Inferno (; Italian for 'Hell') is the first part of the Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century narrative poem the Divine Comedy, followed by and . The Inferno describes the journey of a fictionalised version of Dante himself through Hell, guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as nine concentric circles of torment located within the Earth; it is the "realm[...] of those who have rejected spiritual values by yielding to bestial appetites or violence, or by perverting their human intellect to fraud or malice against their fellowmen".John Ciardi, The Divine Comedy, Introduction by Archibald T. MacAllister, p. 14. As an allegory, the Divine Comedy represents the journey of the soul toward God, with the Inferno describing the recognition and rejection of sin.Dorothy L. Sayers, Hell, notes, p. 19.
Composition and publication Though definitive dates have not been established, Dante had most likely begun work on the Comedy around 1306; some modern scholars argue that Infernos composition began as late as 1313, while early commentators proposed start dates prior to 1302. Dante was exiled from Florence in 1302 after his political faction, the pro-empire White Guelphs, were defeated by the pro-Papal Black Guelphs. Largely removed from politics and other scholarship, Dante spent nearly all of the last fifteen years of his life focused on the Comedy. "Many, but not all", scholars agree that Inferno was begun in 1306–1307 and completed in 1309–1310, though revisions likely continued for many years afterwards. Giovanni Boccaccio and some other early commentators argued that Dante composed the first seven cantos prior to his exile from Florence.
While the complete Comedy was likely not published until after Dante's death in 1321, Inferno circulated in fragments and excerpts for years prior. The earliest citations of the Inferno were written as early as 1315. The scholar Giorgio Petrocchi argues that Dante finished revising both Inferno and Purgatorio by 1317; both were likely fully drafted by 1313. However, other evidence suggests that Dante only began work on the poem much later; in particular, Dante's references to the Avignon Papacy and Clement V's death in 1314 have led some scholars to argue that Dante did not begin work on the poem until 1313. Others, such as Petrocchi, argue that these passages were small insertions during Dante's revisions—Dante makes sparse references to events after 1306, and Clement's death is the only event referenced in the Inferno to occur past 1310.Ibid.
Prelude to Hell Canto I
The poem begins on the night of Maundy Thursday on March 24 (or April 7), 1300, shortly before the dawn of Good Friday.Hollander, Robert (2000). Note on Inferno I.11. In Robert and Jean Hollander, trans., The Inferno by Dante. New York: Random House. p. 14. .Allen Mandelbaum, Inferno, notes on Canto I, p. 345. The narrator, Dante himself, is 35 years old, and thus "midway in the journey of our life" ()Inferno. Canto I, line 1. – half of the biblical lifespan of 70 (Psalm 89:10 in the Vulgate; numbered as Psalm 90:10 in the King James Bible). The poet finds himself lost in a dark wood (),Inferno. Canto I, line 2. astray from the "straight way" (,Inferno. Canto I, line 3. also translatable as 'right way') of salvation. He sets out to climb directly up a small mountain, but his way is blocked by three beasts he cannot evade: a Inferno. Canto I, line 32. (usually rendered as 'leopard' or 'leopon'), – defines lonza as the result of an unnatural pairing between a leopard and a lioness in Andrea da Barberino Guerrino meschino. a Inferno. Canto I, line 45. (lion), and a Inferno. Canto I, line 49. (she-wolf). The three beasts, taken from Jeremiah 5:6, are thought to symbolize the three kinds of sin that bring the unrepentant soul into one of the three major divisions of Hell. According to John Ciardi, these are incontinence (the she-wolf); violence and bestiality (the lion); and fraud and malice (the leopard).John Ciardi, Inferno, notes on Canto I, p. 21.
It is now dawn of Good Friday, April 8, with the sun rising in Aries. The beasts drive him back despairing into the darkness of error, a "lower place" ()Inferno. Canto I, line 61. where the sun is silent ().Inferno. Canto I, line 60. However, Dante is rescued by a figure who announces that he was born Inferno. Canto I, line 70. (i.e., in the time of Julius Caesar) and lived under Augustus: it is the shade of the Roman poet Virgil, author of the Aeneid, a Latin epic which also featured a journey through the underworld.
Canto II On the evening of Good Friday, Dante hesitates as he follows Virgil; Virgil explains that he has been sent by Beatrice, the symbol of Divine Love. Beatrice had been moved to aid Dante by the Virgin Mary (symbolic of compassion) and Saint Lucia (symbolic of illuminating Grace). Rachel, symbolic of the contemplative life, also appears in the heavenly scene recounted by Virgil. The two of them then begin their journey to the underworld. Feeling uncertain of his worthiness for the journey, Dante reflects on the paths of Aeneas and Paul, who were granted access to the realms of the afterlife, and doubts his own capability to undertake such a passage (Inf. 2.10-36).
Canto III: Vestibule of Hell Dante passes through the gate of Hell, which bears an inscription ending with the phrase "",Inferno. Canto III, line 9. most frequently translated as "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here". Dante and his guide hear the anguished screams of the Uncommitted. These are the souls of people who in life took no sides; the opportunists who were for neither good nor evil, but instead were merely concerned with themselves. Among these Dante recognises a figure who made the "great refusal", implied to be Pope Celestine V, whose "cowardice (in selfish terror for his own welfare) served as the door through which so much evil entered the Church".John Ciardi, Inferno, notes on Canto III, p. 36. Mixed with them are outcasts who took no side in the Rebellion of Angels. These souls are forever unclassified; they are neither in Hell nor out of it, but reside on the shores of the Acheron. Naked and futile, they race around through the mist in eternal pursuit of an elusive, wavering banner (symbolic of their pursuit of ever-shifting self-interest) while relentlessly chased by swarms of wasps and hornets, who continually sting them.Dorothly L. Sayers, Hell, notes on Canto III. Loathsome maggots and worms at the sinners' feet drink the putrid mixture of blood, pus, and tears that flows down their bodies, symbolising the sting of their guilty conscience and the repugnance of sin. This may also be seen as a reflection of the spiritual stagnation in which they lived.
After passing through the vestibule, Dante and Virgil reach the ferry that will take them across the river Acheron and to Hell proper. The ferry is piloted by Charon, who does not want to let Dante enter, for he is a living being. Virgil forces Charon to take him by declaring, ("It is so willed there where is power to do / That which is willed"),Inferno, Canto III, lines 95–96, Longfellow translation. referring to the fact that Dante is on his journey on divine grounds. The wailing and blasphemy of the damned souls entering Charon's boat contrast with the joyful singing of the blessed souls arriving by ferry in the . The passage across the Acheron, however, is undescribed, since Dante faints and does not awaken until they reach the other side.
Nine circles of Hell Overview Virgil proceeds to guide Dante through the nine circles of Hell. The circles are concentric, representing a gradual increase in wickedness, and culminating at the centre of the earth, where Satan is held in bondage. The sinners of each circle are punished for eternity in a fashion fitting their crimes: each punishment is a , a symbolic instance of poetic justice. For example, later in the poem, Dante and Virgil encounter fortune-tellers who must walk forward with their heads on backward, unable to see what is ahead, because they tried to see the future through forbidden means. Such a "functions not merely as a form of divine revenge, but rather as the fulfilment of a destiny freely chosen by each soul during his or her life". People who sinned, but prayed for forgiveness before their deaths are found not in Hell but in Purgatory, where they labour to become free of their sins. Those in Hell are people who tried to justify their sins and were unrepentant.
Dante's Hell is structurally based on the ideas of Aristotle, but with "certain Christian symbolisms, exceptions, and misconstructions of Aristotle's text",John Ciardi, Inferno, notes on Canto XI, p. 94. and a further supplement from Cicero's .D. Sayers, Hell (Penguin 1975), pp. 314, 139. Virgil reminds Dante (the character) of "Those pages where the Ethics tells of three / Conditions contrary to Heaven's will and rule / Incontinence, vice, and brute bestiality".D. Sayers, Hell (Penguin 1975), p. 136 (XI.80–82). Cicero, for his part, had divided sins between violence and fraud.D. Sayers, Hell (Penguin 1975), p. 139. By conflating Cicero's violence with Aristotle's bestiality, and his fraud with malice or vice, Dante the poet obtained three major categories of sin, as symbolized by the three beasts that Dante encounters in Canto I: these are Incontinence, Violence/Bestiality, and Fraud/Malice.Dorothy L. Sayers, Hell, notes on Canto XI, p. 139. Sinners punished for incontinence (also known as wantonness) – the lustful, the gluttonous, the hoarders and wasters, and the wrathful and sullen – all demonstrated weakness in controlling their appetites, desires, and natural urges; according to Aristotle's Ethics, incontinence is less condemnable than malice or bestiality, and therefore these sinners are located in four circles of Upper Hell (Circles 2–5). These sinners endure lesser torments than do those consigned to Lower Hell, located within the walls of the City of Dis, for committing acts of violence and fraud – the latter of which involves, as Dorothy L. Sayers writes, "abuse of the specifically human faculty of reason". The deeper levels are organised into one circle for violence (Circle 7) and two circles for fraud (Circles 8 and 9). As a Christian, Dante adds Circle 1 (Limbo) to Upper Hell and Circle 6 (Heresy) to Lower Hell, making 9 Circles in total; incorporating the Vestibule of the Futile, this leads to Hell containing 10 main divisions. This "9+1=10" structure is also found within the and . Lower Hell is further subdivided: Circle 7 (Violence) is divided into three rings, Circle 8 (Fraud) is divided into ten , and Circle 9 (Treachery) is divided into four regions. Thus, Hell contains 24 divisions in total.
First Circle (Limbo)
Canto IV