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Dante's Journey in Canto 20: The Fourth Pouch of the Eighth Circle

Explore Dante's encounter with sinners punished for fraud in a circular pit. Witness their twisted heads and Virgil's explanations of their condemnation. Meet new characters like Manto, the sorceress.

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Dante's Journey in Canto 20: The Fourth Pouch of the Eighth Circle

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  1. Canto 20 Kathryn Prieto November 19, 2007

  2. In Canto 20, Dante is in the Fourth Pouch of the Eighth Circle. This circle has a wall running along the outside and a great circular pit in the center with ten evenly spaced ridges running between the wall and the pit. This creates ten separate pouches in which individuals with different varieties of "ordinary fraud" are punished.

  3. Summary • When Dante enters the Fourth Pouch, he sees a line of sinners trudging slowly along as if in a church procession. At first he does not see an obvious punishment other than endless walking. But after looking closer, he finds that each sinner’s head has been twisted so that their tears of pain now fall down their back. Dante feels overcome by grief and pity, but Virgil rebukes him for his compassion.

  4. As they pass by the Fourth Pouch, Virgil identifies some of the sinners as being Astrologers, Diviners, or Magicians who all tried to foretell the future in life, which was a sin against God’s plan. He explains that since these individuals wanted to use unholy powers to see into the future they have now been condemned to look backward for all of time. Virgil and Dante also see the sorceress Manto there and then continue on to the Fifth Pouch.

  5. Sinners in Canto 20

  6. New Characters • Dante meets Manto in Canto 20. She is the sorceress who founded the city of Mantua, which was Virgil’s birthplace.  Manto tells the long story of the founding of Mantua.  • Dante also sees Eryphylus, Michael Scott, Guido Bonatti, and Asdente.

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