Dante's Inferno film (1935)

This film was loosely based on Dante's original work. Harry Lachman directed this black and white picture in 1937, and actor Spencer Tracey stars in it. It is about a man named Jim Carter who has recently taken over a fairground show that illustrated scenes from Dante's Inferno. After bribing an inspector to pass the ride despite dangerous malfunctions,  a fatal accident occurs on the ride. Carter is haunted by a scene of hell. This 10 minute sequence is the highlight of the movie, and the most relevant to our course. It depicts the boatman, the marching souls of the ante chamber, as well a what appears to be a vague writhing pit of souls. The most moving scene for me personally was that of the souls in individual pits that were smoking. I can only assume these are the blasphemous, and they are the most clear figures of the 10 minute scene. Lachman's choice to have the tombs closing on the souls entrapped in them was an interesting choice. In the original work the lids were not to be closed until the Last Judgement occurred, but it made a powerful scene to see the souls trying to hold the lids of their tombs open. The suicides were also visually intense. The people were fused together to create huge trees, but you could still see the individual souls writhing in agony. The significant differences I think were the scenes of souls enchained to the ground, and the souls pushing/falling off of cliffs. Lachman is a also a post-impressionist artist, and this shines through in his film. If anything the Inferno scene is worth watching, but the entire movie was an interesting use of the work for a (semi) modern interpretation.


The entire film is on youtube at this link
Dante's Inferno film (1935)

The Scene of his interpretation of Inferno is at this link
10 minute Scene of Hell

Dante represented by Auguste Rodin as "The Thinker"

http://rodin-web.org/works/1880_thinker.htm

          Auguste Rodin, a French artist and sculptor (1840-1917) presented the world with his Dante- inspired masterpiece, known as the “Gates of Hell” or “Rodin’s Gates.” However, immediately after the presentation of the piece, the central figure, or as it is known, the Thinker, acquired much attention, even before it was finished. The figure’s body language further involves the reader into much thought about the representation of the Divine Comedy in the piece. With the figure seated on a rock, and appearing in deep, "pensive thought," one can easily make out the elements of Inferno through the body language. "The body, twisted in tension is overwhelmed with the conditions of Inferno. The toes are twisted as to perhaps a response to such aforementioned conditions. And whereas, one arm is supporting the pensive head, the other is as free as could be – perhaps to grasp the degree of the reality depicted by the vivid imagery of Inferno." The figure, it is said was meant to stand out from the rest of "The gates of Hell," because Rodin wanted to emphasize on the creator of such  an exceptional piece of work.

         Though it was originally exhibited in an exhibit in Copenhagen in 1888, "The Thinker was thought to represent Dante, as a person." Many comparisons were made between the two – "as Dante too, used to sit on a rock in Florence called Sasso di Dante." However, later on it was inferred that the piece held a deeper meaning. It was representing the themes of the Divine Comedy rather than representing "a personal connection to Dante." The figure's facial features, which include the arching of the brows, followed by the flared nostrils lead one to believe that the figure is indeed upset. After focusing on what indeed causes such upset, one needs to look no further than the text of Inferno itself.  The punishments of the souls, the harshness of the punishment, the cruel surroundings of inferno, can all be seen to have caused such facial expressions of the Thinker. Perhaps Rodin was trying to include the frustration that Dante felt, by establishing personal connections with the souls and certain themes of Inferno, for example, Dante's connection with Francesca and Paola and their story can easily be seen in Canto IV. Furthermore, Dante's frustrations with the souls of the Heretics' circle and and other political individuals in inferno may also reflect on the facial expressions of the Thinker. The deep meaning of the Thinker is what intrigues most people. Rodin’s ability to represent multiple themes, sentiments, imagery and symbolism in one piece is what is enthralling to most people. "The Thinker’s elevated position and broad shoulders give the viewer a powerful appearance," which only enhances the overall appearance of the piece.

         Consequently, Rodin’s “Gates of Hell” are a beautiful depiction of Dante’s Divine Comedy, with many elements of the gate reflecting directly upon the sin and punishments. The sinners’ feelings and their pain are perfectly demonstrated by Rodin and the nine circles of hell are beautifully sculpted with much detail. Furthermore, the depiction of Dante in the Thinker is simply stunning. The figure represents not only Dante as an individual, but also his works of the Divine Comedy, by further representing the themes of the Inferno, Purgatorio and the Paradiso, demonstrated by the the body language of the figure. 

iDante - the iphone/ipad app

iDante, by Carraro multimedia, is an app available for purchase on the iTunes store for the iPhone or the iPad; additionally it is available as a Touch eBook. It is designed to aid in enhancing the reading of the literary text by providing interactive images, 3 dimensional and multimedia content. Even the most avid Dante enthusiasts stand to gain a new experience from this application, as verses and imagery combine in a "new illuminated cartoon digital codex" which aids in making the individual episodes and the characters in The Divine Comedy easier to interpret and understand.

The primary seventy episodes of Dante's journey through Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso are thoroughly illustrated with 500 colorized images drawn by Gustave Dore which are accompanied by original tercets and versus. Additionally, iDante provides a 3D map/model of Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise which aid in the understanding of the geography of the circles, terraces and celestial spheres. Users are able to visit these locations and observe 360 degree panoramic reconstructions of such scenes, as can be observed in the following link which gives a brief demonstration of some of the applications of iDante. This is the introductory graphics video for the application: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHA0y4KPFM8

The main contents (some of which have already been described) of the application, according to the iTunes store include: full text of Dante Alighieri's poem in English and the original Italian version, full indices for the 100 cantos, over 500 colorized images, the 70 main episodes of Dante's story illustrated b cartoon illuminations, a 3D model of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, 360 degree panoramic reconstructions and an introductory graphics video (see above link).

Here we can see the app being used on an iPhone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJJCryJSc-E
It essentially acts as a book, with illustrations, on steroids, as now, the reader of the text is able to move around within the images of the story. They are able to interact with and explore the environment that Dante so vividly describes. The application, quite literally takes you into Dante's world. The application will notify the reader when an interactive feature, that illustrates or helps explain the current scene that the reader is reading about, such as a 3 dimensional image, or a map is available.

Dante and Existentialism

Many themes ideas from Dante’s Divine Comedies found their way into the existentialist movement of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. A large part of these common themes have to do with human freedom. Søren Kirkegaard, one of the first major forces in existentialism, hypothesized that we are all free and have the capacity to determine our own lives. Dante was an earlier proponent of this idea, most notably at the end of The Inferno, when he distinctly described the devil as being powerless and weak, thus putting the responsibility for human sin on the individual. The idea of an authentic existence was also very important to both Dante and the existentialists. Dante conveyed the need for authenticity when he depicted his former teacher, Brunetto Latini, who wrote his works to attain fame and recognition rather than seek truth or enlightenment. Existentialists believed the world was bleak, and personal choice was all we had to create a meaningful life. That is why existentialists taught that we should always question our choices and make sure we are being true to ourselves.

Kirkegaard

            In the 20^th century, the existential themes that developed more closely paralleled Dante’s Purgatorio, where souls must struggle to find direction and meaning. Jean-Paul Sartre described this struggle as “Vertigo”, where one gets overwhelmed by all of the possibilities before him. Dante’s purgatory is a place where there is no clear path to salvation, only a constant, exhausting trek up the mountain. The souls in Purgatory must find enlightenment for themselves, and the choices they make there will affect whether they get into heaven.

            Despite having so much in common, existentialism and Dante break away completely when it comes to spirituality. Existentialists believed that there is no god, or if there is, he has no interest in the concerns of the human world. They also believed that life on earth had no inherent meaning, and humans are taxed with the burden of creating their own meaning for life. Dante, however, was a devout Catholic. He believed that humans were on earth to carry out God’s will and unlike the existentialists, who believed there are no moral absolutes, Dante most certainly believed there was a right way and a wrong way to do things.  These differences are striking, but it’s clear that Dante faced the same issues as the later Existential thinkers, coming to some of the same conclusions. Both came to realize the importance of human choices, and how they affect our spirit. Dante had his own existential crisis, but he experienced it through the scope of his Christian faith.

Molding Dante into Reasoning

As we were talking in class, Dante's writing have been read and analyzed for such a long time that it has been influential in multiple concepts and theories. People throughout time have either referenced Dante or used his writings as a model to base their ideas on. References to Dante go from Milton and Chaucer to Marx and Mussolini to further his fascist regime. This is important especially in this day and age where most of us see fascism as an evil political system and might find it hard to believe an association between such a beloved text and a hated system exists.

Karl Marx uses Dante's words from Purgatorio to end his Das Kapital book in which he criticizes the political economy. The preface ends with Dante's words "follow your own road, and let the people talk." This kind of reference is extended as the fascist regime gained power and Mussolini was attempting to give Italy a nationalistic identity, something that Dante was seriously concerned about. As we read in canto 6 of Purgatorio, Dante goes on a rant against Italy and how separated each city had become. Dante hates that Italian cities cannot get along together or stay together as they use to during the Empire. While Sordello and Virgil embrace at the simple mention of their common city, Italians are constantly at each others' throats or blocked off by their walls or moats. Although a lack of a true leader concerns Dante as he blames Italy for having an empty saddle, it is hard to imagine that Dante would have ever thought that Mussolini and a fascist regime would be the appropriate government.

We won't know if fascism was the government that Dante was imagining but that did not stop Mussolini from using Dante's works to further his cause. In an attempt to show everything great about Italy and enhance their reputation abroad, Mussolini even had a building planned to be constructed named the Danteum. It was supposed to be built in Rome which Dante would obviously have approved of since he viewed Rome as the center of the Empire from which a strong government should control and lead the nation. The Danteum would have been quite an amazing structure as it would be built to recreate Dante's journey from the woods, to Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Although it was never built, this structure would have been quite a statement, especially because it was ordered by the fascist government. Dante desired a strong government and his constant speeches about the lack of a strong leader led to the fascist government to use him as a bedrock for this structure that was supposed to symbolize the strong government of the fascist regime.

While the fascist regime used Dante's work as a support for their unification of the state, other people used it to fight against such powerful regimes. Primo Levi, an Italian Jew who spent a year in Auschwitz, wrote a book about his experience called If This Is a Man, and in his book he names one of his chapters Canto of Ulysses. In this chapter he talks about how he struggled to remain a man in Auschwitz and he used Dante as his way or remaining a man. Even though he feared remembering Dante because it would bring back memories of home and life prior to Auschwitz, he realizes that it is a necessary sacrifice. This reminds us of how Ugolino and Francesca both talk about how painful it is to recall their stories because they have to think about the happy things they now miss in their situations. For Primo Levi, remembering Dante is his way to coping with, and survive the fires of the crematorium which he compares to the fires of Hell in Dante's Inferno.

As we see with these example, Dante's writings have so much information, and tackle so much in society, that it is easy to manipulate his writing to fit whatever agenda someone has, whether is be Marx for his book, Mussolini for his government, or Levi for his survival. Dante's Divine Comedy has been and will continue to be used and interpreted however people find the need to accomplish their goals.

The Ferrymen

      When I read Canto 2 of Purgatorio, I couldn't help but notice the starking contrast between the Angel and the souls he carries, and Charon and Phlygeas of Inferno and the souls they carried. Despite the fact that all three are ferryman, the Angel is kind and bright, whereas Charon and Phlygeas were angry, and in the blackness of Hell.
      Charon shouts out Virgil and Dante: "woe to you, wicked wouls!"and Virgil tells him to stop torturing himself with anger, because he will have to ferry them across whether he wants to or not - it is the divine will (3.83-84). The souls he transports wail, gnash their teeth, and curse God, their parents and the human race, among other things.
      Phlygeas, just like Charon, tells Dante "now you are caught, wicked soul!" And again, Virgil must tell him to contain his anger, because he will need to transport them across the river (8.18). As they are ferried, they come across souls in the muck, such as Filippo Argenti, whom the others soul tear apart with their teeth.
      The Angel, completely unlike Charon and Phlygeas, emits a light so bright that Dante is blinded by it. In addition to his beauty, he is kind: he blesses the souls before the de-board the boat, making the sign of the cross over them. The souls transported by the Angel are also very different from the souls carried by Charon and those Dante and Virgil see while they're with Phlygeas: rather than shouting profanities in "strange languages, horrible tongues," they sing a song (3.25).
     I decided to represent the strong contrast I found between the different ferrymen in my collage, also because I loved the beautiful imagery in Canto 2 of Purgatorio. The light orange sky, the shining light, and the sparkling sea.

Dore and the Celestial Pilot

The Celestial Pilot

This is a moment in Canto 2 in which the angelic boat carrying the souls to the shores of Purgatory arrives at the spot where Dante and Virgil are conversing. One can see the rushes in the foreground that Dante used to make a belt and that grew back once he plucked them; "for as he plucked the humble plant, it was suddenly reborn, identical, where he had uprooted it." (1:134-137).  Thus, the plant itself is a symbol of the rebirth of the soul that takes place through the climbing of the mountain of Purgatory.  I believe Dore adds the plant in the piece as a contrast to the humility of the angel and the symbolic rebirth of the souls arriving on the shore of Purgatory. 

In Dore's image, Dante is kneeling because Virgil has told him to; "See, see that you bend your knee. Behold the angel of God..."(2:28-29).  Yet, Virgil is not kneeling.  This, I think, is because Virgil is a pagan and does not know Christian teaching, so Dore may have believed that Virgil would not feel obligated to do so even though he knows Dante, as a Christian, should.  Since he is in Limbo, Virgil might not feel that he can receive God's salvation and thus does not kneel before the angel.  

The image is lit from behind the angel, giving the feeling of a glowing light that comes from the angel himself.  This fits with Dante's description of the angel as "a light coming across the see so rapidly that no flight equals its motion" (2:16-18).  The angel in the picture is the brightest figure, emphasizing the light of God it represents.  The brightness of the angelic oarsmen is in strong contrast to its Inferno counterpart, Charon who is described as cursed and dark with demonic red eyes. The angel and Charon are opposites.  The angel is light and needs no oars but his wings to ferry the boat. Charon must use oars and is described as dark and demonic with red eyes.  Yet, both act as ferrymen in the afterlife.  These characters emphasize the inter cantica that Dante sets up.

Dante and Virgil are the darkest figures in the picture, this, I believe, Dore did this to emphasize the long journey that Dante must continue on in order to become blessed and full of light and that at this moment, he is still far from that light.  Virgil, being a soul of Limbo, cannot reach that light and will remain dark. In Canto 2, it takes Virgil a few moments before he recognizes the oarsmen as an angel.  This is evident of Virgil’s limited knowledge of salvation, having been born before Christ.  This fact has been alluded to several times before including at the Gate of Dis with Virgil’s truncated language, and lacking description of the circle of Heresy. All are due to his lack of Christian understanding.  I imagine this lack of knowledge will become more and more evident as the two ascend toward Heaven and ultimately Dante’s knowledge will overcome Virgil’s and he will no longer be needed or sufficient as a guide.

The angel's wings in Dore's image are large and pointed straight and upward towards the heavens.  This is as Dante describes them: "see how he has them [the wings] stretched toward the sky, beating the air with his eternal feathers."  The wings point toward Heaven, of course, because the angel is a blessed creature.  This again brings forward the symbols of God's light and knowledge.

What strikes me most about the angel is the placement of its body.  The hands are out and down at the sides and the head is forward but slightly tilted.  It appears as though his body is emerging from the front of the boat.  This invokes the image of the passion of the Christ, to me. I believe Dore set up the angel this way to show the angel as a representation of God's justice and humility. This is fitting as Dante says "Then he made the sign to the of the holy cross...and he went away as quickly as he had come" (2:49-50).  The angel in the position of the humble Christ fits well with Dante's description because despite its beauty and awe, the angel simply ferries the people to shore and offers them the sign of the cross without boasting or parading about.  It moves quickly and quietly through its duties and immediately returns for more souls once the current load is on the shore.  The angel is humble and dutiful in this manner and is symbolic of the type of leadership that Christ presented and that Dante longs for.

The Divine Comedy Adapted for Technology

Links:

Guiseppe Mazzotta's Lectures

iDante for the iPad

The Inferno iPhone Game

The culture today is much different than the culture of Dante’s time.  Because tablet computers, smart phones, and iPods have become very popular in the last few years, classical stories have been adapted for this technology.  There are numerous eBook versions of The Divine Comedy that we can download instead of buying the physical book.  There are also audiobooks that we can listen to instead of actually reading the story.  On iTunes, I found a series of free lectures, which can either be watched or listened to, by a professor from Yale University, Giuseppe Mazzotta.  These lectures discuss The Divine Comedy and Dante’s other books and are a good resource for a student studying The Divine Comedy.  The Divine Comedy has also inspired computer games for iPads and iPhones.

Anyone who likes The Divine Comedy and the iPad will love this app.  It is called iDante for the iPad.  This app was designed in order to give readers a more in-depth understanding of The Divine Comedy.  iDante for the iPad includes the un-abridged version of The Divine Comedy, in both Italian and English, combined with more than 500 pictures (including Dore’s prints).  iDante for the iPad is not just an illustrated eBook.  It is almost like a game.  The most important places that Dante visits in The Divine Comedy can be explored by the reader by turning the picture 360°.  There are 3D diagrams illustrating Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven so the reader can get a better idea of their designs. 

Scene from iDante for the iPad:

 

I also found a game for iPhones called The Inferno, based on The Divine Comedy.  In this game, Dante needs to successfully make his way through 121 levels.  However, the goal of the game is very different than the goal of Dante’s journey in The Divine Comedy.  In The Divine Comedy, Dante is making his way through Hell and Purgatory in order to get to Beatrice, who is Heaven, and, more importantly, in order to learn to reject sin.  In The Inferno the game, Dante is making his way through Hell in order to save Beatrice from being sent to Hell for committing adultery with Dante.  Another difference between the game and the original story is that in the game, Dante actually meets Medusa.  In the poem, on the other hand, Medusa is only mentioned.  In Canto IX, the Furies wish that Medusa would come and turn Dante into stone.

Scene from The Inferno:

It is truly amazing how culture and technology have developed since Dante’s time and how The Divine Comedy has changed with this development.  The two apps that I mentioned look like a lot of fun.  The first one will help a student in understanding the The Divine Comedy, while the second app is a fun game to play while taking a break from studying The Divine Comedy!

The Tragedy of Count Ugolino

                For me, one of the most memorable scenes of Inferno has to be Count Ugolino relating the story of his and his sons’ deaths to the pilgrim. The scene is notable for its tragic conclusion and the injustice the young boys find themselves in. Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux captures all of the emotion of the scene perfectly in his sculpture “Ugolino and His Sons.”

                The sculptor accurately shows the differing emotions between Ugolino and his sons. The pain and sadness is clearly visible across the three sons who are still alive. The fourth has already perished at the feet of his father. Ugolino’s emotions, on the other hand, can only be described as anger. Carpeaux picks up on the moment where Ugolino’s anger peaks and he has no words for his terrified children. He is only able to gnaw at his hands, angry at himself and the man responsible for this injustice, Archbishop Ruggieri. Gnawing on his hands takes on different meanings later on, as it seems that Ugolino may continue these cannibalistic tendencies by eating his children and does continue this animalistic meal by biting at his enemy’s head in the afterlife. Also, I believe this sculpture’s depiction of Ugolino’s anger relates to another scene of the Comedy. In the circle of sinners who were violent against God we meet Capaneus. Part of his punishment stemmed from the anger he had in life, which was then carried over to his eternity to be spent in Hell. I think this directly relates to Ugolino as well. Part of his punishment in Hell is this anger that consumes his whole being, never letting him rest in his hope for revenge against Ruggieri. One of the notes in the text tell us that the Ugolino's children were not actually as young as they appear to be in the poem or the artwork. Yet it is this youth, and their supposed purity and innocence stemming from their youth, that makes this an even more heinous crime for Ruggieri.

             This piece is very emotional and succeeds in bringing about the same feelings that the original text conjures up in the audience. While Ugolino may have been a sinner in this life, one cannot help but pity his innocent children and even Ugolino himself, clearly furious for the imminent death of his sons. 

The Saw movies and Dante?

So, I've only actually seen Saw II, and the beginning of Saw III, but I was  thinking about it, and they seem kind of reminiscent of Dante's Inferno. At least, Saw II seems that way. The whole concept that these people didn't appreciate their lives and do good with them reminded me of the Inferno, where the souls who in life had not lived without sin had to be punished.

So here's the basic synopsis of Saw II:   Link
A message was left at one of Jigsaw's crime scenes, for detective Mathews. Mathews and a SWAT team find the Jigsaw Killer, John, in a factory of some kind, where monitors show eight new people stuck in one of John's games, in an abandoned house. Among these eight people are Mathews' son, Daniel, and Amanda, the only known survivor of John's games. John assures Mathews that if he just stays and talks to John for long enough, he will find his son safe. This proves impossible for Mathews to do, however, even though he initially tried to do as John asked. He attacks John and starts beating him, desperate to get his son back. In the house, the victims have a hard time working together and listening to the rules. In the house, a gas is slowly poisoning them, but there are antidotes throughout the house that they have to find/complete tasks in order to get.

A lot of the tasks the victims must go through remind me of contrapassos. They're not exact, but these people are being punished for something they did/didn't do in real life. The morbidity of it and the various things they must do remind me of Inferno. There are tasks that are designed for each of them to do where they have to face a fear or live up to something shameful in their past. For example, Amanda is forced to search for an antidote in t pit of needles, and she used to be a drug addict. Here's a video:

The whole feel of the Saw universe to me, feels like the Infero. Like people need to face up to/be punished for things the had done. But it's also like a very messed up Purgatory, where they can repent for the things they had done by completing the tasks and facing up to their "demons" which (I believe, but I'm not sure) is what Purgatory is about.

An eerie tree

During the past fortnight I spent a few days in the Adirondack Park.  Part of this trip was spent in front of a wonderful fireplace, while the majority of the trip was spent outside in the woods with the trees.  I'm sure the question running through your head right now is something along the lines of  "Am I looking at the right blog right now?  I thought I'd be reading about Dante! Who is this silly person?"

Rest assured this is the right blog and this is related to Dante.  Specifically to Dante's Inferno, canto XIII, aka the second ring of the 7th circle, aka the forest of the suicides. 

As I was hiking one day we heard a very eerie moan.  We looked around for some kind of loon, or other exotic northern mountain bird, but we didn't see anything.  So then we looked around for some kind of dying  animal.  We didn't really think it was a dying animal, but we didn't see any living animals... so yeah, we looked.  Long story short, a couple of minutes later, lots of pointless looking, and some fervent declarations that it was a. spooky and b.  probably just the wind,  we discovered what it in fact was.  It was a tree.

Naturally having read Dante, I tried to break off a limb... but I was too short to even reach them, let alone break one (I wouldn't make a very good epic heroine, especially since traversing in any world is best not done in heels, and a certain modicum of height is necessary to impose ones force.)   So, since I couldn't break off a limb to gain the trees attention, I knocked on it a few times in the hope that it would talk to me.  But alas, the tree had no warring city state or tale of corruption to relate to me.  It was sad.

I'm sure you've probably figured out by now that the tree was howling due to the previously mentioned wind that was blowing.  It was also almost hollow in its deadness.  So here I am, staring at a howling tree, knowing that I was going to have to have a blog post in a short few days, and the light bulb went off.  (Which was good because it was also just after sunset, and becoming quite dark.)  Anyway, the lighting was just such that the tree would have been photograph-able but still dark, which would have been ideal.  I was really excited, and pulled out my phone to take the picture, only to remember that my phone was dead, and the members of my family that were hiking with me don't like technology and didn't have either a phone or a camera that I could commandeer.

You ask: "What are the pictures of then? "   Excellent question.  The first is a picture of similar trees at the same place, earlier in the day, before my phone betrayed me in death.  The second is a close up of one of those trees, with branches that almost resemble hair, something that seems to be an appropriate analogy to the canto.  The third, is a picture of a forest path in Tuscany, near La Verna.  A sanctuary founded by St Francis.  This is intended to show what kind of trees Dante may have been thinking about while writing.  And finally, the fourth is a very unfocused picture of that same forest in Tuscany, at night.  This is intended to tie the other pictures to the actual canto, and thus complete the chain of trees.  

The Many Faces of Satan

Although most of us have not had the opportunity and hopefully will never have the opportunity of directly seeing Satan in person, there are certain familiar images that immediately come to mind when his name is mentioned. The actual particulars of the image that come to mind will invariably be different from person to person; however, there will more or less exist a common thread that links these mosaic images into a unified tapestry of representation. The fact that there exists such a common thread is not surprising since much of what we think and believe is a product of our common cultural upbringing. The existence of this common thread is fundamentally rooted in what we as a society define evil to be. In general, for obvious reasons, evil is commonly despised and as such associated with the sensations of disgust and fear in all their possible permutations. Thus Satan, who is the ultimate personification of evil, is naturally visualized as repulsive by most people and Dante as well. It is this image of repulsiveness that I had in mind when I began searching for artistic renditions Satan. In my search, I found two artworks that gave two contrasting representations of Satan. The first of the artworks is Gustave Dores’ depiction of Dante’s version of Satan and the second is William Blake’s depiction of John Milton’s version of Satan from his poem Paradise Lost.

 As stated before, I expected there to be differing representations of Satan and so I was not too surprised by the difference itself between the Dore/Dante and the Blake/Milton artworks. However, I was surprised by the magnitude of difference that did exist between the two artworks. In fact, the two artworks differ so much in their representation of Satan that it is almost as if they are depicting two completely separate entities. If one deconstructs the artworks, it becomes evident at how each artwork’s individual components work together to create the difference. For instance, in terms of color choice, the Blake/Milton artwork makes use of bright and vibrant colors while the Dore/Dante artwork uses dark and dull colors. This difference in color choice has the effect of making the Satan in Blake/Milton appear more attractive and lively, and has the opposite effect of making the Satan in Dore/Dante appear more unpleasant and depressive. Additionally, the gapping difference between the two Satan is even further enlarged by their contrasting physical appearance. In the Dore/Dante artwork, Satan is physically repulsive with his beastial form and bat-like wings, while in the Blake/Milton artwork he is physically attractive with his fair appearance and looks like a man.

Moreover, due the great difference between the Dore/Dante and Blake/Milton representations of Satan, it seems that the idea of the unified tapestry of representation described earlier should certainly become undone at the seams. However, it does not become undone since the discrepancy in the representations does not result from any fundamental difference. Although I have not properly read Milton’s Paradise Lost, I think it is reasonable to assume that he was in no way seeking to advocate the goodness of evil. Rather, I think what he was attempting to do, as presented by Blake, was to emphasize the complexity of the personified Satan as a literary character.

Overall, I think the difference between the two representations help highlight two possible responses to the concept of Satan.  The most common type of response is the emotive response that relies on the immediate sensations of disgust and fear that we instinctively associate with the evil of Satan. The Dore/Dante artwork is closer to this type of response. Another type of response is the intellective response that is more developed and capable of dealing with the consequences of evil personified despite the apparent contradictions.

 

Dante in Anime

There was already a post about this topic, but the show is a favorite of mine so I decided to also blog about it. Full Metal Alchemist is an anime series that first broadcast in America in 2003. One of the major influences of the Divine Comedy in the show is the use of sins for symbolism in the show. The followers of the main antagonist are each soul-less humans who use code names of the deadly sins to distance themselves from their humanity. There creatures are Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, Greed, Sloth, and Pride. I thought the order of their appearance in the show as important due to the similarity to the order of the circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno. Even more obvious of a connection is the fact that the main antagonist, and leader of the "sins" is named Dante. Dante the pilgram is on the journey through the afterlife fr the sole purpose of find his way back to the righteous path. However the creators of this series seems be immensely corrupt. Dante the woman in fact commits each of the Seven Deadly Sins in her appearances:

"Pride: she has an air of superiority and speaks condescendingly whenever she is surrounded by the Homunculi and sees all those around her as inferior to herself. She feels the thousands of lives lost to the Philosopher's Stone are inconsequential because she was "worth it."

Envy: she showed hints of jealousy when Hohenheim refused her advances saying that Trisha was the only person he loved. Being the first Homunculus and sin created, it's possible that envy was the basis of which other events transpired.

Wrath: she was was quick to punish anyone who failed her or dared interefere—even former lover Hohenheim and her homuculi servants.

Sloth: despite being a very powerful Alchemist, she prefers to use other alchemists to forge the Stone for her and tasks the Homunculi with all the footwork. Also, like the Homunculus it was named after, she maintained a cold demeanour and was aloof to the world and its inhabitants (ironically, she claims to have committed her deeds to help humans from destroying themselves with the stone).

Greed: her plans to gain the Philosopher Stone are out of a selfish act of having her life extended.

Lust: the act of having her soul transferred to other bodies violates her victims. She also takes care in selecting more lascivious bodies to steal (perhaps suggestive of her vanity). Later, while meeting Hohenheim, she licks her own arm, states she hasn't tested out her new body (Lyra's body), suggesting they sleep together. She also makes mention of her plan to take over Rose's body and use it to seduce Edward and "be loved by the son of Hohenheim."

Her desire to have her life extended represents the sin of Gluttony: the sin of having more to the point of waste.

The series has implied that the transgression of Gluttony is Dante's most grievous offense. When she tells Edward that she is no longer human, the Homunculus Gluttony bursts into the room to carry out a scene that reveals him to be more human than she. When she later takes away Gluttony's mind (his last measure of humanity), she serves to transform him into the physical manifestation of her own monstrosity and is ultimately consumed by him. "(http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Dante)

It is this distortion of such a religious and moral story that interested me in the connection between the two. The background for the society they live in is based on alchemy becoming the prominent science in stead of physics and mechanics.  Alchemy which is condemned as worthy of hell is praised in this show as the most profitably and well regarded profession. For entertainment purposes I think that this show is an excellent example of what can be done with the work in our modern time. 

                                                           Dante the FMA character

Main Character: Edward Elric

Satan in Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Inferno

The character of Satan is portrayed quite differently in Milton's Paradise Lost than he is in Dante's Inferno. Where Dante serves to illustrate Satan as a "dumb" being, Milton gives him a personality that attracts the audience and forces them to sympathize, to a certain degree, with him. He also makes him out to be an intellectual who has a purpose and seemingly "just" objective.

Dante makes Satan out to be intellectually inferior by presenting him as being unable to speak because he is chewing on the sinners. This serves to dehumanize Satan and emphasizes the issues of the "levels" (intellectual, animalistic and vegetative) of the soul that we have discussed in class. Satan, in the scene in which Dante sees him chewing on Judas, Brutus and Cassius, appears to be incapable of thought. He is doing a seemingly menial task that provides no such sort of intellectual stimulation. There is an emphasis on chewing, which portrays him in a rather primitive and animalistic fashion; thus leading us to believe that his "soul" is on a lower level than that of Dante's and therefore he is a character that we do not deem worthy of our respect.

Where Dante portrays Satan as an animalistic being with a soul/being that is something less than that of intelligent, Milton sees him as a character worthy of both respect and credibility in regards to intellectual competency. Satan is a complicated hero in Paradise Lost. He is complicated because we recognize that he is clearly a villain and yet we are sympathetic to his cause. Milton's Satan portrays God as being an unfair tyrant, one who deserved to be rebelled against. Now, having been banished to Hell, Satan is wondering what his purpose is. He wonders if God had considered him unusable wouldn't he have just killed him. He feels that since God has granted him his life, that God does have a purpose for him and this bothers him to a certain extent because God sees him as a tool that he can use for his own purposes.

Satan, in Paradise Lost, is the leader of a revolutionary group in Hell that is attempting to overthrow/stop the unfair rule of the "tyrant" God. In this regard we begin to see him as more of a character with which we can sympathize. He is a figure attempting to overthrow a tyrannical ruler who appears to have taken advantage of those who he is ruling.

Send My Regards to Dante

Links: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-84681019/stock-photo-vatican-circa-a-stamp-printed-in-vatican-shows-dante-s-inferno-circa.html

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-89951488/stock-photo-italy-circa-a-stamp-printed-in-italy-is-dedicated-to-the-th-anniversary-of-dante.html

The preceding links are two images of stamps depicting scenes from Dante’s Inferno, created in honor of the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri.  The stamps themselves are Italian, used for postage throughout Italy, and their marked value is measured in lire, the currency that directly preceded the euro in Italy.  The stamps not only show the length of Dante’s legacy, but also the immense important of his work to the Italian people.

The first stamp depicts the scene in Canto I, in which Dante encounters a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf  This is an iconic scene in Inferno as it introduces Dante’s struggles and beliefs pertaining to evil in the world.  Further, this scene, as depicted on a stamp coming from the Vatican, is crucial for Dante to establish his moral stance right from the beginning of the epic.  Consequently, this seems an incredibly appropriate scene for the Vatican to produce, without causing immense controversy with a scene more graphic or debated.  The beasts are clearly depicted with a terrifying stance and Dante is fearful.  The picture, even though it’s small, houses an accurate sentiment of the actual events of the first canto.

The second stamp shows canto X and Farinata, the Florentine who Dante talks with.  He is shown in a stone sepulcher, with another figure, who is Cavalcante.  It is interesting in the way it is depicted because the scene seems a lot less dark than it is described by Dante.  Dante and Vergil are depicted in blue and pink, whereas the shades are depicted naked.  This is a very important scene for the country of Italy altogether, as it features a chronicle of the past and future of Florence at the time of Dante’s writing. It is clear why this was chosen as a stamp image due to this historical importance.

The stamps themselves are not terribly intricate, but at the time of their production, it would have been a fun way to send mail to your friends.  In most countries, stamps signify legal tender, so using Dante’s images represent this level of importance for Italy.

Auguste Rodin: The Gates of Hell

http://rodin-web.org/works/1880_gates.htm

Auguste Rodin, a French artist and sculptor (1840-1917) presented the world with his Dante- inspired masterpiece, known as the “Gates of Hell” or “Rodin’s Gates.” Although, we should take Purgatorio and paradiso into account, the piece is solely based on Inferno, with few elements from Purgatorio and Paradiso. Rodin, being immensely inspired by The Divine Comedy, decided to interpret it and the notion of hell in his views. Rodin was also inspired by 19^th century French authors, and with this specific piece of work, he was inspired by the romantic poems of Charles Baudelaire. In his poems, “Baudelaire had described man as haunted by passions, that both delight and torment him. Desire knows no limit,” he writes, and this theme of uncontrollable desires is clearly seen in Dante’s inferno, and which Rodin demonstrates in his work with such details. Rodin was also inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses, in which the depiction of women is the same as men; they too are indulged by the desires of lust, greed and violence. The gates depict the three furies whom Dante meets in Canto IX, and who “have lost their gruesome appearance and serpent-like hair; they are shown as the lovely maidens who once tried to allure the cunning Odysseus with their seductive songs.”

           

           There are several differences in the Rodin’s depiction of hell and those of Dante’s. For example, whereas in Dante's Inferno, every class of sinners is imprisoned in his specific ring and circle, in the flames of Rodin's 'Gates,' these compartments have been molten down and fused. However, despite the fusion of circles, the sinners stay isolated in their own sin and the punishment.

           

          The gates are divided into two parts: Paolo and Francesca dominate one part, and Ugolino and his sons, the other. We see Francesca sitting on a chair and Paolo sitting next to her, with Francesca’s arms wrapped around Paolo’s neck. One sees this as lovers doomed to be forever locked in each other's embrace though never to slake their passion," a perfect visual contra-passo. On the other side of the gate, we see Ugolino and his sons with a different type of passion. Ugolino is surrounded by his sons and tears run down the sons’ faces and Ugolino is shown as standing still, without any emotions or feelings.

Thus, I believe that Rodin’s Gates are a beautiful depiction of Dante’s Inferno, with many elements of the gate reflecting directly upon the sin and punishments. The sinners’ feelings and their pain are perfectly demonstrated by Rodin and the nine circles of hell are beautifully sculpted with much detail. Thus, Auguste Rodin’s work is simply a beautiful reflection of Dante’s Inferno.

The Pilgrim Meets Cato

                I found Dante’s written and Dore’s engraving of the encounter between the pilgrim and Cato very interesting. In the painting we see the pilgrim on his knees, showing reverence to the guardian of Purgatory. Virgil, on the other hand, remains standing in both depictions of the events. This does not make much sense to me. Virgil is a soul from Limbo. Even though this may not be in the lower reaches of Hell, he is still a pagan outside of God’s kingdom without the opportunity to reach salvation. On top of this, Virgil may be the pilgrim’s guardian, but he is not the guardian of Limbo, just another soul there. Cato is also a pagan, yet he was lifted out of Limbo and has come to hold authority over Purgatory. For these reasons it seems that Virgil should be bowing to show reverence to Cato instead of standing as if he was on equal terms with Cato. In my opinion, the positions could even be switched, with the pilgrim standing and Virgil bowing. This is because the pilgrim is still alive and may return to following the “right” path on his way to salvation. In this respect he has more power, or at least potential, than his guide.

                Another interesting aspect of this engraving is the four-star constellation that is in the middle of the night sky. As can be seen in Dore’s work, the stars are giving off an incredible amount of light; enough to illuminate Cato’s face to appear as bright as the sun and cast shadows from Virgil and the pilgrim. Cato’s shade, however, does not appear to cast a shadow. One may expect the pilgrim to cast a shadow, since he is still living and his flesh is real. But Virgil, a dead soul, is also creating a shadow. It would seem to make more sense if both souls did not cast shadows. This difference may be because Cato holds the four virtues the stars of the constellation represent so fully that not only do they illuminate his face, but shine forth from his entire being so as to never create a shadow. Obviously a shadow is darkness, the opposite of light and in relation to the Comedy, a lack of knowledge or understanding. Virgil and the pilgrim’s shadows then may be seen as these two not possessing these virtues to such an extent as the guardian of Purgatory.

                In both of these regards, Dore’s depiction of the first canto of Purgatory is very interesting. It may be that I am just reading too much into Virgil standing while the pilgrim bows and Virgil’s shadow. But both of these details may be important to fully interpreting Dore’s piece.

Dali's Vision of Satan and the Divine Comedy

After finishing Inferno, one thing that I wanted to know more about was Dante's depiction of Satan. The image of Lucifer as dumb and weeping with three multi-colored heads is one that I had never seen or heard of before. Within this question in mind, I sought out more artistic representations of the Comedy. I found a few scattered images of Satan with three faces, feasting on Judas and the rest. But eventually I stumbled upon a few sites that had Salvador Dali's collection of pieces depicting each canto of the Divine Comedy. The one that seemed most complete (while unfortunately having very small images online) was the CFM Gallery.

The website explains the context for Dali's creation:
"In the early 1950s, shortly before the septecentennial of Dante's birth, Dali was invited by the Italian government to produce a series of illustrations for a deluxe edition of The Divine Comedy to be published by La Libreria dello Stato in Rome. Between 1951 and 1960 Dali created a series of 101 watercolors for the book, which was unhappily never completely realized in its textural form.

"The watercolors were exhibited at the Palazzo Pallavici in Rome. However, the reception of Dali's project in Italy was extremely negative, since it did not seem appropriate for a Spanish (rather than Italian) painter, much less an irreverent Surrealist and sometime fascist sympathizer, to illustrate a commemorative edition of the greatest Italian poet's masterpiece to be published by the State Press."

Despite the negative feedback, Dali eventually completed the project with the help of a French publisher. 

As I mentioned before, Dali made a print for each canto. Of course, the first print I looked for was one depicting Satan. I found one titled "The Devil Logician"  (http://www.cfmgallery.com/Salvador-Dali/pages/Hell/Hell27.htm) but it is not considered a reference to the image of Satan at the end of Inferno. Instead, it is a reference to Canto 27, where Guido da Montefeltro explains how he was tricked by Boniface VIII. Guido describes how Satan stops the angels from taking Guido to heaven and brings him to hell instead, saying "Oh wretched me! how I trembled when he seized me, telling me: 'Perhaps you did not think I was a logician!'" (27.121-3)

The line is considered by translator and editor Durling to be a reference to the inability of the devil to philosophize and his ability to use Aristotelean logic instead, but this doesn't seem very relevant to the picture. Dali's image shows Satan with only one face, eating one sinner that we presume is Judas. There is some kind of large wedge in Satan's head that is similar to the color of the sinner in his mouth, but it is not clear what it is. It also reflects an image of another person. I'm not sure what Dali's intent was with this choice of representation and or why he chose to depict the devil in Canto 27 instead of Canto 34, but nonetheless his art adds more to the vast canon of Dante. I hope to return to Dali's prints as we move into Purgatorio.

Lucifer, Satan, the Devil...

        The ninth circle is one of the cantos that intrigued me the most, perhaps because my image of Hell prior to reading was red, fiery, burning, and Dante chose to represent it in the opposite way. The blocks of ice, the frozen wind - neither are things that I would have imagined being present in Hell.
        In Canto 34, the imagery of Satan was so strong that I couldn't help but choose to represent him in a collage. I tried to stay very true to the text, so I will note below the passages from which I took my information.

• "I saw three faces on his head! One was in front, and that was crimson... the right one seemed between white and yellow; the left was such to see as those who come beyond the cataracts of the Nile" (34.37-39, 43-45.)
• "Beneath each one came out two great wings... their mode was like a bat's; and he was fanning them, so that three winds went out from him" (34.46,49-51.)
• "With six eyes he was weeping, and down three chins dripped the tears and the bloody slobber" (52-54.)

        I also included frost and stars in the background - the frost to represent the ice that abounds in the ninth circle, and how Dante feels "frozen and feeble" upon seeing Lucifer, and the stars to represent the end of the Comedy when the poet and Virgil find themselves back in the real world, looking at the sky (34.22.)

Can Dante Take a Joke?

There is an old dinner joke that goes as follows

Heaven Is Where:

The French are the chefs
The Italians are the lovers
The British are the police
The Germans are the mechanics
And the Swiss make everything run on time

Hell is Where:

The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers

The Germans are the police
The French are the mechanics
And the Italians make everything run on time

I personally have always liked this joke, but I wonder what Dante would have thought of it if it had been told at his dinner table after having written The Inferno. Would he have laughed along with his guests, seeing the humor in exposing the relative strengths and weaknesses of different European nations? Or would he mill in fury, retaining that famous scowl of his that we’ve seen in so many paintings. To find out, let’s see how this joke fits in with Dante’s own vision of hell.

Are there any chefs in Dante’s inferno? There aren’t any chefs by trade, though we do have Ugolino, who prepared himself a meal with the flesh of his sons. We also have Alberigo, who served his family a grand meal before slaughtering them all over a land dispute. Neither of these men is British though (they are Italian), so we know that Hell is probably spared from having to eat broiled haddock. As for the lovers, the most prominent one in Dante’s hell is Francesca, who we know was Italian- Dante does place other figures of various nationalities in the second circle, but I don’t believe any of them are Swiss. Again, we have conflict with the joke, which says it is in heaven where the Italians are lovers. There is something of a police force in Dante’s Inferno, if you count the Demons that chased Dante and Virgil, but they certainly weren’t German. Of course, there are no mechanics in the inferno, but if there had been any engineers, they probably would have been among the Greek thinkers in Limbo. And finally, no one makes things run on time in the inferno because time itself is stagnant. So, Dante’s version of the joke would be:

In Hell

The Italians are the chefs

The Italians are the lovers

Demons are the police

The Greeks are the engineers

And nothing runs on time, because there is no time.

The joke, of course, is structured in an entirely different way than Dante’s inferno. Francesca wasn’t sent to hell because she was a particularly bad lover, nor was Ugolino known as a lousy cook. While the joke implies that hell still has some semblance of a normal society, Dante envisions it as a completely different kind of place, a place that we can’t even imagine in terms of our own societal structures. If Dante were to here this joke, then, he would probably just get angry at the trivialization of hell’s misery.

Though, to be fair, British cooking is pretty god awful. 

Dante vs Milton

In my British Literature class we are reading Milton's Paradise Lost and it is impossible not to see the comparison between Paradise Lost and Inferno. I think anyone writing about Hell after Dante's Inferno became popular cannot help but be influenced by the view of Hell that Dante portrays. While we intuitively think of Hell as a hot and burning place, Dante portrays it as a frozen wasteland where the most evil sinners are frozen in ice and cannot move; even Satan is immobilized. Milton is clearly influenced by this portrayal of Hell as the demons that explore Hell notice the water that is so cold it performs the function of fire.

Dante describes Satan as being massive, with wings that appear as big as windmills. Satan is so big that the giants are smaller than Satan's arms. This description of Satan is used by Milton when he ascends to speak to the demons and is described as a massive being. In describing the massive size of Satan, Milton also describes his shield as being as big as the moon and his spear as being so big that the biggest mast from a ship would appear like a needle next to it.

All of these comparisons show Dante's influence on Milton's physical description of Hell and Satan. This however is where the similarities end because Dante's Satan has the exact opposite personality of Milton's Satan in every sense of the word. Dante creates a crying Satan that seems pathetic and not able to speak because he is busy chewing the sinners. This Satan is an instrument of God, as he is used to give out punishment to the sinners and does not seem to be the cause for any of the sins committed. By creating an impotent Satan, Dante is suggesting that all the sins that the souls have committed are of their own free will and they have chosen to commit the sins that sent them to Hell.

Milton on the other hand, creates a Satan that is very active, and very admirable as he gives speeches to encourage the demons to rise against God again. Although Milton's Satan also weeps, when he does, it does not make him seem pathetic, but rather sympathetic as he is crying while giving his speech to the demons.  This is a Satan that seems very attractive to the reader as he describes his viewpoint on his fall from Heaven.

Milton also follow's Dante's description of portraying Satan as a mirror to Jesus  as Dante shows him with three different colored heads, resembling the Holy trinity and Jesus' wounds at the crucifixion. Milton's Satan also mirror's Jesus as Satan volunteers himself for the mission to go back out of Hell and investigate God's creations, while Jesus volunteer himself to be crucified for the salvation of mankind.

All of these comparisons and differences between the two Satans show the different viewpoints that each author it trying to portray about the nature of sin. While Dante shows an immobile and pathetic Satan, suggesting that sins originate from free will and the sinners' own decisions, Milton describes a very active Satan that observes God's creations and then plans to manipulate and turn them against God. This suggests that Milton wants to question exactly how much free will humans truly have if God is omnipotent and can see the past and future. Milton believes that if God can see the future and knows that Adan and Eve will go against him, then how much freedom do they truly have in choosing to go against God. Milton and Dante therefore have contradictory views on the nature of sin as the creation of Dante's Satan show that he is not the root of all sins, while Milton's Satan is active and therefore is the root of all sins and lead to the corruption of human soul.

Bedroom in Hell

I've done several posts now about Dante inspired songs.  This next song comes from a lesser known band from my local area of the Hudson Valley.  The band is called 3 and they are one of my personal favorites.  The song is called "Bedroom in Hell" from the album Summercamp Nightmare.  I've been thinking of this song for a while now because of the connection to Hell, but I hadn't really found a place to discuss it until we reached Cocytus, the frozen Hell; I will explain why momentarily. The genre is progressive rock, which gives a nice contrast, I think, to all the metal songs I've done previously. Here follows my select lyrical analysis.

Bedroom In Hell
Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF1EkwGBGBM
Lyrics: http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/the_3/bedroom_in_hell-lyrics-1233443.html

The song opens with:

"Hell's not hot,
it's so cold that it burns"

This immediately evokes the image of Cocytus and is why I waited until we reached the frozen Hell to discuss this song.  Many people when they think of Hell would traditionally bring forth images of fire and burning, but Dante makes the center of Hell a frozen lake wasteland.  Why? Literally, because Satan's flapping wings cause a whirlwind that freezes Lake Cocytus.  More metaphorically, the frozen dead land is a representation of the exact opposite of God: life, light and love.  Throughout the Inferno, Dante associates light with knowledge and hope, so it is fitting that at the very pit of Hell where there is no hope and all is dark that the world would be devoid of light and warmth. "So cold that it burns"; usually we associate fire with burning, but if you've been stuck outside in one of Rochester's cold winters, you've experience the sensation of freeze-burn. Perhaps Dante thought that be burned by frost and ice was a worse punishment than fire.  If we think of human populations, the world is densely populated at the hottest and most tropical regions around the equator, but scare near the frozen poles. Thus, it seems that as a race, humans prefer warmth to cold, so being frozen forever would seem a worse punishment that being burned.  This is why we have the idiom "As cold as Hell".

"The voices of those familiar
Whisper "I'm sorry my son"
If the devil ain't already killed you
Thy kingdom may never come"

To me, the "voices of those familiar" are Dante and Virgil travelling through Hell and meeting people that Dante knew in life along the way.  Familiar, because the people Dante meet as well as Virgil often recognize his speech and even though they may not know him personally, many are able to place him as a Florentine.  "I'm sorry my son" is probably what Dante thought many times as he traveled through Hell pitying many of the souls and crying and fainting along with them, especially in the incontinence levels.  The last two lines make me think of those in Ptolomea who are not yet dead, but already condemned to Hell. "I'f the devil ain't already killed you"; these people are possessed by demons in the real world.  They are a set of some of the worst sinners, with no chance of purgatory and definitely not Heaven therefore "Thy kingdom may never come".  This is a play on the Lord's pray which says "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done...."  Thus, if you've already been thrown down to Ptolomea and haven't been killed by the devils, but are still alive and possessed, the sin you've committed is so great that you will never reach Heaven.

"One by one the guilty trudge
All in single file
One by one they leap from the ledge
One by One they land in the pile"

This portion of the song refers to the beginning of Hell on the shores of Acheron as all the sinners trudge toward Charon and take his ferry over to the other side.  Then once they enter through the speaking gate they "leap from the ledge [and]... land in the pile".  This evokes the image of Minos judge of Hell who picks up each sinner and throws them down to the correct circle with equal twists of his tail to "land in the pile" of all the sinners present in that circle. Master Adam in Canto 30 makes a reference to this experience, saying that he "rained down into this pit" (30:95-96).

"So what do you think?
Of my Bedroom in Hell
Always drips in the sink
Never a drop in the well"

Speaking of Master Adam, these lyrics especially bring him to mind. Master Adam is punished with having many "drips in the sink" as his body is swelled with ill humors as punishment for his counterfeiting.  Yet, he "never [has] a drop in the well"; Master Adam is also punished with constant thirst and the memory of the rushing waters of his homeland streams: "The little streams that from the green hills of Casentino come down into Arno, making their channels cool and moist, always stand before me, and not in vain, for their image dries me far more than the disease that robs my face of flesh" (30:64-69).

Finally:

"See...Hell ain't no place where they melt you down, no
In fact it's so cold that you learn
To sit with your sins 'til a new day begins
And the devil returns"

Again, there is reference to the coldness of the final pit of Hell.  Here also is a reference to the knowledge of the sinners who can see only the past and bits of the future.  With this knowledge they know that they must "sit with [their] sins 'til a new day begins And the devil returns", meaning that they will be punished as they are now till the "new day" or the Last Judgement comes when the "devil returns" or there punishments will be made even greater by the union of body with soul.

The Divine Comedy for Children

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Links: Dante's Divine Comedy As Told for Young People and Paper Dolls

Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy has been translated into many languages so that people throughout the world can enjoy it and learn from Dante’s journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.  However, The Divine Comedy is not only translated into other languages, it is also abridged and written in a language that children can understand.  I have always enjoyed children’s books and I still like to read them.  So, I thought it would be interesting to see how The Divine Comedy has been made child friendly. 

Starting my search, I assumed that there would be many versions of The Divine Comedy for children.  However, I was wrong.  The only children’s version I found is Dante’s Divine Comedy As Told for Young People, by Joseph Tusiani.  Tusiani’s Comedy is accurate with the original work and clearly explains what is happening in the story.  Unlike the original, which was written in first person with Dante as the narrator, Tusiani’s abridged Comedy is told in third person with Dante as the main character.  Tusiani makes Dante’s journey and struggle relatable to the reader.  He begins by asking the reader: “How would you feel if, awakening in the deep of night, you found yourself no more in your room but in a thick, dark forest called the Wilderness of Death” (Tusiani, Joseph. Dante’s Divine Comedy As Told for Young People. Canada: Legas, 2001. Page 11.).  Tusiani wants to the reader to take Dante’s place for a moment and consider what Dante was feeling at the start of his journey.  Throughout Dante’s Divine Comedy As Told for Young People, Tusiani does not describe all of the symbolism and imagery that Dantes used, but instead focuses on the historical background so that the reader is able to understand what is going on.  Tusiani defines what the sins are and why the sins are condemned.  This book can be used by students studying The Divine Comedy in college because it gives them background about the cantos.  This background provides the student with a good starting point for a more in-depth study of The Divine Comedy.

Another way that The Divine Comedy is made child friendly is through paper dolls.  I have always loved paper dolls, so I thought that it would be interesting to see if there were any paper dolls based on The Divine Comedy.  I found this set of three printable paper dolls, which includes Dante, Virgil, and the three beasts from Canto 1, designed by David Claudon.  Next to each doll, there is a description, which explains why the characters are portrayed this way and contains a little bit of information about the characters.  They are fun for all ages and a good study break!