Summary The poets climb to the top of the stony chasm that ends the eighth circle and they begin their approach to the ninth and final circle, which is a great, dark pit filled with ice and cold, strong winds caused by Lucifer beating his wings. Dante thinks that he […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Canto XXXISummary and Analysis Cantos XXIX-XXX
Summary Having arrived at the chasm or evil pouch in the eighth circle, Dante wants to stop for a moment to observe these suffering shades, but Virgil is impatient and tells him to move along. Dante tells Virgil that he is seeking one of his own kinsmen who, he believes, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Cantos XXIX-XXXSummary and Analysis Canto XXVIII
Summary The canto opens with Dante wondering how to describe the sinners in the ninth chasm. This is the place of the Sowers of Discord and Scandal, and the Creators of Schism within the papacy. He warns that the punishment in this part of Hell is bloody and grotesque. Indeed, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Canto XXVIIISummary and Analysis Cantos XXVI-XXVII
Summary Canto XXVI opens with a passionate address to Dante’s native Florence, saying that there are so many Florentines populating Hell because of the terrible actions of its citizens. Dante prophesizes that a day of mourning will come to Florence, and not a day too soon. The poets move on […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Cantos XXVI-XXVIISummary and Analysis Cantos XXIV-XXV
Summary Virgil’s anger, even though it is not directed at him, has made Dante as downcast and as troubled as a shepherd without a pasture for his sheep. Dante is dependent upon his master not only for physical help, but also for spiritual guidance and moral support, and it now […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Cantos XXIV-XXVSummary and Analysis Canto XXIII
Summary The poets walk unattended for a while, and Dante muses on Aesop’s fable of the mouse and the frog. Then they arrive at the next chasm which is filled with spirits walking very slowly, as with a heavy burden. These shades are the Hypocrites. They wear cloaks and hoods […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Canto XXIIISummary and Analysis Cantos XXI-XXII
Summary In Canto XXI, Dante and Virgil make their way to the fifth chasm, which is very dark and filled with boiling pitch. Dante compares the pitch to the material used to caulk the seams of ships. Suddenly, a raging demon appears, and Virgil hides Dante behind a large rock […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Cantos XXI-XXIISummary and Analysis Canto XX
Summary Dante looks down upon the faces of the sinners in the next chasm and weeps with grief at their torment; these sinners must walk through eternity with their heads on backwards and tears in their eyes. Virgil reproaches Dante for feeling any pity for these sinners, the Fortune Tellers […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Canto XXSummary and Analysis Canto XIX
Summary Dante and Virgil are on the rim of the third pit, ditch, or trench of Circle VIII for those guilty of Simony. These sinners used their positions in the church for personal monetary gain. The Simonists are upside-down in round holes the size of baptismal fonts. From each of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Canto XIXSummary and Analysis Canto XVIII
Summary The poets find themselves at the brink of Circle VIII with its ten “Malebolges” (meaning evil ditches or pockets or chasms), a cavern of stone with ten concentric Bowges (chasms or moats or trenches) dug into the rock in which the sinners of different natures reside. In the first […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Canto XVIII