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Craig Jackson HUM11 - Dante’s Inferno

Seat #7

Summary

Dante is a poet and writer in 14th century Italy and he gets himself lost in life, and he

loses his morality. His soul is on the verge of going to hell when he dies, so his lover Beatrice

(who is in heaven) thinks that the only way to help Dante and put him back on the road to

salvation is if Dante goes on a journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The Virgin Mary

and Santa Lucia take pity on Dante and advise Beatrice to send a good man from the time before

Christ in order to guide Dante through Hell, because Beatrice herself can’t go if she’s already in

heaven. Beatrice decides to send Virgil, a Roman poet and who happens to be Dante’s idol. He

was a good man, but because he died before Christ was born, his soul was already condemned

and is therefore able to guide Dante through Hell.

Virgil takes Dante on his journey through Hell, which is divided into 9 circles, each of

which is reserved for different sins. The first circle of Hell is called “Limbo” and contains the

souls of all of the unbaptised and all of the souls of those people who were born before Christ.

This is the circle of Hell in which Virgil belongs.

Dante and Virgil move onwards to the next circle, “Lust”, where those who committed

the sin of lust have to stay for all eternity. This circle is described as a place of endless storms,

which toss the lustful around for all of eternity. Next is the third circle for the gluttonous sinners.

In this circle, there is a constant chilly and dirty rain which rains on the sinners.

Dante is guided further by Virgil to the fourth circle, reserved for the greedy and those

who recklessly spend. These souls are forced to push gigantic rocks in endless circles. The duo

move onwards to the fifth circle which is actually the river styx, but muddy. The souls of

wrathful and sullen people are here and they are stuck in the mud for all of eternity.

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Craig Jackson HUM11 - Dante’s Inferno
Seat #7

As they proceed towards the sixth circle, they find that they must first pass through a city called

Dis, but the gates to the city are closed to them. Virgil tries and fails to persuade the demon to

open the gates and so the two must wait for an angel to arrive and force the gates open. After

this, they go through Dis and forwards to the sixth circle, which is made of fiery tombs for the

heretics.

At this point, Virgil describes the layout of Hell to Dante and explains that Hell is

separated into three main categories, one category for the sin of lacking in self control, which is

every circle thus far, the second category is violence and the third category is for those who

commit fraud. So they move forwards to the seventh circle of Hell, which is reserved for the

violent and is the place where those were violent in life will get punished.

As they try to move downwards to the eighth circle of hell, the circle reserved for

ordinary fraud, Virgil instructs Dante to summon a beast called Geyron with a rope tied around

his waist. Virgil then tells Dante to go and observe the last of the violent sinners whilst he talks

with Geyron. When Dante returns, the pair mount the beast, which takes them downwards to the

eighth circle.

This is where they run into trouble and must escape demons, they pass places in this

circle reserved for all kinds of fraud including a place for those who bribe their way up the

Church hierarchy, corrupt politicians, hypocrites, fraudulent councillors, sowers of scandal and

the different types of falsifiers. Dante and Virgil don’t know how to get to the ninth circle and so

when they come across a place where giants who have sinned are kept immobile, Virgil requests

that Antaneus (who is unbound) lift the pair of them down in the palm of his hand, which he

does.

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Craig Jackson HUM11 - Dante’s Inferno
Seat #7

Dante discovers that the ninth circle is reserved for traitors and is divided into four

places, one section called Caina, for those who betray their own kin, the second is Antenora, for

those who betray their homeland, the third is Ptolomea, which is for traitors against their own

guests, and the last section is for those who betray their benefactors.

In the center of these four sections, Dante and Virgil come across Lucifer, who has three

heads and is eternally chewing on the bodies of Judas, Cassius and Brutus, described as the worst

and most evil of mortal sinners. Virgil then tells Dante that the time has come for Dante to leave

Hell forever, so Dante climbs onto Virgil’s back and they climb down the giant body of Lucifer,

which is so big that it’s the same as the width of the Earth. From here, they follow a path back to

the surface and finally get to see the stars of heaven.

The 9 Circles of Hell

First Circle: Limbo

Reason: The people put in this level of Hell are non-Christians or not baptized

Punishment: Their punishment includes spending eternity in an inferior form of Heaven.

Second Circle: Lust

Reason: People who are overcome by lust are placed in this level of Hell.

Punishment: Their punishment is being blown violently back and forth by winds; unable to find

peace.

Third Circle: Gluttony

Reason: This is for souls who have habitual greed or excess in eating.

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Craig Jackson HUM11 - Dante’s Inferno
Seat #7

Punishment: They are forced to lie in a vile slush that is produced by never ending icy rain.

Fourth Circle: Greed

Reason: People are put in this category for greed, either they hoarded possessions or lavishly

spent.

Punishment: The punishment these sinners is pushing a great weight with their chests.

Fifth Circle: Anger

Reason: This is for people who were wrathful and sullen in this circle of Hell.

Punishment: The punishment for the wrathful is fighting each other on the surface of the river

while the sullen gurgle beneath the surface of the water.

Sixth Circle: Heresy

Reason: People who do not believe God’s doctrine and say things against it end up here.

Punishment: The people in this level of Hell are put in flaming tombs for eternity.

Seventh Circle: Violence

Middle Ring: This ring is filled with those who commit suicide. Their punishment is being

turned into trees and bushes and fed upon by harpies. Also profligates in this ring who are chased

and torn to pieces by dogs.

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Craig Jackson HUM11 - Dante’s Inferno
Seat #7

Inner Ring: This ring contains blasphemers and sodomites. Their punishment is staying in a

desert of burning sand and burning rain falling from the sky.

Outer Ring: This ring possesses murderers and those who were violent to other people and

property. Their punishment is being sunk into a river of boiling blood and fire. Dante included

Eighth Circle: Fraud

Reason: This circle is filled with those who have committed fraud. This circle of Hell is divided

into 10 valleys with bridges between them.

1st Valley: For the panderers and seducers. Punishment is that they will spend eternity being

beaten, prodded and whipped by Lucifer's demons.

2nd Valley: For flatterers. Punishment is they will flounder in sewage and waste.

3rd Valley: For those who sell favors or commit crimes against the church. Punishment: They are

trapped in baptismal baths, their feet eternally in flames.

4th Valley: For fortune tellers. Punishment: They will walk with their heads backwards and their

eyes awash with tears.

5th Valley: Conmen and Embezzlers. Punishment: Thrown into deep vile pits by winged

demons.

6th Valley: For hypocrites. Punishment: Forced to wear robes of lead.

7th Valley: For thieves. Punishment: Bitten by serpents so their bodies turn to ash, then they

reform and get bitten again in a never ending cycle.

8th Valley: For evil advisers and counselors. Punishment: They burn for all eternity.

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Craig Jackson HUM11 - Dante’s Inferno
Seat #7

9th Valley: For sowers of discord and scandal. Punishment: Their heads, organs and the chaos

they caused gets cast upon them.

10th Valley: For falsifiers. Punishment: All their thoughts are of pain and suffering so that they

spend eternity screaming and moaning in mental agony.

Ninth Circle: Treachery

This Circle of Hell is divided into 4 Rounds according to the degree of the sin.

Round 1: Caina - For those who betray their kin.

Round 2: Anthenor - For those who betray their homeland.

Round 3: Ptolemy - For those who betray their guests.

Round 4: Judas - For those who betray their benefactors.

Punishment: Everyone in this level are frozen in an icy lake, but the more severe the sin, the

deeper the person is placed in the ice.

In the center of the 9th circle is Lucifer himself, he is utterly gigantic and has 3 heads, one each

for eating the world’s most evil sinners: Judas, Brutus and Cassius.

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