographically, Virgil leads Dante to a worse place, the progress Dante is making is toward an ideal place (positionally and geographically). Without the arrival of Virgil, Dante would never arrive at Paradiso. 

Dante, by walking the path of the unrepentant dead, is able to not only visualise a life apart from God's offered and abundant grace, but he reflects upon the nature of his own actions and how he has been involved politically. For example, when he interacts with his political enemies in hell, Virgil encourages an attitude of neutral grace rather than vengeful arrogance. 

As the reader, we are expected to follow the redemptive thoughts Dante experiences during his journey through Hell. As Florentines of his time, one is supposed to suddenly realise the corruption of Florentine (and Church!) politics and politicians, and the gradual but sure 'Decadence of Florence', as clearly explicated in Canto XVI.

Another interesting point is Virgil has lead Dante so far into Hell, that Virgil, himself, employs the help of others to further descend. For example, in order to cross into the eighth circle of hell, Virgil calls Geryon to ride.

The achievement of reaching Malebolge, meaning evil ditches: a place for those who committed sins of fraud, is quite significant. Here, in the "pit of hell", lie the fraudulent, and, as one could imagine, a great number of political and religious figures. Here, and leading up to this point, Dante makes his most apparent political thesis.

The Literary Fabric of Dante's Inferno

Dante is one of history's most acclaimed and well known poets. He is known as the father of the Italian language. He has influenced, both directly and indirectly; consciously and subconsciously, many writers and poets. Not only has the metaphorical story of his journey through the spiritual world attracted world fame, but the styles, techniques, and allegories used in his story. Dante's work is one the most influential and complex literary works of all time: a thick and tightly knit interweave of philosophical ideas and political thought, masterfully crafted at the loom of his own intellect.

One element of Dante's writing that is quite notable and apparent, is his copious use of references to other literary works and mythologies. Throughout the entire story, Dante references numerous texts and stories, using them as preset tools to provide infinite detail to his own work. Among the references used, the Bible and the Aeneid are the two most common. Dante uses the biblical ideologies as obvious inspiration for his own work but also nearly directly quotes from the Scriptures in his work. The Aeneid provides Dante not only with a set of characters to populate his Inferno, but also a preset mythology and pagan set of ideologies. Both of these texts were widely well known in Dante's time (and until now) due to the religious and re-emergence of classical texts. 

Dante also uses characters and places from his modern time in medieval Florence (or at least from its recent history) as well as famous associates of the medieval, italian, Church. Dante pulls characters from Florentine history (and present) as example and allegory to the circle of Hell in which he describes. For example, in the second circle of Inferno, Dante places Francesca and Paolo, both of whom were murdered and were hot topics of the late Florentine history. Also, Dante strategically places his enemies in particular places in hell. Pope Boniface VIII was the major contributor to Dante's exilation from Florence, and thus, reserves a special place and mention in the Inferno. 

These allegories continue virtually infinitely through the Divine Comedy. It would take thousands of pages of commentary to even cover a fraction of them. Because the story itself is an allegory for our mortal lives and eternity with (or without) God, the allegory is quite expansive. Also, among the story includes allegories relating to the topics of (and not limited to) the meaning of life, morality, the structure of time, space, and the universe, God's love and perfect justice, etc.... To claim a knowledge of them, and how Dante intended them to be read, would be ignorant.

The final element of Dante's work that also shows great literary prowess is his ability to structure his poem. The entire Comedy is divided into a (nearly) perfect three. Each stanza is also structured into terza rima, or three lines. The obvious reference to a holy trinity structure, I think, also implies some degree of perpetuality and cycle. Each time you read three lines, another set of three begins again; each time one's soul travels the path through the spiritual realm, another soul must follow.

The complexities of Dante's work continue to further present themselves more complex each time I review them. Each individual thread of Dante's complex and expansive tapestry are evidently each carefully chosen from an abundance of the world's material. However, the only way to see why he chose each thread and element of his great work is by looking closely to each one as it relates to another. 

Dante's Inferno Canto IV Summary

Canto IV begins with Dante and Virgil arriving on the other side of the River Acheron. Dante has officially arrived in hell. However, the place where he is, called Limbo, is the very outer edge of hell. As they arrive, Dante notes a loud chorus of wails and Virgil's face turn white with pity. Dante also takes on this state as he notes the inhabitants of Limbo and the source of the wailing. The souls they pass by are those of the unbaptised, infants, [righteous] pagans, and the ancient Hebrews. Dante sees a castle-like structure in which the righteous pagans dwell, among whom is Aristotle. Dante and Virgil speedily continue their way through Limbo.

The first thing to strike me while reading this Canto is how similar Limbo is set almost exactly like the Elysian Fields in Book VI in Virgil's Aeneid.

Also, I find it interesting how Limbo is a place for the unbaptised, and the righteous pagans get an even more special place in Dante's hell. Limbo was an invention of the early Church fathers for the purpose of having a name for the resting place for the unbaptised infants and ancient Hebrews. Dante, however, adds the "virtuous pagans" among these. Dante reluctantly cannot place figures such as Aristotle and Virgil in heaven because they were not Christian. However, they did possess some degree of "holy" wisdom (as mentioned by Augustine), and especially Aristotle, considering his influence on the Church, itself. 

Virgil Leads a Tour through Hell

2. Why do you think the poet Dante chooses the Roman poet Virgil as the guide through hell for his pilgrim, Dante?

Dante begins his poem by introducing himself as a lost traveler on the road of life. He wanders hopelessly through a wood, later only saved by Virgil. Though Virgil has died quite some time ago, he still is able to come from Hell, where he has been dwelling since his death. 

Basic ideas (at least on the surface level), but the reader might ask:

Why Virgil?

Dante had the choice of any deceased, pagan, man or woman to make his Guide in his poem. He chose Virgil, specifically. Virgil is a Roman poet most notably of the Aeneid, why would the Florentine, Dante, chose an ancient Roman poet as his guide?

Firstly, it is important to notice that Virgil is quite an upright man for his placement in hell (not even past the first river), yet he is still in Hell. He spent all of his years as a pagan, worshiping "false god who lied". Virgil tells Dante of his desire and hope to go to heaven and regret of his life choices.

Secondly, Virgil's existence in Dante's poem isn't merely reflected in the character, Virgil. Virgil's presence is ubiquitous through the entire poem. The very same poetic techniques, writing styles, and even plot events, are direct reflections of Virgil's Aeneid. Not only is Dante's writing heavily influenced by Virgil's writing, but also the very plot of the Inferno. Both stories show a hero venture through difficult trials; epics. The heroes in the story are shed in two very different lights, however. Aeneas, in the Aeneid, is a very heroic and strong character, not only saving himself from doom, but also many early Romans. Dante, however, in the Inferno is a humble hero, one who is weak and lost, a hero who is saved. In the end, Dante rests in eternal paradise, while Aeneas faces mortality among the other pagans.

By choosing Virgil as his Guide, Dante, in a way, explicates and credits Virgil's influence in the Inferno. The "bibliographic" nature of Virgil's presence gives the reader no doubt of the Aeneid's existence within the very fabric of the Inferno.