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Dante Alighieri’s Inferno from the Original by Dante Alighieri and Illustrated with the Designs of Gustave Doré (New York: Cassell Publishing Company, 1890)

Dante finds himself in the third circle of hell after recovering from a state of unconsciousness cased by extreme and profound sympathy that he felt for two lovers – Francesca and Paulo.

“… new torments and new tormented ones I see around me wherever I walk, and wherever I turn, and wherever I look.” (Canto 6, 7-9) Here the pilgrim becomes extremely overwhelmed by what he sees, by what surrounds him. He already fainted twice and seems exhausted but now he realizes that it is only the beginning of the journey. The new damned souls surround him to the point he feels trapped and helpless because there is no way out.

“I am in the third circle, with the eternal, cursed, cold, and heavy rain; its rule and quality never change.” Dante describes the third circle of hell using multiple adjectives that convey a very negative and unpleasant image of this place. Rain, which is a key word here and typically has a positive connotation, falls in abundance here. Because of the fact that it is an area of gluttons everything here comes in a plentiful amount, never changes and has no end, which becomes a curse.

“Great hailstones, filthy water, and snow pour down through the dark air, the earth stinks that receives them.” Dante continues his description of the third circle of hell presenting in as frozen and odorous swamp. It becomes obvious for the reader that there is a shift in the pilgrim’s perception of hell. There are no feelings of compassion or sorrow anymore, just overwhelming repulsion.

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