Dante Inferno & Purgatory Notes
Canto 11: Lower Hell Divisions
Introduction to the lower divisions of Hell, distinguishing between sins of malice (violence, fraud) and incontinence (lack of self-control).
Canto 12: The 7th Circle (Violence)
Subdivisions:
Violence against God: Those who consciously defy divine laws.
Violence against Self: Suicides turned into trees, unable to communicate until their branches are broken, inflicting pain on them.
Violence against Neighbors: Tyrants submerged in a river of blood, representing their wrongdoing in life.
Canto 13: Violent Against Oneself
Main Figure: Aeneas is referenced; harpies plague these souls, who are punished by being trees, bleeding when branches are broken.
Canto 14: Violence Against God
Sub Circle 3 - Violence against God: Individuals punished by fire raining like snow; their nakedness signifies total vulnerability.
Capaneus: Key character exhibiting defiance against divine authority.
Canto 15: The Sodomites
Overview hints about Brunetto, a significant figure speculated to bear romantic feelings towards Dante.
Social dynamics of sin and acceptance explored, with reflections on friendship and societal norms.
Canto 16: Encounter with Florentine Noblemen
Three Noblemen: Plead with Dante for recognition, showcasing themes of memory and mortality.
Reference to Geryon: Symbolizes fraud and deceit, foreshadowing Dante's descent into further circles of Hell.
Canto 17: Geryon
Description of Geryon, a beast symbolizing fraud whose appearance terrifies Dante, begging questions about deception in human nature and morality.
Canto 18: Eighth Circle (Simple Fraud)
First Bolgia: Panders and Seducers punished through beatings as they walk naked—ironic reflection of their earthly practices.
Malebolge: The structure of Hell contains distinct 'bolgias' for various types of fraud, canyons of punishment.
Key Figures: Jason is highlighted as a seducer with a history of conning women.
Canto 19: Third Bolgia (Simoniacs)
Attached punishment for corrupt clergy who put money above God, buried headfirst with their soles on fire.
Condemnation of religious figures focusing on the abuse of power and influence.
Canto 20: Fourth Bolgia (Diviners)
Fortune tellers: Their heads are twisted around as a punishment for claiming knowledge of the future, forced to walk backward.
Discussion of regret and the limitations on their understanding of life.
Canto 21-28: Further Circles of Fraud
In-depth discussions on political corruption, hypocrisy, theft, and the consequences according to the nature of the sin committed.
Constant shifts between allegorical representations and historical figures from Dante's life expose the deeper ethical implications of their sins.
Canto 29-33: Ninth Circle (Cocytus)
Divided into sections depicting treachery against kin, country, guests, and benefactors, showcasing the horrors of betrayal.
Count Ugolino: A tragic figure associated with betrayal and cannibalism, raising moral questions of loyalty and survival.
Satan: At the story’s heart, illustrating the consequences of moral decay at the towering depths of Hell.
Canto 1
● Just came from hell, crawled past satan and ended upside down, basically at Satans feet
● Speaking about a song where the human spirit purges itself and becomes worthy
enough to go to heaven and is speaking to the muses with this song
● Eastern sapphire, no clouds, speaking about the blue sky and how happy he is to see it → “Dead air” i'm assuming the air of hell
● Sees an old man, who he thinks is worthy
● Old man asks how they are there and is mainly asking virgil
○ Says its Gods will so his will cannot refuse to let them pass
● Old man says his wife? Is in hell but he is in this area, but permits him to go bc of
beatrice and lile the whole thing with her being holy
○ Tells virgil to clean dante of the dirt thats on him
Canto 2
● Sunrise covering jerusalem
● Light coming across the sea
● Witness came forth
○ Had wings
○ Speaking in latin
● People waiting to get on the boat to go further into purgatory
○ People just arrive, just like dante and virgil
○ They were curious about dante being alive, like everyone always is
● A spirit hugs him, Casella
Canto 3
● Souls had left now
● Dante thinks virgil left him, virgil reads his mind and is like yo why do you not trust me, im right here
● Arrive at the foot of the mountain, found a steep path and they’re contemplating which to take
● They ask the souls where to climb the mountain so they’ll make it
● Souls asking dante to see if they know who he is?
○ Manfred- grandson of empress constance
■ Asks dante to go to his daughter, Mother of the honor of Sicily and. Aragon to let her know the truth incase lies are being spread
■ Says he had awful sins but God has open arms that it takes whatever
turns to it
Canto 4
● Climbing now up on rock, debating which way to take
● Guy sitting next to bolder near rock
● Once he spoke dante knew who he was
○ Name was Belacqua
○ Saying what good would climbing do
● Seems like dante poet is talking to dante pilgrim in this now
• Belacqua represents a figure of laziness and apathy, highlighting themes of inaction and missed opportunities in Dante's narrative.
• This conversation reflects the ongoing dialogue between the poet and the pilgrim, illustrating the dynamic relationship and inner conflict that Dante experiences throughout his journey.
Class Notes
Ante Purgatory
● Everyone who reaches the shore of purgatory reaches heaven
● Purgatory is the one realm that is temporary, a place on earth and regulated by time/ sun
● Every soul on the mountain of purgatory is on a different journey and has a different length of time
● All souls must make the same pilgrimage up the mountain
● Terraced mountain which has ledges
○ Everyone making the same journey
○ These people are considered late repentance
● Cato of Utica is a suicide and is the first person they see
○ How does he repent? Quite impossible to repent after this?
○ Hes a pagan, a follower of stoicism: form of heresy
○ Have also seen roman republicans (cassius and brutus) in satans mouth
○ This guy wasnt stabbing julius cesar but he was allied of them, committed suicide when he heard of the rise of ceasar
■ Dante is saying something about his intent
■ Cato is saying about sin
■ How is it good by choosing good and virtue that you’re free?
○ Considers it shocking to choose Cato of Utica, especially seeing cassius and
brutus
● Dante lost his belt fishing for geryon and virgil tossed his belt into the abyss
● He has been ungirt
● Cato talks about his background, he gave his wife away to his friend then when he died, he took her back
○ Talks about how Marsha can no longer influence him
○ Where did he come forth from?
■ Saw catos wife in Limbo
■ Got to the shore from the harrowing of hell
■ Cato is a guardian
Canto 2
● Arrival of new souls
○ One angel who powers a boat, uses his wings like oats brings them to the shore
○ Got on the boat at the mouth of the Tiber river at Rome, everyone after death
goes to a river
● If you’re damned you go to the Anarharon where Charon takes you across the river
● Souls are singing a song and how moses leads the israelites out of slavery
● If people who are alive in gods grace pay fort those in purgatory can shorten the time
they are there before going to heaven
● Why cant dante hug the one person but can ride virgil like a sled
○ They were focusing on the body but now are focusing more on the spirt
● Casella is a composer and a man, but during dante’s lifetime he put his lyric poetry to music
Canto 3
● Dedicated to the excommunicated (being kicked out of the church)
○ Excluding them from the sheetfold
○ These are the sheep that had been excluded from the church from their lives, all together in their own sheepfold
○ They need to spend 30 times amount the times they were excommunicated
● Manfred was a heretic, was excommunicated twice
○ Twice which was a lot then had to be be forgivern my the pope
○ Body was disinterred
○ The church doesnt gave the last word, it will take manfred a long time before he can get into the gate of purgatory but will eventually will make it to heaven
○ 30:1 ratio
Canto 4
● Buoncula put off repence until the last moment
● Has to spend the amount of time that they put off repenting they must wait in anti
purgatory
○ 1:1 ratio vs the excommunicated
● Mountain is strange compared to other mountains
● The mountain gets easier to climb as you go up, you are repenting and relieving of your sins
● Late repentance who meet violent deaths
○ Buoncalte - son of guido de mantefalcro
● One more group after the valley of the princes
○ Tell why they are even more excused than the other ones of late repentance
○ Speaking of sin
● Animals fo not have a place in dante’s afterlife
● Can a person in a coma can commit sin, no bc they are not aware of making
Canto 5
● The late repents who died befoer they could confess their sins before a priest
○ Something interrupted them in the normal course of their lives
● Jaccobo del cassero
● Son of guido de maldefalcro
○ Who is guido
■ The military strategist and then at the end of his life
○ Who comes for guido
■ Saint frances himself and a black devil and they debate weather this guy
is going to heaven or hell
■ The the devil wins
○ Difference?
■ His son had true repentance when his son didn't
■ The father didnt worry about making himself truely okay with god
■ Guido falls and sees the angel and the devil
● Because of a tiny tear during the moment of death
● Yes because it is sincere and the devil is deprived
● Body never receives proper burial and body was never found
● Issues are why he has to wait outside the gate longer
■ Pia de tolome
■ Who killed her? Her husband
● Deliberty leaves out the word faith
● Husband threw her out a window and claimed she was a suicide
● Domestic violence, accused her of infidelity
■ Ethicacy of prayer
○ How does virgil know the christian faith?
■ Sins of commission and sins of omission
○ Talks about the valley, of princes
■ Gold, silver, emerald, Sparkling luxurious place filled with people who want to talk
■ Another kind of limbo but different, souls are all singing salve regina “hail
holy clean”
○ The serpent that will come along soon, whats gonna happen
■ Angels protect those in the valley
■ Every night in the valley this happens
■ Serpent is temptation of sin
● Dante is scared of it
● Why are they not scared? Because theyre already on their way to
heaven
● dante still fears this unknown
● This is an reenactment, a right
● Whats the idea behind ritual, rituals and repetition is necessary to us and comforting in an ange of anxiety and uncertainty
● Having that ritual/ repetition creates a kind of discipline and practice to lead toward the good
● Ideally what it should do and has its place in ante purgatory
Class 3/18: Review
● 4/4 of anti purgatory
● Here bc they put off in some way putting off the state of their souls before death
● Need to spend 30 times the amt they spent excommunicated unless they receive
prayers from the living
● Second ground: the indolent represented by belacqua
○ indefinitely postpone thinking about the state of their soul
○ Lazy and indolent
● Third: those who meant violent ends
○ folks who are not as serious as the others bc they were thinking about their
soul but was just interrupted by the violence of others
○ Pia
● Final area: valley of the princes
○ Duties during life that keep them from focusing on the state of their own sou
○ Duties like ruling a city state or a country
○ These mean they cannot devote enough time and energy to thinking about the
state of their souls
● To get to purgatory’s gate he is kinda like depicting thats how you get saved
○ Only a gate in hell and this gate
● Angel thats at the gate has two keys
○ Also has a sword
○ He says better to let in more and be wrong than to not let in enough and be
wrong ( airs on the side of generosity)
○ 7 ps on dante's forehead
■ Dante is going to need to have one P erase before he ascends to the next terrace
Canto 10
● First one is dedicated to pride from the capital sins
○ How do al other sins have something to do with pride
○ All other sins can be justified by pride
○ Satan is the worst, sins by pride thinking himself greater than God
● How are pennances different from contrapassos
○ Just primary, contrapassos are permanent
○ Another important difference all of these are voluntary
● All proud people always look up, snooty
○ Here they voluntarily take ona penance that is a spiritual disiciple aiming to
correct how they were in life
■ Basically a reversal and sometimes is symbolic
○ Also beating their chest which was done in latin mass and means ‘my fault’
■ A self accusation and taking on the responsibility by owning up to what
you have done by making amends
● First terrace, expansion of the lords prayer
○ Moment of great humility, act of bearing jesus
○ Emperor trajan line 76
○ Arrive on the terrace, encounter good examples and souls doing penance
○ Also see anti examples/ bad examples of pride
● He will then have a P erased and him and virgil will go onto the next terrace
○ A virtuous life is a simple life dedicated to where you really want to go
● They’re climbing up to the walls and seeing a representation of the virgin mary
● Whos art?
○ What is gods other art?all of creation, nature/ the world
○ Whats weird about it
● What is the cocoon phase?
○ Life is caterpillar
○ Cocoon is the death of our earthly life
○ Butterfly is repentance
● Jesus tells them to pray he writes a longer version and writes it in terraria
○ Not hes correcting how jesus tells us to pray in the bible
○ No coincidence we are getting this on the terrace of pride
● Pride in art, pride in politics
● An acrostic 12.23-63
○ First word of each terze
○ Vedea o mostrada
○ Word play means uomo- man doing a very elaborate word game to show that
pride is in all of man
● Angel moves his wing and the P is erased of pride
Canto 15
● Erasing another P from dantes forehead
● Another singing
● Dante is going to come back to what hes focused on
● The more thatpoeple bring light to a situation the more everybody enjoys and evertone benefits
● At 82, we are on the next ledge, seing the opposite virtue to the sin punished on the third terrace
○ “Meekness’ here the punishment is for wrath/ anger
○ All good example of meekness, not carved, not voices, how does dante
experiences these
○ Ecstatic visions, experiences them himself and goes into a sort of trance
● Onto the third terrace: offers the pennance for wrath
○ Very dense smoke, only way for them to stay together is for them to talk
○ Walking on a very narrow walkway
○ Does he attribute wrath to himself, hes using virgil to walk through but now he’s getting the full effect of the smoke from wrath
● He learns thatr wrath is the purpose for penance
○ Marco lombardo- representative sinner for wrath
○ Dont know too much about him today- from lombardi
○ What does he tell them? Too many take their free will for granted
○ Marco reacts in anger then pulls back
● Cant move upward once the suns sets
○ Need the God’s light to guide them upward
● Virgil is going to tell dante about how the place is organized, it’s organized according to
● Each circle of hell represents a different type of sin, with the severity of punishment increasing as one descends deeper. love
○ He describes pride, envy and wrath
○ Next one is having deficient love
○ Then the other three you’ll have to see
○ These sins are examined through the lens of Dante's philosophical and theological perspective, illustrating how deficient love manifests in various forms.
Canto 21
Passage read on easter sunday
First time where Christ is mentioned
Dante and virgil are playing the disciples
Who is playing the role of Jesus? Stashus
He has no more sin to purge so hes going to heaven
Now they are going to have a third wheel, he is not a guide until virgil hands him over to beatrice-
They want to know wy the mountain shook, not jus the people around status which is everyone on the mountain doing this and they all know someone is going to heaven during this
The mountain trembles when some soul feels itself cleanse, the souls himself determine to rise??
Even though we wish we were in heaven already some force, Gods justice keeps us cleansing and keeps us down until something almost magical happens
Realize we’ve made up for all those things that we’ve done
the guy Status says he has been there for 500 years
Virgil asks who r u
He was a poet and his name endures long beyond his life, but not yet with faith
Dante tells him that virgil is there to status and he embraces status’s ankles
Both kinds of money sins are doing penance, same thing with the rolling boulders on the
same circle of hell, same terrace of purgatory
Thus, in these early chapters, Dante introduces the concept of contrapasso, where the punishment reflects the sin itself, illustrating the moral order of the universe. He emphasizes that those who hoarded or squandered wealth are condemned to push heavy weights, symbolizing the burden of their earthly misdeeds.
Stachus
Virigil asks another question, he says in 61 what son or what candles dispelled your darkness so you can follow the fisherman, what inspired you to become a Christian? His answer is “you, virigil”
Saying hes a poet because of his
You led the way toward God, you cant see where you are going but you instruct persons coming after you - from Virgils 4th epologie
Did Virgil intend this when he wrote his statement??
No he was writing BC, hes talking about a Roman Empire but Stachus thinks its about God
Had evidence this guy died a Pagan but dante rewrites his story and says that
Lots of misunderstanding in this area, very important that stachus attributes that hes a poet and that hes a Christian to Virgils words to virgil
He spent 400 years on the terrace below
Example of going to see someone late on purgatory who is in more than one place
Shows how everyone is there for different times, so where was he the rest
of the time? Probably spent time in antipurgatory and perhaps other
places along the way. No more penance and he is not walking toward the
earthly paradise with Virgil
Theres a christmas tree but growing outward/ upward so that the gluttons cant reach the fruit
Canto 28-
Almost as if we are starting again, in the ancient wood
Two rivers here that have leathy and the aionea rivers
Not like spring creeks
leafy-The waters take away the guilt associated with the associated sins
Aionoea restores the memory of good deeds about the direction of good deeds
One soul inot going is virgil
Whole procession that is happening on the otherside of this river, a gryphon is pulling a roman triumphal chariot
Who is on this chariot, veiled beatrice all covered up then people near the wheels
Telling symbolically is telling the history of the church up until the carnation of when jesus took the flesh pf man and thats where the chariot stops
All the books o the bible, represents jesus in his two natures
Represents the tribulations that the church has suffered after jesus
Last glimpse of virgil happens, he is watching the procession with his mouth open
Canto 30
Procession has stopped directly across the stream of leafy
Dante is describing what he sees across the river
He felt the ancient form of love
We know virgil goes back to limbo
First name dantes uses his name, in an informal and personal way
Her first word to him is his name
He creates her as a stronger version of himself to make himself better
Why isnt beatrice in hell? The blessed are beyond sin
She then says stop crying already lmao
“Nature didnt create anything more beautiful than me”
Shes not being boastful or mean she is being truthful and she has every reason to act this way
People are asking her why she is “provoking” him
She explains herself and he has to confess before he enters into the heavenly paradise
She has to find a way to make him own up to it
One thing he HAS to do since she brought him bassially the rest of the
way
He’s on the verge of becoming a weed
Canto 31
opens with Her asking him “say true” and hes able to say yes
Beatrice talks about that losing her mortality should have made her more beautiful to him but he didnt really get it
Basically mocks him and is like you have a beard and says stop pretending that you dont know this/ stop making excuses-
Hes gonna see beatrice doing what?
Dante is recogonizing that he knows jesus through her, her beauty, her virtue and her love is something he should look through
Then matilda is dragging him through the water with statius
Dante knows hes playing with very serious stuff and he has an idol of jesus in beatrice’s eyes
She's losing her veil at the end of this canto and its a revelation
Its highly erotocied
Dante is gonna try to communicate to her and she speaks right over him
Will see other examples in paradise,
Beatrice says you will have to talk about what you have seen, statuius still around until the very end
Final line of purgatory ends with word stars. Again gazing up towards the stars
Hybrid griffin - hypostatic union of man and god in one (Theological term)