“Abandon all hope ye who enter here . . .”

1. “Abandon all hope ye who enter here . . .” Join Dante and Virgil on a descent into hell in the “Inferno” from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy (1315)

2. In his Divine Comedy, Dante explores the seven deadly sins: P Pride E Envy W Wrath S Sloth A Avarice G Gluttony L Lust Michelino

3. In the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso Dante Alighieri, translated by John Ciardi, guides us from to Fra Angelico Here’s how . . . Fra Angelico

4. The Dark Wood: Good Friday Midway in his life, Dante realizes he has strayed from the True Way into the Dark Wood of Error (Worldliness). He sees the sunrise, a symbol of Divine Illumination, over a little hill, the Mount of Joy, and he is filled with relief. He starts towards the light and hill but finds his way blocked. Dore

5. Dante assaulted by three beasts Three fierce beasts block his path: The Leopard of Malice and Fraud, The Lion of Violence and Ambition, and The She – Wolf of Incontinence. Of these three, Dante is most intimidated by the She – Wolf. He begins to despair and move deeper into the Dark Wood of Error. But suddenly . . . Dore

6. Virgil saves Dante from the three Beasts Virgil, the greatest Latin poet and author of the Aeneid, appears to rescue Dante. Virgil, symbolizing Human Reason, explains that he has been sent to guide Dante away from error. However, there is no easy way out. Any man who would escape the three beasts must travel a longer and harder path. Blake

7. Virgil explains the only way out is through hell First, Virgil will guide Dante through a recognition of his sin in a descent through hell (The Inferno). Then, Virgil will guide Dante to renounce his sins in an ascent through Purgatory (The Purgatorio). Finally, Virgil, who is pagan and also limited by the boundaries of human reason and therefore cannot cross into heaven, will turn Dante over to Beatrice who will guide Dante’s path to the Light of God in heaven (The Paradiso). Dore

8. The Gate of Hell Virgil leads Dante away from the Dark Wood and up to the Gate of Hell. There they read I AM THE WAY INTO THE CITY OF WOE I AM THE WAY TO A FORSAKEN PEOPLE I AM THE WAY INTO ETERNAL SORROW. . . . ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE. Blake

9. Vestibule: The Opportunists The first souls in torment Dante and Virgil encounter are the Opportunists, those souls who in life were neither for good nor evil but only for themselves. They race round and round on the beach of the River Acheron while pursuing a wavering banner. As they run they are pursued by swarms of wasps and hornets, which sting them and produce a constant flow of blood and putrid matter fed on by maggots on the ground. Dore

10. River Acheron The poets reach Acheron, the first of the rivers of Hell. Here newly – arrived souls of the damned gather and wait for the monster Charon to ferry them over to their punishments. Charon does not want the living Dante to board, but Virgil demands passage for their divine mission. Charon gives in, and Dante faints. Dore

11. The Funnel of Hell Botticelli Dante wakes up on the brink of Hell, which Dante conceives as a great funnel – shaped cave lying below the northern hemisphere with its bottom at the earth’s center. Each ledge is called a Circle, and each Circle holds one category of sin.

12. Circle 1: Limbo Blake Here Dante and Virgil find the Virtuous Pagans. Since they were born without the light of Christ’s revelation, they cannot come into the light of God, but they are not tormented. Their only pain is that they have no hope.

13. Poets in Limbo Virgil is welcomed back to his Circle by the greatest Classical poets, including Homer and Ovid. The great men welcome Dante as one of their own. Limbo is the highest state man can attain without God. Dore

14. Minos, Judge of Hell Blocking the way to Hell proper, beginning in Circle 2, Sits king Minos, a half – man / half – bull Minotaur like Minos’ illegitimate stepson in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. He judges the souls of the damned, wrapping his long tail one time around his huge body for each circle the damned soul must descend. Dore

15. Circle 2: The Lustful Blake

16. Paolo and Francesca On a dark ledge, swept by a great whirlwind, Dante encounters famous lovers including Helen, Paris, and Dido. Virgil explains that their sin was to abandon themselves to passion, so they are swept in forever in a tempest. Paolo and Francesca explain their sad tale of an illicit kiss, inspired by reading about Sir Lancelot, and, in pity, Dante faints again. Dore

17. Circle 9: Frozen Lake Cocytus At the bottom of Hell’s funnel, Dante finds the huge, frozen lake of Cocytus and the Ninth Circle. Here, fixed in ice, each according to his guilt, are punished sinners guilty of treachery against those to whom they were bound by special ties. Since these sinners denied all divine love and human warmth, they are forever encased in ice. They are furthest removed from God’s love and the light and warmth of the sun. Blake

18. Canto 34: Lucifer In the center of Lake Cocytus is Satan. He is fixed into the ice at the center. As he beats his wings as if to escape, their icy wind only freezes him more surely into the polluted ice. In a grotesque parody of the Trinity, he has three faces, each a different color, and in each mouth he clamps a sinner whom he rips eternally with his teeth: Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius. Dore

19. Leaving Hell To leave hell, Dante and Virgil climb down Satan’s hairy legs and, when they have passed through the center of all gravity, emerge from Hell. Blake

20. Literary Terms seven deadly sins: Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, Lust allegory: the discussion of one subject by disguising it as another; Dante’s literal descent into hell is a figurative spiritual and psychological journey terza rima: Dante’s three line stanzas rhyming aba, bab, cdc, ded, etc. vernacular: the local dialect; Dante wrote in Italian, not Latin archetype: an image, symbol, or pattern that appears in literature of many cultures In the Divine Comedy Dante separates from society in the Dark Wood, is initiated through his journeys in the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, and returns to earth to share his tale through his writing epic simile: a long, extended comparison using the word “like” or “as” allusion: a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, thing, or idea catalog: a long list epithet: descriptive words and phrases composed of an adjective and a proper noun imagery: descriptive language that appeals to one of the five senses

21. The Numbers 3 and 10 The Divine Comedy has three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso Inferno has 1 canto on earth and 33 in hell Purgatorio has 33 cantos Paradiso has 33 cantos 100 (10 x 10) total cantos = perfection Dante wrote in three – line stanzas called terza rima Dante’s journey lasts three days, beginning on Good Friday and Ending on Easter Sunday Dante’s Trinity includes Father, Son, and Holy Ghost There are three main characters: Dante, Virgil, and Beatrice Cerberus has three heads How many other 3s can you find? Dali