Dante Canto 26, 32.124-33.87 PDF

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Andrew Lisa Professor Beneteau Dante Canto 26, 32.124-33.87 Dante first describes a sight which he has trouble putting into words and thus says, “As many as the fireflies the peasant…just when the fly gives way to the mosquito, sees glimmering below, down in the valley, there where perhaps he gathers grapes and tills- so many were the flames that glittered in the eighth abyss; I made this out as soon as I had come to where one sees the bottom” (Dante 26.25-33). Dante sees souls burning in individual fires from a distance as he approaches the eighth circle, and says that they are as numerous and in likeness to fireflies in the night. These sinners were those who were fraudulent counselors and their respective punishment is being wrapped in a column of flame. Since these sinners were trusted by people whom they advised in life, they forever stand aflame so that they are not asked for counsel easily. In order for them to even speak to Dante, Virgil must convince them in a particular way, eventually leading a specific flame with two people contained to tell Dante of their sins during the events of Homer’s Iliad. Finally, Dante enters the ninth circle of Hell, which is described as a frozen lake with sinners frozen in the ice at specific depths according to the severity of their betrayal. In general, it is interesting to analyze Dante’s unique approach to Hell Where most people envision Hell as an eternal fire, Dante depicts its deepest regions as a frozen lake. This is meant to be symbolic where God is viewed as the Sun which produces heat and light while the inner circle of Hell is as far from God as possible and is therefore cold and dark. This unique illustration further conveys his method of symbolic retribution, with betrayers of man, like Judas, at the center of Hell....