Tag Archives: Dante

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).

Status Classifications Based On Light

In Canto 1 of Paradiso, Dante classifies light as a hierarchical attribute that administers order in the universe. Dante defines light as “The glory of Him who moves all things penetrates through the universe and shines forth in one place and less elsewhere.” (Canto 1, lines 1-3). Dante perceives light as a manifestation of God’s glory. Dante implies that the unequal distribution of light in the universe is responsible for the nature of Paradiso, Purgatorio, and Inferno. Dante deliberately used the world “penetrate” to point out the physical limitations that explain why some domains receive more sunlight than the other. For example, Paradiso is closest the heavens hence it “receives most of his light.” (Canto 1, line 4). Purgatorio is further away from heaven hence, it receives comparatively less sunlight. Since the inferno is at the core of the earth, light can’t penetrate the surface and hence the inferno receives no sunlight. The degree of light that each place receives classifies the domains based on how close the souls are to God physically and spiritually.

Dante uses light imagery to display his new status among the ranks of souls. Dante claims that in heaven “our intellect goes so deep, that the memory cannot follow it.” (Canto 1, line 7-8). Light provides individuals with clarity which enhances their intellect. Dante claims that “The lantern of the world rises to mortals to divers outlets,” (Canto 1, lines 37-38). Even though the “lantern” is a metaphor for the sun,  the light in a “lantern” is small and eventually extinguishes. Dante implies that mortals can only comprehend  a fraction of God’s grandeur and his inner-workings of the world before they die. Dante deliberately uses the word “divers outlets” to further reiterate that the condemned human civilization  can only experience God’s presence through small outlets. Comparatively, Dante narrates that “I fixed my eyes on the sun beyond our wont.” (Canto 1, line 54). Unlike the other mortals who have to avert their gaze when they look at the sun from a far distance, Dante directly looks at the sun up-close in heaven with Beatrice. Dante subtly distinguishes his status from the rest of the mortals because he can see the full sun hence, he knows more about God’s inner-workings than the rest of the universe. It also implies that he’s closer to God than the rest of the mortals. Moreover, by watching the sun with Beatrice, he puts himself on the same level as her. Though, Dante attempts to humble his character by claiming that “I did not endure it long, yet not so little that I did not see it emitting sparks all around,” (Canto 1, lines 58-59). The phrase is an oxymoron because while he admits to his mortality in comparison to Beatrice who continues to look on, he also claims that he saw it long enough to comprehend its nature that’s unknown to most mortals. Hence, he says that he is a mortal however, he claims to know more than the average mortals, revealing his inner desire to transcend his own mortality.

Dante wants to become a part of the light because he wants to be a savior for the world. Dante appeals to Apollo to make him “a vessel of your [his] power.” (Canto 1, line 14). Apollo is the Greek God of sun and light. He rides the chariot across the sky to make day. Dante wants to be a vessel for God’s light and this reflects his desire to be a savior for this world. He believes that humans have strayed from God’s path, hence, he communicates his journey in the epic to metaphorically bring God’s light back into people’s lives. He also states that “O divine power, if you lend so much of yourself to me that I make manifest the shadow of the blessed kingdom that is stamped within my head” (Canto 1, lines 22-24). He deliberately uses the word “shadow” because only light can create shadows. He wants God to bestow him with enough knowledge about Paradiso that he can communicate that information with the world, hence be a “shadow” of the heavenly kingdom. When he sees the sun, he also claims that “And as a second ray will spring forth from a first, mounting upward like a pilgrim that wishes to return home.” (Canto 1, 49-51). Dante uses a simile to compare the light to a “pilgrim” however, Dante is the pilgrim on this journey, hence he’s comparing himself to the light. While the word “home” is ambiguous, it can have 2 meanings. The ray is “mounting upward” and since heaven is both upward and the origin of the rays, it can mean that the rays want to return to heaven. This can reflect Dante’s desire to be a part of heaven and God’s glory. However, it can also mean that Dante wants to return to Earth as a ray of God’s light. In this sense, his desire to be Apollo’s “vessel”, the “shadow” of heaven’s Kingdom, and the  “second ray,” show that he wants to return to Earth with information about the divine world that he can communicate with his people so that they can mend their ways while they still have time.

 

The Ascension of Dante and Beatrice

“Dante and Beatrice Ascending”, Giovanni di Paolo, 1444-50, Parchment/Body Color  

 

In this illustration, depicting Paradiso, Dante and Beatrice have just left Earth from the top of the mountain of Purgatory. They and are flying towards heaven together. While they ascend, Beatrice’s eyes are “fixed on the eternal wheels” (1.64). Through bright and serene colors Giovanni di Paolo illuminates the ascension into the fiery light described in Canto 1 of Paradiso.

Beatrice, Dante’s spiritual guide, must explain the situation to an awestruck and perplexed Dante. She tells the pilgrim that the universe is a hierarchy of being and Heaven awaits them. This portrayal of the physical structure of the universe expresses the balance of theology and science during the Middle Ages. Beatrice describes to Dante his departure from Earth saying, “It would be a marvel in you if, free from impediment, you had remained below” (1.139-140). In other words, Beatrice tells Dante that because he has fully completed his purification process in Purgatory the only natural next step is the ascent to God.

Canto 1 sets the tone for the themes Dante the poet will convey throughout Paradiso. The Canto begins with “The glory of Him who moves all things penetrates through the universe and shines forth”, meaning God’s light is everywhere in his universe. The entire focus of Paradiso concentrates on God. God is the main subject from the start of the Canto, not Dante the pilgrim. Continuing, Dante describes the difficulty of conveying all that he sees on his way to Paradise. Dante states, “I have seen things that one who comes down from there cannot remember and cannot utter” (1.5-7). It is compelling to note the distinction in Dante the poet’s use of language in Paradiso versus in Inferno and Purgatory. We see already in the first canto of Paradiso Dante has trouble putting into words what he sees. Dante calls upon Apollo, the god of poetry, to help him explain what he sees in Paradise.

Dante and Beatrice on Earth and in the Earthly Paradise

Dante’s first known work, Vita Nova or New Life, heavily centers around the relationship, or lack thereof, between Dante and Beatrice. As I mentioned in a previous post, my first academic encounter with Dante was Vita Nova. I was, and still am, fascinated by the one-sided relationship Dante seems to have with Beatrice in Vita Nova which seems to expand into more of a reciprocal relationship in Purgatorio. I say this because in Vita Nova Dante and Beatrice only have a few interactions of little to no consequence other than in Dante’s mind. I remember wondering last year if Beatrice would have even known who Dante was or just vaguely recognized his face if they passed by each other on the street.

When Beatrice finally comes to Dante’s side for the first time in La Commedia, I immediately found my copy of Vita Nova* to see what comparisons I could find. I decided not to immediately read the Purgatorio footnotes for Canto 30 since I wanted to see what I could come up with organically, almost like a small test of my analyzing skills.

Both times Dante sees Beatrice for the “first” time (the true first time on Earth and the first time during his journey outside the earthly realm) he almost immediately describes her clothing. After three very long sentences in Vita Nova, amounting to about half a page, where Dante uses astrological terms to explain how old he and Beatrice are at the time of this first sighting, in the fourth he writes:

“She appeared, dressed in a very stately color, a subdued and dignified crimson, girdled and adorned in a manner that was fitting for her young age” (page 3).

In Purgatorio, Dante again immediately describes her clothing before he talks about her effect on him, writing:

“her white veil girt with olive, a lady appeared to me, clothed, beneath a green mantle, in the color of living flame” (lines 31-33).

Both times Dante sees Beatrice she is clothed in red. I have a note handwritten in my copy of Vita Nova that I am almost sure was information Professor Van Peteghem told us in class explaining that crimson was linked to grief after death during Dante’s time. If that is true, it juxtaposes the two shades of red perfectly. The first is linked to death and the other to the living flame.

The second time Dante sees Beatrice in Vita Nova he once again describes her clothing, writing that the “marvelous lady appeared to me dressed in pure white, between two gracious women, both of whom were older than she” (page 4). This white is again seen in the description of her veil in Purgatory. The two gracious women that Dante sees Beatrice accompanied by in this quote sparked my interest as well. In Canto 2 of Inferno, I had found it very odd that it took two intermediaries, St Mary and St Lucy, to intercede with Beatrice on Dante’s behalf so that she would ask Virgil to help him. It is a possibility in both cases that Dante has the total be three women due to the holiness of the number three, however, I am curious if there might be a link between the two women Dante sees Beatrice with in Vita Nova and the two women that are intermediaries to Beatrice in Inferno.

Unfortunately, I could not find any mention of the color green in Vita Nova which makes this comparison fall just a little short. I went as far as to find a digital copy and keyword search everything I could think of, including mentions of olives and leaves, which was to no avail. Never the less, I am still satisfied with the comparisons I did find between Vita Nova and Purgatorio.

*All quotations from Vita Nova are from the Andrew Frisardi edition published in 2012.

Paper Idea: I would like to examine the similarities and differences between any women represented by both Dante and Christine de Pizan if you think it is a good idea for a paper.

Virgil & Beatrice

Throughout the Inferno, Dante is scolded by his guide Virgil. Similarly, in Purgatorio, Dante is scolded like a mother to a child by his lover, Beatrice. Dante is scolded by two of the most important people to him. In canto 30 of the Inferno, Dante is watching Sinon and Master agrue and go back and forth. Virgil comes and hits Dante in the back of his head and tells him to stop watching this shameful argument. In lines 130-136:

I was all intent to listen to them, when my master

said to me: “Now keep looking, for I am not far from

quarreling with you!”

When I heard him speak to me angrily, I turned

toward him with such shamethat it dizzies me in

memory.

Dante hangs his head in shame and Virgil after seeing this takes him under his arm and forgives him. Just as a mother scolds her child and the child is ashamed; the mother feels bad and shows affection to her child. In canto 30 of the Purgatorio, the moment everyone has been waiting for: the appearance of Dante’s beloved Beatrice. When she first appears, Dante is taken back by her beauty and like a scared child turns to Virgil for answers. Virgil was gone. Dante starts panicking wondering where Virgil could’ve gone and as he is about to cry Beatrice scolds him. Beatrice foreshadows that Dante will encounter another terrible wound so he should save his tears. Without mercy, she scolds him for crying in the earthly paradise; the place where men are supposed to be happy. Dante hangs his head in shame and then sees his shameful reflection in the stream. Beatrice is compared to scolding Dante as her child. As shown in lines 73-81:

“Look at us well! Truly I am, truly am

Beatrice. How have you designed to approach thee

mountain? Did you not know that here mankind is

happy?”

My eyes fell down to the clear spring, but,

seeing myself there, I turned them to the grass,

such shameweighed down my brow:

so as a mother seems severe to her son as she

seemed to me, for bitter is the flavor of

compassion still unripe.

 

Canto 33: Further Progression in Dante’s Callousness towards Sinners

             In Canto 33, we find Dante and Virgil pass through the 9th circle of Hell, where traitors to their country, guests, and hosts are punished. Canto 33 is a continuation of Canto 32. Betrayal is the major theme of Canto 33 and because of how deep these sinners are placed in Hell, it is evident how deeply Dante, the author, feels towards those capable of deception.

              Dante sees Count Ugolino, another historical figure, savagely eating Archbishop Ruggieri’s head, an image of cannibalism. Ugolino was a political nobleman in Pisa whose politics went wrong. Ugolino tells Dante his account of the past. Dante finds out that Ugolino was imprisoned for treason along with his sons and grandsons. Ugolino plotted to take over Pisa, an act of betrayal against his hometown. But Ruggieri betrays the betrayer, Ugolino. Ruggieri punishes Ugolino and his family and denies them food, so the sons die of starvation. Ugolino must watch his sons die for his crimes. It is not fully clear if Ugolino eats his sons or not but he states “Then hunger proved more powerful than grief”, which can indicate Ugolino actually eating his dead children. While this interpretation is certainly viable, Dante, the poet, does not necessarily place Ugolino there for eating his children, but because of the selfish betrayal of his hometown. As we have seen throughout Inferno, according to Dante, the writer, the place a person comes from is an incredibly important characteristic and makes that person who he or she is. Therefore, Dante, the writer, finds that the betrayal of one’s hometown must be severely punished.

As Dante and Virgil continue, they meet Fra Alberigo and Bronca. They live on Earth but their souls were sent to Hell, another example of duality in Inferno. Fra Alberigo invited his brother over for dinner and had his family assassinated. Branca’s sin is similar to Alberigo’s because he killed his father-in-law. These sinners are cold enough to kill family members, therefore they must eternally be frozen. They are punished by laying on freezing ice on the river Cocytus and when they cry, their tears freeze. This type of imprisonment is compelling because Hell is constantly represented with fire. The harsh freezing ice can symbolize the callousness of the sinners. Fra asks Dante to “stretch out your hand and open my eyes” but Dante gladly refuses to help him remove the frozen tears so he can cry some more. Dante, the writer, states, “I did not open them for him; and it was courtesy to treat him boorishly” (148-149), meaning being hostile towards this sinner was like a gift to Dante. Dante’s refusal to wipe away the tears mirrors the themes of betrayal and disloyalty in this Canto. Dante, the pilgrim, promises Alberigo that he will wipe away his tears when he states, “If you wish me to help you, tell me who you are” (115) but he is misleading because he readily does not fulfill those words.

It is important to pay attention to Dante’s lack of empathy in the final cantos. As he gets closer to reaching God, Dante’s comprehension of sins is stronger and he is gratified to let the sinners hurt in hell for eternity. From the start of Inferno, Dante, the pilgrim, is on a journey where his attitudes change as he progresses through Hell. He feels compassion and pity for sinners like Francesca, but as the sins grow in severity Dante, the pilgrim feels apathy and hatred towards the sinners. Dante certainly feels no empathy for sinners like Ugolino and Fra Alberigo because of the magnitude of their sins, according to Dante the poet. As Dante reaches the end of his journey in Hell, his pity lessens with each ensuing sinner he encounters. At the beginning of Inferno, empathy overcomes Dante, and he cries and literally faints for many hurting sinners, but by the end of Inferno, he does not even allow the sinners to cry for themselves.

The Punishment of Satan/The Contrapasso of Lucifer

Dante and Virgil Encounter Lucifer in Hell, 1923 Giclee Print by Henry John Stock

In Canto 34, Dante is introduced to Satan, “the creature who had once been beautiful.” (17-18) Dante’s descriptions of Satan are haunting, so haunting that Dante pauses the dialogue to engage the reader stating: “I became frozen and feeble, do not ask reader, for I do not write it, and all speech would be insufficient.” (22-24) But Satan’s real punishment isn’t just his eternal fate in hell. He’s doomed to forever be one with hell, punishing not only Judas, Brutus, and Cassius, but also the other members of the 9th circle with the cold beats of his bat-like wings. In other words, he’s reduced to a mechanism of hell, equivalent to other beasts and lower forms we’ve seen in other Cantos, like Cerberus or Plutus from upper hell.

The contrapasso of Lucifer is very evident. Not only through his punishment, but Dante’s descriptions of Lucifer. Almost without exception Dante refers to Satan’s prior perfection, literally a “light-bearer,” the translation of Lucifer: “If he was as beautiful then as now he is ugly, when he lifted his brow against his Maker.” (34-35) This further develops the idea of his punishment. A rebel against God, he is now doomed to forever remain a mechanism of God’s divine justice. A punishment to others who also violated God’s divine authority.

Lucifer’s physical punishment also reflects this contrapasso. Massive in size, but rooted in ice, Lucifer is both incredibly intimidating but at the same time utterly docile. This is further illustrated by his utter silence throughout the canto, forced to continue God’s will and chew sinners for eternally with three mouths, a parallel to the trinity.

I think that the geology of lower hell is very interesting, especially in reference to Satan. As Virgil and Dante leave the 9th circle to exit hell, Dante describes how “I raised my eyes, thinking to see Lucifer as I had left him, and I saw that he extended his legs upward.” (88-89) I like to think that this is a reference to the 8th circle, 3rd Bolgia, in which the feet of simonists are engulfed in flame. In a certain way, Satan too used his position in a different context for personal gain.

Ultimately, I think that the punishment of Lucifer is a poetic and powerful transition into Purgatorio. I think that because of Lucifer’s silence in the Canto and his diminished state as a mechanism of hell reflects the punishment of sinners in the Anti-Inferno, who aren’t recognized at all. While Satan is recognized, he isn’t glorified or even dignified by speech, as other sinners have been. He’s simply condemned to his fate and eternally frozen in the absence of God’s light, and warmth.

Reflective Post 1

After rereading my posts, I noticed similarities and differences in my writing and responses. I included images for half of my posts. I think including artwork sometimes helped me understand the Cantos better and therefore respond better. My first two posts contained more summary than they contained analysis. With each consecutive post following the first two, I believe I progressed in my ability to make better connections, analysis, and find a theme within the Canto.

When looking through my work, I think my post entitled “Canto 11 – A Brief Break to Explain the Organization of Hell/The Presence of the Number 3 and The Importance of Nature” was done the most properly. To begin, I like how thorough and clear the title is as it sets up exactly what I focused on in the post. This was the first post I was able to notice a recurring technique of Dante the poet’s, in which he pauses to have Dante the pilgrim asks Virgil for clarity and the pilgrim’s confusions echo similar questions the reader probably has. I briefly gave a summary and dedicated the rest of my post to analysis. I think this is my first successful post because  I did a thorough analysis and I primarily focused on a theme of the importance of nature and God for Dante the poet. I also think this post is good because of its clarity. I separated it into 4 concise paragraphs in which I analyzed instead of just summarizing. The post that followed my Canto 11 post is “Canto 15: An Unexpected Encounter between a Teacher and Student.” I also like this title. I think this post is also good it mimics the structure of the preceding post. I gave a pretty thorough analysis of the connections between God, sodomy, and violence. I also included how Canto 15 ties to Canto 11. My analysis was presented well when I wrote, “In the third ring, a fiery rain falls on the sinners, which represents an unnatural phenomenon, like sodomy. Whereas regular rain replenishes the Earth, a fiery rain does the opposite since sodomizers also do not replenish Earth with new life.” I think it displays my comprehension of Canto 15.

In my future posts, I should use more outside resources. I also think I can dedicate more time to proofreading to avoid grammar mistakes. I have used quotes in my posts but I think I can include more. Lastly, I would like to make more connections to previous cantos. 

Reflection Post 1

 

After reading all my posts about the Inferno, I noticed numerous similarities and distinctions throughout them. My first four blog posts were more like summaries rather than reflective posts. They all included images with a short description of them but, I mostly summarized what the canto was about. However, my blog posts five and six had more connections, comparisons, similarities and changes in style. These two posts didn’t include images but made various connections between all the cantos we have read so far.

In my blog post 2 about gluttony, cerberus, and ciacco, my style was repetitive and colloquial. I included an image and a terzina but simply summarized what Canto 13 was about. I tried to include some imagery in my post but did it very poorly; I did the same thing with my first blog post. My first post included a picture of Virgil and Beatrice in paradise which I have not read at all but I thought it was related to Canto 2. I introduced who Beatrice was and how important she was to Dante. Moreover,  in my first two blog posts I  had countless grammar mistakes such as punctuation and fragmentation. In my fourth blog post, I was trying to use imagery to best describe Geryon but it sounds like a huge summary. For example, “ Dante was struck with horror when Virgil requested a ride from the monster. As he climbed on Geryon he saw countless sinners suffering from above and was scared the entire time”. Instead of summarizing what Canto 17 was about I should have made more comparisons and similarities with Geryon and the other beasts introduced in the Inferno. Also, I should try to include more outside resources rather than just quoting from the Inferno to support my posts. Lastly, my lack of present tense is evident throughout my posts but gets better toward my most recent post.

My most recent blog posts five and six are my most clear and concise posts so far. My fifth blog post I compared how Dante has treated the sinners and how Virgil has treated Dante from this throughout the Inferno. I made good comparisons and similarities between Cantos 5, 8, 13, 15, 19,  and 20. For instance, “ Like in Canto 19, Virgil is very pleased with Dante’s attitude towards these sinners because it is showing him not to sympathize with them anymore. He joyously hugs and kisses him in Canto 8 and happily carries him like a baby across the bridge in Canto 19”. Additionally, in my most recent blog post I wrote about how Virgil babies and reassures Dante like a mother throughout the Inferno. I made countless clear and concise similarities among Cantos 2, 8, 19, 23, and 24. I used many quotes to support my theme about Virgil and Dante; also, my writing style is not as repetitive as before.