Okay, so now you have a little idea of what Dante's Hell is like, let's get into the story. Just a side note, a canto is a section of the poem and it's like a song or chant.
Canto I starts with Dante having a type of mid-life crisis. He's a little ambiguous, using pronouns like "our" which will be discussed later. Essentially, he's strayed from his path and he's lost himself in a dark forest. Dante says that death could hardly be worse than this (foreshadowing, people). Dante is pretty confused about how he found himself in this place. He was asleep when he wandered from the true path and now he's at the bottom of a hill. He looks up at the hill and finds that the summit is lit up, which is a definite contrast to the woods he's in. Like anyone else, he's overjoyed to see light. He tells us that he's gone through a "night of sorrow." In a roundabout way, Dante compares himself to a shipwrecked swimmer who has just found land on a safe beach and turns to look at the threatening waves. Dante starts climbing the hill, but of course, that can't turn out well and an evil beast blocks his way. It's actually just a leopard. Dante backs away. He notices that dawn has broke and he feels a little better, until he comes face to face with a lion and then a she-wolf. He screams (like any normal person would) and runs back down to the hill. At the bottom of the hill he sees a ghost and falls into the fetal position and begs for mercy (you know you'd act that way, too, if you saw a ghost). The ghost starts telling Dante about his life. He's from Mantua, was born during Augustus' reign, and he was a poet. Dante isn't quite so freaked out because he realizes the ghost is the famous Roman poet Virgil. Virgil is Dante's literary idol. Dante asks Virgil to get rid of the she-wolf, but Virgil says that Dante must take another path because the she-wolf is always hungry and always wanting sex. Virgil says don't worry though because in the end she will be killed and sent back to Hell and Italy will return to it's former glory. FYI, the she-wolf is a symbol of greed, which Dante (the poet) thinks is synonymous with Florence (remember that he's on exile as he wrote this and he's disheartened by what he's seen in Florence and how he's been treated). Back to the ghost talking to Dante: Virgil says that Dante should trust him with his life and he'll take him on a journey through Hell, Purgatory, and maybe even Heaven if he's deemed worth. Dante agrees and the descent into the inferno starts.
Canto II Dante and Virgil talk all day. Dante notes that the sun is setting and he must prepare himself for the night. To give him courage, Dante calls to the Muses. Dante is still afraid and asks Virgil why he was chosen for this journey. Virgil tells that story of how he came to get Dante. This is his story: Virgil was in Limbo when a beautiful woman asks him to help her "lost" friend. She wants Virgil's help because he is a persuasive speaker. The lady calls herself Beatrice, and Virgil learns she's helping Dante out of love. Virgil asks how Beatrice managed to come down from Heaven to crummy Hell. Beatrice says God made it to where the atrocities of Hell can't affect her. The orders for Virgil don't come from Beatrice, but from the Virgin Mary. Mary is upset with Dante's predicament that she sobbed for him and sent her best friend, St. Lucia, to carry her message. Beatrice can't do anything more for Dante because she's a woman, so she decides to get a man to do that job. She flatters Virgil and brags about his way with words. Virgil is honored to do the job. After hearing this story, Dante is filled with gratitude. He has a mind-melding moment with Virgil and with that they set off for Hell.
Canto III starts with Dante and Virgil at the Hellgate, which is engraved with a warning about those who enter Hell and the origins of Hell. Dante tells Virgil he doesn't understand the inscription. Virgil doesn't really answer Dante's question (this happens a lot) and tells him to be brave. He then tells Dante that Hell's sinners are people who have lost their intellect (this is an important piece to remember). The first thing Dante notices about Hell is that it is noisy. It's full of suffering, screams, beating hands, pretty much every awful noise you can think of. Frightened, Dante asks Virgil who the people are that scream so loudly. Virgil explains that they're neutrals. Neutrals are people who failed to choose either good or evil in their lives and are punished to live in a place that isn't really Heaven or Hell--it's Limbo. The "coward angels," those that didn't side with God or Lucifer during the Fall, are in Limbo as well. Dante repeats his question, apparently he wasn't listening very well. Virgil is a little annoyed and answers bluntly that these sinners have no hope in death and that their entire existence is driven by envy for any other kind of existence, even one of the true circles of Hell. Virgil's short reply gives the impression that these sinners aren't worth wasting his words over. While looking around, Dante sees the neutral's punishment: various insects sting their naked bodies, irritating them and making them run in big circles under a banner. Dante realizes there are a lot of neutrals. Among the ground, Dante recognizes the one "who made...the great refusal." Scholars have theorizes that this sinner is Pope Celestine V, who abdicated his papal seat just five months after taking office. This resignation led to the election of Pope Boniface VIII, whom Dante disdains. Dante observes a large crowd of people mingling on the banks of a large river. He asks Virgil why they seem anxious to cross the river. Virgil tells Dante to slow his horses and he'll realize what's happening when they get there. "There" is actually the banks of the river Acheron, one of the five rivers of the Greek Underworld. When they arrive there, Virgil doesn't get the chance to explain because an old man with a long, white beard comes up and says that there isn't a chance that Virgil and Dante can get on their boat because only dead people are allowed. This old man is Charon, the man who takes people across the river. Virgil gets a little angry and tersely tells Charon that God sent them and to let them through. Charon has to let them go but he isn't happy about it. Virgil then explains that only sinners have to go through this crossing. Suddenly, an earthquake hits, along with a tornado, and a red light. Dante loses consciousness.
Canto IV (the first circle of Hell--Limbo) begins with Dante waking up at the edge of a large, dark valley, in which he can't see anything. Virgil says let's go although he looks rather pale. Dante thinks Virgil's paleness is from fear and he says nope, not going on. Virgil explains that his complexion isn't from fear but from sympathy for his neighbors. This is Virgil's home--Limbo. Here the sinners sigh, but aren't nearly as loud as the neutrals. These sinners had no control over their salvation. Remember, they weren't baptized. They don't suffer as much as other sinners in Hell. They feel the absence of God's love which results in a constant ache. Otherwise, they roam around in some fields. Yes, this is Hell and yes, this gets worse. Dante, upset by the sinners in Limbo, asks Virgil whether or not these people are allowed to leave and enter Heaven if they are god people. Virgil answers yes, and that he saw this happen. He saw Christ come take people from the Old Testament like Moses, Abraham, Noah, Rachel, and David. Dante sees a fire break up the darkness. The fire is from the glow coming from a castle and men are there. Virgil introduces Dante to Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan. The intellectuals chat and invite Dante in. They go into the castle and see Greek and Roman heroes such as Hector, Aeneas, Caesar, Socrates, and Plato (we read about some of these people!). After some small talk, Virgil and Dante leave. Each step forward takes the two into more and more darkness.
Canto V (the second circle of Hell--Lustful) starts with Dante and Virgil going into the second circle of Hell. Dante notices that this circle is smaller than the first. This is because Hell is shaped like a funnel, with each circle getting smaller. Minos appears. We're told Minos judges where all sinners go. Minos stops his judging to tell Dante and Virgil to be careful of whom they trust. Virgil replies that God is protecting the two, but he's as scared as Dante. The two come to the edge of a cliff and see strong whirlwinds beating the souls of the lustful. Dante compares them to birds because of their helplessness against the wind and their cries. Virgil names some souls trapped here: Semiramis, Dido, Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Paris, and Tristan. Dante calls to them, wanting to talk. A femal soul speaks to them. She tells her story. She's Francesca da Rimini, an Italian, who is close to a princess in terms of nobility. She was forced into a loveless marriage with Gianciotto Malatesta. She fell for his younger brother, Paolo, and had an affair with him. Gianciotto caught them and killed them both. Francesca tells us that Gianciotto is in a deeper circle of Hell. Dante starts crying (this happens a lot). He asks Francesca how she fell in love and she tells the story. Francesca blames a book that she was reading for her sin. At the end of her story Paolo cries. Dante passes out, unable to handle the tragic story.
Canto VI brings us to the third circle of Hell--Gluttony. Dante wakes up surrounded by new sinners. It's raining. It's always raining in the third circle, but it's not clean water. It's raining polluted rain and hailstones. It smells awful in the third circle. Here, the sinners are so disturbed by the rain that they move back and forth, trying to keep some part of themselves clean and dry. Above these sinners is Cerberus, the huge three-headed dog who guards Hell. Virgil picks up mud and throws it right into Cerberus's mouth and he eats it. Cerberus is a glutton, too. As Dante and Virgil wander around this circle, none of the sinners pays them notice, except a Florentine who recognizes Dante. Dante asks the man to remind him of his name and he is Ciacco and says he is a glutton. He asks Ciacco to talk about the future of Florence (the future he gives is already history to the Dante who is writing). Ciacco says that there will be conflice between Blacks and Whites. The WHites will win a battle and push the Blacks out. The Blacks will return with help from Pope Boniface VIII and easily defeat the Whites, driving them into exile (yeah, that's Dante, too). Ciacco says the parties will ignore cooperation due to pride. Dante asks Ciacco about other famous Florentines and asks where he can find them. Ciacco says they're all in Hell. Ciacco ends with asking Dante to name his name famous in the living world. Virgil says that Ciacco will not rise again until Judgment Day. Dante asks if these sinners' punishment will be better or worse on Judgment Day. In a roundabout way, Virgil says worse because their souls will reunite with their bodies and both body and soul will suffer. They walk towards the next circle and meet Plutus, who is prominent in the next canto.
Canto VII is about the fourth and fifth circle of Hell--Avarice and Prodigality and Wrath and Sullenness. Plutus is crying out to Satan. Although Dante is a little freaked out, Virgil tells him that Plutus has no power to stop them. When they pass Plutus, he falls to the ground. So, what are these sinners doing? Pushing heavy wheels of weights around in a big, endless circle. The Avaricious (greedy people) and Prodigal (reckless spenders) are punished together. They're divided into two groups, one for each half of the circle. When they meet at the middle, they yell out insults. Dante notices that some of the sinners have shaved heads and wonders if they were part of the Church while they were alive. Virgil says yes (Dante does a lot of bashing against the corruption of the Church). Dante hopes to recognize some of the sinners, but Virgil says, no, you won't, because their life has made them filthy and unrecognizable. Virgil gives a long-winded speech about Fortune and Fate. After, they move on to a stream of black water which leads to darker fields and drains into the swamp of Styx. Now the two are in the fifth circle of Hell. Dante sees muddy sinners. These sinners are fighting, trying to rip each other's throats out. These sinners are Wrathful. Virgil tells us that beneath the mud and grime are the Sullen sinners. The Sullen are condemned to chant hymns while in the mud so that their words are only mumbles. Dante and Virgil move on until they find themselves at the base of a tower.
Canto VIII is about the river Styx and the gate of Dis. This tower, like a lighthouse, has been guiding our two friends. As they get closer, Dante sees a flame in the distance. He asks Virgil what it is, but Virgil doesn't answer (again) and tells Dante to look closer. It's a boat. The boatman, like Charon, isn't very happy that Dante is alive. The man's name is Phlegyas. He lets them onto his boat, taking them across the river Styx (that's Hell's river #2, by the way). While catching the ride, Dante asks one of the muddy sinners who he is and why he's so ugly. Pretty polite question to ask, Dante. The sinner doesn't really answer Dante and Dante is tired of people dodging his questions, which is better than his usual response of crying or fainting. Virgil pushes the sinner back into the river after he reaches out to the boat. Virgil then kisses and hugs Dante. Random? Nope. Virgil is happy that Dante isn't sympathizing with the sinners and got mad at them. Virgil tells Dante they are approaching the city of Dis. Dante is awed by how red everything is. Everything is red because of the flame burning in the city, signaling that we're in lower Hell. Virgil is pretty much saying everything is going to be worse than anything Dante's already seen. They get to the gates and a thousand angry sinners are trying to stop Dante from getting through because he's alive. Virgil has a chat with them to the side. Dante can't hear what they're saying because he's a little preoccupied with the sinners and wants to go home. The people of Dis agree to open their gates, but only for Virgil. Dante has to go back. Hearing this news, he freaks out. Who would want to walk through that by themselves. He pleads with Virgil to come back with him, and Virgil tells Dante he'll take care of it. Dante is waiting while Virgil does some smooth talking, but then the gates slam in his face. He's failed (important moment, folks). Virgil goes on a tirade about the sinners but Dante says it'll be okay. Virgil tells Dante that this has happened before at the entrance of Hell, when Christ went to get those Old Testament guys, and that an angel is on his way to help them.
Not a happy, go-lucky story is it? But it's super good and interesting. Hopefully you've enjoyed the first eight cantos and can't wait for the next!
Until then,
Cassy
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