Daily Archives: April 30, 2019

Reflection Post – 2

So here goes nothing! we’re all getting close to the end of Dante’s journey. I will be honest, in the beginning of inferno i was completely confused with all the names and characters, the term of contrapasso and all the metaphors included with inferno. But after progressing to purgatorio, it all began to make sense as i began to understand why Dante chose specific people to be punished with the sins.

now when i read canto 32, i was shocked that Beatrice was sitting at the bottom of the tree waiting for Dante because she could’ve easily waited for him in heaven since he was eventually going to meet up with him there anyways. i really did laugh at the irony of how the chariot was attacked by an eagle, then the earth split thus releasing a Dragon from the split which also attacked the chariot. What kind of bad luck does Dante have, i mean seriously. now thats how i would personally interpret this but then i began to think about it from a literary standpoint. i asked myself what could all these symbols, creatures, and animals stand for, and why were these random people mentioned? as it turns out, the chariot is actually a representation of the Church. the eagle which i have yet to piece together, and the dragon which i think represents the islamic religion.

P.S. i was going to post on the 29th but i then saw that it says May 1st on the top.

Symbolic Canto 32

Giant, Harlot Chariot Engraving by Gustave Dore Black & White

http://www.worldofdante.org/pop_up_query.php?dbid=I323&show=more

Canto 32 is an episode that is utterly and heavily symbolic. After reading this canto for the first time it was very hard for me to understand and comprehend it. Because of that I turned to the comment of Teodolinda Barolini who organized and explained the events in detail. The title of her elaboration is “Apocalypse Now”

Dante follows the parade that begun in Canto 29 and Beatrice is now at the center of it, in the chariot. The procession arrives at the Tree of Knowledge, which has no leaves and is completely bare. As T. Barollini wrote: “This is the tree from which Adam and Eve ate. The sin of gluttony thus reaches its full metaphorical potential, given that the eating that is castigated here is not literal but supremely metaphorical: Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” After the gryphon attaches the chariot the chariot to the tree it comes back to life.

Dante loses his consciousness and when he comes back to his senses he sees his beloved one sitting at the foot of the tree. She is guarding the chariot with the help of the seven virtues (the three theological and four cardinal virtues).

Beatrice addresses the pilgrim and tells him of his faith but also and his duty to describe what happens in front of his eyes. Right after that a swift sequence of images occurs for Dante to see, remember and describe. Namely, an eagle rips off the tree’s leaves and flowers and almost breaks the chariot, which symbolizes the persecution of the church (chariot) by the early emperors – Rome (eagle). A starving, female fox (heresy) jumps into the chariot and is driven away by Beatrice (the early heresies, overcome by the Church). The eagle that ripped off the tree comes back and hails the chariot with the feathers (the Church’s acquisition of temporal possessions through the Donation of Constantine – Barolini). Right after that the earth opens up and exposes to view a dragon (Islam that was believed to create a split between Christians), which in its power breaks the chariot and quickly crawls away. The chariot being covered with feathers “grows” seven heads with horns (personification of the capital sins, helped – “feathered” by the affluence and riches of Rome). Finally two new characters come into sight: a giant and a prostitute who represent the Avignon Papacy (the change of location of the papacy from Rome to Avignon in 1309).

The Human Perspective

Copia di Purgatorio, Canto 33,

 

As Dante meets with Beatrice in canto 30 of Purgatory, and especially as he starts his journey to Paradise, a great contrast is built. Not only in the contrast between heaven and hell which itself is heavily evident, but also in Dante’s perception of both. A concept I found interesting is how Dante’s comprehension of God’s Divine will in Cantos 32-33 of Purgatory is a struggle to say the least. The waters of the Lethe (Canto 33 Purg., 96) and their impact on Dante are just one example, and in Beatrice’s own words; “the school that you have followed and may see if what it taught can comprehend what I have said – and see that, as the earth is distant from the highest and the swiftest of the heavens, so distant is your way from the divine,” (Canto 33 Purg., 85-90) or in other words, Dante’s perception of the way things work is exclusive to the human experience, and because of this he struggles to comprehend the “highest and swiftest” of divine will. This idea is further illustrated in Canto 1 of Paradiso, in which Dante describes the incredible sights he sees as he enters heaven, so incredible that “our intellect sinks into an abyss so deep that memory fails to follow it,” and he is unable to remember the sights, and is only left with the knowledge that they were beyond the human eye.

I found this idea interesting, especially considering how the sins of those in Inferno are not hard to perceive by Dante. He even finds himself relating to many of them and reacting to them emotionally, despite the advice of Virgil that pity for the sins of others is in it of itself a sin. The only real struggle Dante describes in Inferno is accurately capturing the nature of punishment, a severe contrast to the latter cantos of Purgatorio and those of Paradiso. I found this poetic, because it argues that the sins of Inferno are well situated in human perception and experience, while the light of God and his true intentions are far beyond our gaze.

Dante’s perception of Heaven and Hell is a mechanism through which poet Dante expresses the relativity of the human mind. He presents sin and punishment as something human perception is accustomed to, an element in our nature. Whereas in Paradiso, he demonstrates that divine will and the ultimate nature of heaven are truly beyond our gaze grounded on earth. In a certain way, Dante’s own sin and affiliation with it because of human nature is exactly what holds him from the actuality of God’s divine will.

Sidenote: My final paper will be an analysis of Contrapasso throughout Inferno, and its representation in art. I plan to go into depth on four major artists and their interpretations of Contrapasso in Inferno in addition to Dante’s descriptions of Contrapasso during his journey and after the last judgement. Finally, I hope to tie all of this together with an additional theme in Inferno: the relation between Art from Nature, and Nature from God.

Reflection Post-2

Truthfully, these past few weeks has been informative. With the knowledge that I’ve learned, I feel as though my mind is ready to tackle these texts. There is so much to learn from the Divine Comedy. Sadly, the few weeks of classes were not enough to fully experience the whole journey with Dante. Now my time and energy is on focusing my final paper. I feel confident in translating my ideas and thoughts about the text into paper.

I’ve remembered all those past posts and those nights where I had no idea how to interpret or even understand the reading. Yet somehow, I managed. All these observations and theories from our class discussion has help me better understand Dante’s intention. My most memorable post was when we were assigned to analyze paintings and statues in the MET. What was most striking for me was the statue Ugolino and his sons. I know the symbolic meaning behind his sons grabbing his legs in concern for his well being, but Ugolino’s face is menacing and haunting. It feels like it is looming over you, judging you for actions you aren’t aware of. Anyways, I was spellbound by his enraged face. I look forward to find more art that incorporates fear and rage. Which is great, for this is the kind of theme i’m working on for my final paper.

Burden of a body

Illustrazioni sulla Divina commedia di Dante [in 4 portfolios] by Scaramuzza, Francesco

Makeup for blog post 3

This image depicts the second ring of the seventh circle in hell. This is where those who have committed violence against themselves reside. These souls are turned into trees and their bodies that have been discarded are hung from their branches. The picture captures the moment of the sinners dragging their bodies before they are transformed. The body motions in the picture really capture the feeling of dragging a limp body. Especially the woman whose body’s hair is tied around her neck, hanging from the neck the hair creates an image of a reverse noose giving a not so subtle hint to how she might have committed suicide. It gives an impression of how they were when they lived, struggling to move a body that just seems to have given up and refuses to cooperate, that must have been really taxing for their souls. This could have been one of the factors that have pushed them to suicide, to relieve them of their “dead” weight. For a human the body is an important piece that makes him whole and to just throw it away causes them to become less than human, and thus they are punished. Unable to re-enter their own bodies they must now accompany the sinners for eternity as truly dead weights.