Well, after a short (ish) hiatus, I'm ready to start posting again!
Except that I don't remember most of what I read: great.
The Divine Comedy's taking me a good while; I just keep ending up doing other things, despite vaguely wanting to continue reading it. It's not really engaging, somehow.
When I left off, Dante and Virgil were passing through the desert of those who committed violence against God. Through this, he passes on what I believe to be a strip of land in the middle of a river of blood. On this strip, the heat of the desert is cooled.
Reaching the next circle, Virgil drops the rope around Dante's waist down (perhaps he was wearing a monk's habit). This lures the beast Geryon (slain by Hercules for his oxen; the description used is found in Rev. 9:7-10) who carries them down on his back.
This Eighth Circle is itself divided into ten chasms, which are crossed by ridges and bridges (heh).
In the first, two groups flee in opposite directions (some towards the two, the others away from them) from demons who smite their backs with scourges. Here are the panders (those who further affairs [which, interestingly, seems to be a markedly less-serious sin]) and seducers, including Jason (who seduced Hypsipyle and abandoned Medea).
In the second are the Flatterers, who are covered in what Dante thinks to be human waste.
The third chasm holds the Simonists (who sell holy offices for money). They are stacked on one another into the depths in wholes wide enough to fit only one while their feet burn brightly. Here Dante meets Pope Nicholas III, who is expecting [the then still-living] Boniface VIII and Clement V.
In the fourth chasm, Dante finds the Diviners, Augurs, and Sorcerers, who have their heads turned round so that they must walk backwards. Amphiaraus, Michael Scott (certainly a different viewpoint than that of the protagonists in The Adept), and others are found here.
In the fifth chasm reside the Barrators (who sell civil offices) and Barterers (I honestly have no idea). They are held in boiling blood and pitch by Demons.
The Hypocrites are tortured in the sisth, where they are cloaked with gold-gilded lead and forced to walk for eternity.
In the seventh, Dante finds the Thieves. The serpents of this chasm inflict the Theives' pain (even turning them into serpents occasionally). Here, Dante's own exile is prophesied.
The eighth chasm is filled with those who gave evil counsel in life. Here are Ulysses and Diomedes. They are forever burning so that their bodies cannot be seen through the flames.
In the ninth, the sowers of Scandal and Schism are rent in various places. Some have only ears or hands lopped off, but others have more horrific punishment. In particular, Muhammed is cleaved in half from chin down, and his son Ali from chin up.
Falsifiers of all sorts - things, deeds, and words - have their fate in the tenth. Diseases of all sorts afflict the Alchemists, Forgers, and their ilk. Sinon, whose actions felled Troy, is found here.
Around the ninth circle stand the giant Nephilim, who include Nimrod (who speaks a tongue only he understands), Ephilates (who is chained down), and Antaeus (who lifts the two down).
The final circle is locked up in icy Cocytus, a frozen lake formed by all of the rivers in Hell. Those nearest the edge reside in Caina and did violence against their kin in life; only their heads are above the ice (which is as clear as glass).
Farther in is Antenora (named for the betrayer of Troy), where those who commited treachery against their country are punished; only their faces are above the ice.
Finally, is Judecca. Here are all those who betrayed their own benefactors. Various sinners are buried under the ice, but there are four who steal the show. The Beast himself is encased to his chest here. With his six wings he strives to return to the Heavens, but this, along with his tears, only binds him all the stronger. He has six heads, one red, one black, and one a sickly yellow. In his three maws are the sinners Brutus and Cassius (who betrayed Caesar) and Judas Iscariot (of whom only the legs are visible).
The pair climbs down his back, encrusted with filth and ice, to the southern hemisphere. There, Dante is surprised to find that the Beast is suddenly above them.
Opinion:
Uf, that took a while (hmm, that's not really an opinion).
Honestly, it's been a good two weeks since I read this, so...
I'm still enjoying all of the Greek and Roman references (although Norse is always better). ; they serve to give you a bit better idea of what is actually being punished. It almost feels like each circle is being passed through too quickly, though; Each punishment only takes up about three pages. Anything more would be a bit too long, I guess (seeing as I'm already having enough trouble getting through this).
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Nine Rounds of Hell
In Limbo, he meets many famous souls: Hector, Aeneas, Caesar, Plato, Orpheus, and others. They live in the Noble Castle, with seven walls representing the liberal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding) and seven gates representing the liberal arts (grammar, logic, rhetoric, music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy). (According to the footnotes, that is.)
Passing through here, they enter the second circle (or round), where Helena, Paris, Cleopatra, and Achilles reside. Here, lustful souls are blown up and down, left and right for eternity. Hearing the sad story of a pair who were killed by their family (located in a lower circle), he faints (again).
He awakes in the third circle, where gluttons are punished. They lie on the ground, where hail, snow, and turbid water fall onto them. The hound Cerberus tears at them.
Progressing, they come to a pass guarded by Plutus, Roman god of riches. Here the most mystifying words of the poem are uttered: Pape Satan! pape Saten, aleppe! After seven centuries, no one knows what this may mean, and can only guess that it is a phonetic spelling of things in other languages. Virgil understands it, however, and comforts Dante before yelling at Plutus to calm himself. When told that their journey was mandated from on high, Plutus falls to the ground.
They then enter the next circle, where the wasteful and greedy are forced to roll giant stones while beating each other; many of them held high offices in the Church in life.
Passing through, they see a tower in the distance. It makes signals using two flames, and another, farther off, answers it. Phlegyas, son of Ares and Chyrse and king of the Lapiths, arrives on a small boat. He ferries them across the Styx (seen as a marsh, here). As they pass, they see the souls of the wrathful, muddy and naked, beating and tearing at each other.
Arriving at the City of Dis (Satan, Lucifer), where the sins of violence or maliciousnous are punished, rather than Incontinence, they are stopped by fallen angels, who attempt to petrify Dante with Medusa's head. They are allowed to pass through by one of the Messengers of God.
In the sixth circle, heretics are forever burned in flaming sepulchres. A Florentine foretells Dante's exile (the poem taking place before this, but having been written during it) and explains that spirits can see the past and future, but not the present. As such, they will become blind at the End of Days, when the Universe becomes timeless (being the End of all Days, after all).
They pass the Centaur, which Virgil distracts by mentioning his death at the hands Theseus, sending him into a rage.
In the seventh circle, violent souls are punished. They first come upon those who were violent against other men, who are submerged in a boiling river of blood, some only to the ankles, others to their very brows. Centaurs patrol the banks, shooting any that would seek to raise himself above his alotted depth. Here is located Alexander, Dionysius, and Attila. Dante, unable to walk across, being alive and solid, is carried by Nessus.
Farther in is the Wood of Self-Murderers. Here, those who have committed violence against themselves (suicide) are punished. They have become thorn bushes, growing not fruit, but poison. The harpies nest in them and devour them. They are unable to speak unless one of their branches are broken, which then bleeds.
At the edge of the Wood is a desert. In it, those who have committed violence against God (generally in the form of hate) are tortured. Some walk in bands, others sit, and still others are forced to lie down, but all are in agony from the burning sand and falling brimstone.
Opinion:
The Divine Comedy is an interesting book. There is no conflict or any such thing, but it still manages to be interesting; at least partially from shadenfreude. Also interesting are such things as the amount of Roman and Greek myths mixed in, the continual stream of things to look up (from Bible verses to philosophers), and the discord with what is taught today; at least as far as what I know, such things as Limbo and the damnation of suicides are no longer believed in.
Perhaps because of the lack of conflict, I've been lagging behind a bit, though. Despite my enjoyment of it, it doesn't always hold my attention. Plus, the large amount of footnotes (a good quarter of all of the pages are just clarification) tends to drag down the page-per-minute rate.
Also, I have some news!
I fully intend on continuing this blog into the new year, despite the end of the semester and English class. What the post rate will be, I cannot say.
Passing through here, they enter the second circle (or round), where Helena, Paris, Cleopatra, and Achilles reside. Here, lustful souls are blown up and down, left and right for eternity. Hearing the sad story of a pair who were killed by their family (located in a lower circle), he faints (again).
He awakes in the third circle, where gluttons are punished. They lie on the ground, where hail, snow, and turbid water fall onto them. The hound Cerberus tears at them.
Progressing, they come to a pass guarded by Plutus, Roman god of riches. Here the most mystifying words of the poem are uttered: Pape Satan! pape Saten, aleppe! After seven centuries, no one knows what this may mean, and can only guess that it is a phonetic spelling of things in other languages. Virgil understands it, however, and comforts Dante before yelling at Plutus to calm himself. When told that their journey was mandated from on high, Plutus falls to the ground.
They then enter the next circle, where the wasteful and greedy are forced to roll giant stones while beating each other; many of them held high offices in the Church in life.
Passing through, they see a tower in the distance. It makes signals using two flames, and another, farther off, answers it. Phlegyas, son of Ares and Chyrse and king of the Lapiths, arrives on a small boat. He ferries them across the Styx (seen as a marsh, here). As they pass, they see the souls of the wrathful, muddy and naked, beating and tearing at each other.
Arriving at the City of Dis (Satan, Lucifer), where the sins of violence or maliciousnous are punished, rather than Incontinence, they are stopped by fallen angels, who attempt to petrify Dante with Medusa's head. They are allowed to pass through by one of the Messengers of God.
In the sixth circle, heretics are forever burned in flaming sepulchres. A Florentine foretells Dante's exile (the poem taking place before this, but having been written during it) and explains that spirits can see the past and future, but not the present. As such, they will become blind at the End of Days, when the Universe becomes timeless (being the End of all Days, after all).
They pass the Centaur, which Virgil distracts by mentioning his death at the hands Theseus, sending him into a rage.
In the seventh circle, violent souls are punished. They first come upon those who were violent against other men, who are submerged in a boiling river of blood, some only to the ankles, others to their very brows. Centaurs patrol the banks, shooting any that would seek to raise himself above his alotted depth. Here is located Alexander, Dionysius, and Attila. Dante, unable to walk across, being alive and solid, is carried by Nessus.
Farther in is the Wood of Self-Murderers. Here, those who have committed violence against themselves (suicide) are punished. They have become thorn bushes, growing not fruit, but poison. The harpies nest in them and devour them. They are unable to speak unless one of their branches are broken, which then bleeds.
At the edge of the Wood is a desert. In it, those who have committed violence against God (generally in the form of hate) are tortured. Some walk in bands, others sit, and still others are forced to lie down, but all are in agony from the burning sand and falling brimstone.
Opinion:
The Divine Comedy is an interesting book. There is no conflict or any such thing, but it still manages to be interesting; at least partially from shadenfreude. Also interesting are such things as the amount of Roman and Greek myths mixed in, the continual stream of things to look up (from Bible verses to philosophers), and the discord with what is taught today; at least as far as what I know, such things as Limbo and the damnation of suicides are no longer believed in.
Perhaps because of the lack of conflict, I've been lagging behind a bit, though. Despite my enjoyment of it, it doesn't always hold my attention. Plus, the large amount of footnotes (a good quarter of all of the pages are just clarification) tends to drag down the page-per-minute rate.
Also, I have some news!
I fully intend on continuing this blog into the new year, despite the end of the semester and English class. What the post rate will be, I cannot say.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
La Divina Commedia
My newest book is The Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Florentine by birth, but not by character (as supposedly described by Dante himself.
Before I start on the summary and my opinions, there is some backround information that I'll give you (which isn't really necessary, but you'll get anyway).
Let's start with the title: The Divine Comedy. 2/3 of it may cause some misconceptions. First, Divine; it wasn't actually Dante himself that used this adjective, it was added a century or two later. My initial thought was that he wasn't that pretentious but, 30 pages in, I honestly think that he would have added it if he had thought of it. Comedy is clearly th more important word, but its possibility for causing confusion is larger. The word "comedy" did not initially mean that something was funny. It was simply the opposite of "tragedy," meaning that a comedy just had a happy[ish] ending; this is the sense in which Dante uses it.
On to Dante himself. As shown in the title, he was born in Florence, Italy in 1265. In the period in which he lived in Florence, his family had sided with the Guelf party, who wanted to give more power to the pope. They opposed the Ghibellines, who sided with the emperor. This division seems to have affected Danted less than another division; the White Guelfs (who were in the industrial and new-rich class, in general) and the Black Guelfs (who were largely the old aristocracy, though actually poorer than the Whites). (Note: these two parties have nothing to do with race.)
Dante, an important white, was exiled from his home city in 1302, when the Blacks came to power in the city with the help of Philip IV, king of France. Sentenced to death should he ever return, he never saw the city again.
The story opens to Dante (he is the main character in his own poem) being chased by a leopard, lion, and she-wolf (representing Worldly Pleasure/Florence, Ambition/France, and Avarice/the Papal See, respectively and drawn from Jeremiah 5:6) on Good Friday, 1300. He is saved by the poet Virgil, who offers him an alternate path: through the lands of the dead. He was sent as help by Beatrice, whom Dante had loved in life (in real life, as well as fictional).
They descend, crossing the river Acherus, carried by Charon (who does not want to let Dante [being alive] in at first).
They have now entered Limbo, the first ring of Hell, where the only torment is that of being eternally seperated from God. There, they meet Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan.
Opinion:
Despite the large amount of words that go on my list to look up (such as those last three people), The Divine Comedy is still off to a great start. It has a nice meter to it that keeps it firmly in the "verse" category, but doesn't fall to far into it. As a result, it reads almost like prose (which, for some reason, more easily holds my attention), while still feeling vaguely musical (for lack of better word).
How of this is due to Dante himself and how much to the translator, I couldn't say.
As I mentioned earlier, he does seems rather full of himself. Just the fact that he wrote himself in as the main character (who is having a miraculous journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven) is almost enough to demonstrate this, but he also appears to put himself on par with Virgil and Homer (which may or may not be true, but still).
Before I start on the summary and my opinions, there is some backround information that I'll give you (which isn't really necessary, but you'll get anyway).
Let's start with the title: The Divine Comedy. 2/3 of it may cause some misconceptions. First, Divine; it wasn't actually Dante himself that used this adjective, it was added a century or two later. My initial thought was that he wasn't that pretentious but, 30 pages in, I honestly think that he would have added it if he had thought of it. Comedy is clearly th more important word, but its possibility for causing confusion is larger. The word "comedy" did not initially mean that something was funny. It was simply the opposite of "tragedy," meaning that a comedy just had a happy[ish] ending; this is the sense in which Dante uses it.
On to Dante himself. As shown in the title, he was born in Florence, Italy in 1265. In the period in which he lived in Florence, his family had sided with the Guelf party, who wanted to give more power to the pope. They opposed the Ghibellines, who sided with the emperor. This division seems to have affected Danted less than another division; the White Guelfs (who were in the industrial and new-rich class, in general) and the Black Guelfs (who were largely the old aristocracy, though actually poorer than the Whites). (Note: these two parties have nothing to do with race.)
Dante, an important white, was exiled from his home city in 1302, when the Blacks came to power in the city with the help of Philip IV, king of France. Sentenced to death should he ever return, he never saw the city again.
The story opens to Dante (he is the main character in his own poem) being chased by a leopard, lion, and she-wolf (representing Worldly Pleasure/Florence, Ambition/France, and Avarice/the Papal See, respectively and drawn from Jeremiah 5:6) on Good Friday, 1300. He is saved by the poet Virgil, who offers him an alternate path: through the lands of the dead. He was sent as help by Beatrice, whom Dante had loved in life (in real life, as well as fictional).
They descend, crossing the river Acherus, carried by Charon (who does not want to let Dante [being alive] in at first).
They have now entered Limbo, the first ring of Hell, where the only torment is that of being eternally seperated from God. There, they meet Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan.
Opinion:
Despite the large amount of words that go on my list to look up (such as those last three people), The Divine Comedy is still off to a great start. It has a nice meter to it that keeps it firmly in the "verse" category, but doesn't fall to far into it. As a result, it reads almost like prose (which, for some reason, more easily holds my attention), while still feeling vaguely musical (for lack of better word).
How of this is due to Dante himself and how much to the translator, I couldn't say.
As I mentioned earlier, he does seems rather full of himself. Just the fact that he wrote himself in as the main character (who is having a miraculous journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven) is almost enough to demonstrate this, but he also appears to put himself on par with Virgil and Homer (which may or may not be true, but still).
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