Once again I’ve chosen to transform my interpretation of Dante
Alighieri’s words into a digital collage. I’ve included a list of some of the
quotes from which I drew inspiration, and the stuffs I’ve bolded are elements that you’ll be able to find in my image.
There are other things that
I have included that aren’t necessarily ‘spelled out’ in Dante Alighieri's writing, so below
I have said a bit about why I chose to incorporate them into the collage.
·
Circle two – lust
o “The infernal whirlwind,
which never rests, drives the spirits before its violence; turning and
striking, it tortures them” (5.31-33).
o Minos: “He girds himself with his tail as many times as the levels he
wills the soul to be sent down” (5.10-12).
o Book of Lancelot and Guinevere: reading the story of the two lovers
is what leads to Francesca and Paolo landing in Inferno; in class we talked
about the book’s role as a ‘mediator’
o Spiral staircase: when reading about the souls being sent down by
Minos to the different circles, I imagine them swirling through an invisible
winding staircase
·
Circle three – gluttony
o “I am in the third circle, with the eternal, cursed, cold, and heavy rain… great hailstones, filthy water and snow
pour down through the dark air; the earth stinks
that receives them” (6.7-8, 10-12).
o Cerberus: “Cruel, monstrous beast, with three throats barks doglike… his eyes are red, his beard greasy and
black, his belly large, and his hands have talons… the great worm” (6.13-14,
16-17, 22).
o Sandow Birk’s painting: I wanted to pay homage to the artist who so
kindly visited us, so I stuck in his painting Gluttony (which is one of my favorites of his, although I seem to
like every single one…)
·
Circle four – avarice and
prodigality
o “Here I saw people more numerous than before, on one side and the
other, with great cries rolling weights
by the force of their chests (7.25-27).
o Plutus: “Swollen face”; “cursed wolf” (7.7-8).
o Wheel of fortune: no matter how much you try, you cannot alter the
course of things; we may not understand her logic, but God created Fortune as
an ‘angelic intelligence’ (professor Stocchi-Perucchio)
o One-hundred dollar bills: to represent the reckless spending of
money (or other resources), or the greed for wealth
·
Circle five – wrath and
sullenness
o “They kept striking each
other, and not only with hands, but with head and breast and feet, tearing
each other apart with their teeth,
piece by piece” (7.112-114).
o “Under the water are people who are sighing, making the water bubble at the surface” (7.118-119).
o Phlegyas: (reluctantly) ferries Dante and Virgil across the River Styx
·
Circle six – heresy
o “Tombs variegate the
place… among the tombs flames were
scattered, by which they were so entirely fired that no art asks for iron that
is hotter” (8.115, 118-120).
o Furies: “stained with blood…
the limbs and gestures of women… bright
green water snakes; little asps and horned serpents they had for hair
(8.38-41).
Your pictures are REALLY cool! You should think about compiling them, along with captions for each one, and submitting them for publication in one of the University journals/art exhibits (or something like that)!
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