Three circles and how the punishments fit the sins. The first circle of hell is called limbo, this is where people who do not accept Jesus Christ into their hearts are held. The poem states “They sinned not; yet their merit lacked its chiefest fulfillment, lacking baptism, which is the gateway to the faith which thou believest; or, living before Christendom, their knees Paid not alright those tributes that belong to God; I myself am one of those.” (Cuanto 4) This means that even if these people lived a righteous life they were yet to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts. These people are not punished in an active sense, but they grieve about their separation from God, with no hopes for reconciliation. This fits along with the sin because even though you have not committed sin, you still are yet to let Jesus impact your life. The next circle I want to talk about is the Third Circle this is called gluttony those with insatiable appetites are trapped in a freezing slush and are guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus. They are punished by not being able to stand, along with having the slushy waters cover their body in their entirety as they lie there. The slushy rain symbolizes personal destruction and the inability to stop eating. This fits the sin perfectly because when they were live humans all they wanted to do was eat or have excessive greed, now they realize it is not everything these people thought it would be. The final circle I would like to talk about is the Ninth Circle and it is treachery. This circle is composed up of a lake called Cocytus. The sinners placed here are submerged in ice with only their heads sticking out of the water. Lucifer is the Prince of Hell and he happens to have three mouths wich all contain a sinner. The poem states “ Each mouth devoured a sinner clenched within, Frayed by the fangs like flax beneath a break; Three at a time he tortured them for sin.” (Cuanto 34). This punishment fits this act of sin because treachery means to betray someone’s trust, when your heart is cold enough to hurt someone by betraying their trust it shall stay frozen for eternity.
Comparing the Odyssey to Inferno, both of these poems show similarities in the struggles of Odysseus and Dante. These men are both struggling to get back to the woman they love. Odysseus is on his way back to his wife and son after the trojan war and he faces many adversities on his journey. Dante struggles with good and evil, he explores deep into the Christian hell and heaven in order to learn to love again. Both of these men were also heroic figures in both of their poems.

Inferno Discussion
Andee Whitfield
South Plains College
ENGLISH-2332- World Literature
Mrs. Escamilla
October 14,2022
4. Select three circles (or sublevels) of Inferno and explain how the punishment fits the sin.
1- Limbo- Limbo is the first circle of hell and it occurs when a person doesn’t know that Christ exists or dies before they have been baptized. These sinners were born without the present of Christ and they can’t come into the presents of God. The punishment for this sin isnt torcher, just the pain of no hope.”No tortured wailing rose to greet us here but sounds of sighing rose from every side, sending a tremor through the timeless air, a grief breathed out of untormented sadness, the passive state of those who dwelled apart, men, women, children—a dim and endless congress.”Canto IV (25-30) pg.944 2- Greed Greed is the fourth circle of hell and it is a sin of desire, Dante and Virgil look and see the souls of people who are punished for the sin of greed. The people that have sinned of greed are split into two groups, people that hoard possessions and people that lavishly spend. These sinners all lacked moderation in controlling their expenses .They thought of nothing but money and by this they destroyed the light of God. The sinners that are divided, are punished by straining their souls angrily at a great boulder like weight, once they meet , they seperate pushing the boulder like weight apart and it begins over and over again ”they strained their chests against enormous weights, and with mad howls rolled them at one another. "Canto VII (27-28) Pg.957 They use great weights as a weapon, pushing it with their chests which symbolizes their selfish drive for fortune during their lifetime. 3- Treachery Treachery is the ninth circle of hell, the deepest circle which is guarded by Satan. This circle is split into four sections, though everyone in this circle is frozen in an icy lake. The first round is call Caina named after Cain, who murdered his brother. This first round is for traitors in a family.These sinners have their necks and heads above the ice and they are permitted to bow their heads. The second round is called Antenora, named after Troy of Anthenor, who was Priam’s counselor in the Trojan War. Antenora betrayed the Greeks and this round is for the sinners who are political or national traitors. The third is Ptolemaeus for Ptolemy, the son of Abubus, who invited Simon Maccabaeus and his sons to eat dinner and then he killed them,this round is for people who betray their guests and are punished more painfully because of the belief that having guests means entering into a voluntary relationship. The fourth round is called Judecca, named after Judas Iscariot; he betrayed Christ. This round is for traitors to their lords , these sinners lay sealed in the ice and they are completely twisted into every posture. “Some lie stretched out; others are fixed in place upright, some on their heads, some on their soles; another, like a bow, bends foot to face.”Canto XXXIV (13-15) pg.1080 These sinners lacked of a warm heart and so the punishment fits because they were in a icy landscape to be punished.
Reading the Odyssey and Inferno I see that both of the two are considered to be the most well known literature pieces to be written. The Odyssey was written about Odysseus and his journey home to reunite with his family, the Inferno was written about Dantes’ experience through the circles of hell. The stories had both difficult journeys through their poems, they both had life lessons and learned both from their sins.
My question- How does Dante represent good and evil?
The Divine Comedy: Inferno
The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Vols. A, B, & C.
Author: DANTE ALIGHIERI

Inferno Discussion
Lillian Tillery
South Plains College
ENGLISH-2332-World Literature
Mrs. Escamilla
Oct 14, 2022
Select three circles (or sublevels) of Inferno and explain how the Punishment fits the sin.
There are nine circles of hell, the further the levels go down the worse the sin is and punishment will be. The circles start off with a person who doesn’t accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior, then there’s lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. I will only be talking about greed, wrath, and lust. With Greed, there are two types of greedful people: the Hordes and the wasters. Both sinners are mobs with the weight of boulders, they collide with each other then separate and do it again for eternity. The hoarders and wasters only thought about their worldly things and nothing else, including God. They also cared nothing of the expenses only that they got their worldly items. The sinners’ drive for fortune in their lifetime symbolizes the way they have to fight each other in the fourth circle. In the fifth circle of hell the punishments of Wrath are held. The fifth circle is considered the “ Marsh of Styx”, it’s like a toxic river for the sinners to be immersed into. It is also the last upper circle of the nine circles of hell. The angry sinners fight each other on the surface of the river because of the anger they held from their lifetime. The souls of the second circle are tormented by great winds, a hurricane that sweeps the soul off of a dark ledge. “I came to a place stripped bare of every light and roaring on the naked dark like seas wracked by a war of winds.’’(Canto 5, P949, L28-30))In the lifetimes of the souls of the second circle they were supposed to avoid their desires and not give into them but because they gave in, their punishment is to be swept away and tempted by their worldly desires for eternity.
The Odyssey and Inferno are two very different stories but in ways they have some similarities. For example, both stories are based on the love of Odysseus and Dante’s partners. Beatrice, Dante’s partner, loved him so much that when he left on his journey she made sure Virgil went with him so if Dante died he and Beatrice would be reunited in heaven. “ For I am Beatrice who sent you on; I come from where I most long return; Love prompted me that love which makes me speak.”(Canto 2, L70-72)When Odysseus left Penelope for the war and he didn’t come back for twenty years, Penelope stayed loyal to him even though she was tempted by many suitors when he was gone. Both the main characters went on journeys that changed their lives forever. In the beginning of the odyssey, Odysseus was not a good person but on his journey to the war, and getting stuck on Ogygia, his perspective of life changed for the better. Dante didn’t believe in God and wanted to see for himself what would happen if he were to ignore him and sin. On Dante’s journey he saw the truth of the nine circles of hell and he changed his life so he could live his eternity in heaven. Both Odysseus and Dante have great struggles to get home after their journeys. Odysseus struggles with getting trapped and punished by the gods, while Dante struggles with being either good or evil or being sentenced to purgatory.
How were the levels of the circles of hell chosen?
The Divine Comedy: Inferno
The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Vols. A, B, and C.
Author: Dante Alighieri

Question: 2
Virgil plays an essential role in Dante’s journey through hell. Virgil is a guide, protector, and mentor for Dante. Virgil acts as a symbol of human reason and wisdom which is why he makes the perfect guide for Dante. Throughout The Divine Comedy it is Virgil who safely allows Dante to pass into each circle of Hell. Virgil often has to reason and bargain with the demons to allow the two poets to travel safely. In the fifth bolgia of the eighth circle, Virgil has to negotiate with a demon for Dante’s safety. It says in text, “To protect Dante from their wrath, Virgil hides him behind some jagged rocks and goes ahead alone to negotiate with the demons.” (Dante Alighieri, 2012, p. 1018) This is only one of several instances where Virgil has to negotiate safe passage for Dante. Not only does Virgil protect Dante, he also seeks to teach him. He teaches him about each circle of Hell. The sins that led people to be placed in their circle and the punishment they receive as a result of their sins. It is clear how important Virgil was to Dante on his pilgrimage through Hell.

Inferno vs The Odyssey
The Odyssey and Dante’s Inferno share several similarities and differences. The two stories can be compared and contrasted using the main character’s view on religion, the importance of the themes, and their respective journeys through Hell. Most notably Odysseus and Dante have two different views on religion. Odysseus is polytheistic and Dante is monotheistic. Odysseus believed in the many Greek gods, which in Christian religion falls under blasphemy. Dante believed in the one God of Christianity. Odysseus does appear in Dante’s Inferno, specifically in the eighth bolgia of the eight circle of Hell. The text states, “ all men of gift who abused their genius, perverting it to wiles and stratagems. -Their sin was to abuse the gifts of the Almighty, to steal his virtues for low purposes.” This adequately explains why Odysseus was sent to hell. The main themes of Dante’s Inferno are divine justice and the journey the soul takes to reach eternal life. This contrasts from the themes of the Odyssey which are loyalty, vengeance, and hospitality. The themes of the two stories differ as The Inferno relates to more ethereal themes and The Odyssey represents more worldly themes. Odysseus and Dante both have their own experiences with traveling through their respective Underworld or Hell. Odysseus travels to The Underworld in order to find wisdom on his journey back home through the physical world. Dante journeys through Hell in order to find the wisdom of how to overcome sin and reach Heaven. Odysseus traveled to the outer parts of his Underworld; whereas, Dante traveled through each part of Hell, to the center, and out the other side. Although they both go to their Underworld/Hell, they do so for different reasons and do so to different extents.

Original Question: How does Virgil guiding Dante compare to Athena guiding Odysseus?

Citation :
Dante Alighieri. (2012). Inferno. In Martin Puchner (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of World
Literature (4th ed., p. 930-1084). https://ncia.wwnorton.com/169414/r/goto/cfi/222

The fourth level of hell in Dante’s inferno contains those who were greedy on earth endlessly pushing large weights up a hill. “Here, too, I saw a nation of lost souls,far more than were above: they strained their chest against enormous weights, and with mad howls.”(Puchner, 2018, p. 957) Once they reach the top, the ones that hoarded possessions begin to argue with those who carelessly spent them. They eventually end up tumbling back down to the bottom of the hill and end up repeating the cycle for all eternity. This punishment is fitting because the weights represent all of the worldly possessions these people carried in life. Now they are damned to carry them for all eternity. The seventh circle of hell houses those who were violent on earth. In the second ring of this circle are those that committed suicied and their bodies have been turned into trees. “The souls of the Suicides are encased in thorny trees whose leaves are eaten by the odious Harpies, the overseers of these damned.”(Puchner, 2018, p. 982) This is fitting because the bodies that they disrespected in life have been eternally taken away from them. The ninth circle of hell is reserved for betrayers. Here, sufferers are encased in ice as icy winds blow on them. Satan also resides in this circle. This punishment is fitting because it is the most severe as Dante sees this sin as being the greatest of them all.

Dante’s Inferno draws many parallels to Homer’s Odyssey. First off, both of these epics are a grand journey to return to one’s home. Both characters also encounter terrible beasts as seen with Odysseus and the cyclops and Dante and the many horrible demons he ends up face to face with. A major difference in these two stories arises in the form of the main characters. Odysseus is a king and a great warrior who has seen and survived through numerous battles. On the other hand, Dante is not a king, nor does he excel in combat. Rather, he is a politician and a poet which greatly contrasts with Odysseus as a character.

Question: Do you believe any of the punishments given in each circle to be unjust. Should some sins be lower in hell? Should others be higher?

Puchner, M. (2018). The Divine Comedy: Inferno. M. Puchner (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Shorter Fourth Editions (1). https://ncia.wwnorton.com/ebook-worldlit4shorter

Select three circles (or sublevels) of Inferno and explain how the punishment fits the sin:
The second circle of hell is lust. The punishment for this circle is to be blown around by a storm endlessly. This fits the sin because their lust constantly blew them around lusting for others. They cannot overcome the power of the storm much like how they cannot overcome the power of their lust. The seventh circle of hell is for the sins of violence. It is divided into three rings. The middle ring houses those who are violent against themselves. People who commit suicide are taken here and turned into trees. The reason they become trees is, “Thus, they who destroyed their own bodies are denied a human form;” (Alighieri, 1314, p. 982) The punishment fits because they chose to get rid of their bodies, so they do not deserve to be reunited with them ever. The ninth circle of hell is for those who committed treason. It is the lowest circle of hell and is reserved for those who commit the worst sin of betraying someone special. They are frozen in ice to different depths depending on their sin. The lowest level of the ninth circle is called Judecca and holds those who betrayed their benefactors. It is named after Judas and houses Judas along with 2 others. He betrayed Christ and his perfect unconditional love. As a result, he must spend eternity being chewed by Satan in the lowest piece of hell. My question is if there was a 10th circle of hell what would it take to be put there?

Briefly compare and contrast The Odyssey with Inferno. Choose three points of comparison:
In Inferno, Dante goes on a quest to be reunited with his wife. This is similar to the Odyssey because Odysseus also wants to be reunited with his wife. They go on long journeys to be reunited. A major difference between them is in The Odyssey the gods are Greek gods and in Inferno, it is based on Christianity. They share some similarities with characters like Medusa, but the gods are very different. They also both share a quest for redemption in their lives. In the end Dante walks out a changed man and the last thing he says is “And we walked out once more beneath the Stars.” (Alighieri, 1314, p. 1084) He has finished his journey through hell and has learned his lesson. This is like Odysseus finally coming home and being with his family. They learn a lot of lessons and are redeemed by the end of their journey. My question is which journey would you rather be on?

References
Alighieri, D. (1314). The Divine Comedy: Inferno. In A. Johnson (Ed.) The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Shorter Fourth Edition: Volume 1 (Vol 1., pp. 929-1084). https://ncia.wwnorton.com/ebook-worldlit4shorter

Q2
Virgil’s presences is absolutely vital to Dante’s journey through Hell. On the surface level, the shade provides an extreme level of protection for Dante from the demons of Hell that seek to eternally torment Dante’s soul. Consistently throughout the poem Virgil instructs Dante to hide as he negotiates with the demons of Hell to allow them safe passage. Virgil’s protection of Dante is shown in Canto XII. In the chapter, Virgil tricks the Minotaur by angering him and then instructs Dante to “‘Run now! While he is blind with rage! /Into the pass, quick, and get over the side!’” (Dante Alighieri, 2012, p. 979). Looking deeper into the symbolism of Virgil, it can be seen that Dante views human reason and wisdom as pertinent pieces to resisting sin, as Virgil was used as a symbol for this human reason. Therefore saving one’s soul from the retribution of said sin. This is stated in the summary for Canto I, stating that, “Virgil explains that he has been sent to lead Dante from error.” (Dante Alighieri, 2012, p. 929).

Original question: What does Dante’s attempt to climb the mountain directly from the dark woods symbolize?

Odyssey vs Inferno
The Odyssey and Inferno can be compared and contrasted in many ways. These include the main characters, their journeys through their respective afterlives, and the settings . The main characters of The Odyssey and Inferno differ greatly in their morals and their objectives. It’s obvious to see that Odysseus and Dante have different morals. Odysseus thinks nothing of killing and violence, whereas it can be inferred that Dante would view these acts as immoral since a Christian commandment is “Thou shalt not kill.” In terms of objectives, Odysseus seeks to return to his home in the physical world, while Dante, on the other hand, is seeking to redeem his eternal soul and achieve eternal life in Heaven. The two stories also portray journeys through their respective afterlives. In the Odyssey, it only is a somewhat small portion of the story, as Odysseus seeks out Tiresias, who will aid in his journey home. Along the way Odysseus encounters many people that he knows and speaks with them. Contrary to The Odyssey, the entire story is about Dante’s journey through Hell, seeking to repent from his sins and gain his way into Heaven. Similar to the Odyssey, however, is how Dante also encounters many tortured souls that he knows and goes on to speak with them. Another point of comparison between The Odyssey and Inferno is the stories’ settings. The Odyssey takes place all over the Mediterranean, with a brief stop in the underworld with Odysseus attempting to voyage back to Greece from Troy over the course of 20 years. The story of Inferno mostly takes place in Hell, as Dante traverses through the nine circles in only ten days.

Dante Alighieri. (2012). Inferno. In Martin Puchner (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of World Literature (4th ed., pp. 925-1080). https://ncia.wwnorton.com/169414/r/goto/cfi/510

Question #5: In the three-part-poetic-series “The Divine Comedy,” Dante Alighieri becomes his own protagonist and main character as he writes about his journeys through the depths of hell all the way up to the heights of heaven.
Over the course of Inferno, Dante’s worldview seems to shift a little bit at a time as he becomes enlightened with knowledge of sin and its consequences, as well as the power of the divine over sin. We can see at the beginning of the poem, his worldview is shaped by what is immediately in front of him and how he feels emotionally; he is lost and desperately tired after blindly trudging through life. He is also naive in thinking that he can make it up to heaven by himself, and is quickly forced to retreat back into hopelessness when he is cut off by three monstrous animals: a leopard, a lion and a she-wolf. Dante even says of the She-Wolf in lines 52-54 “She brought such heaviness upon my spirit at sight of her savagery and desperation, I died from every hope of that high summit.” (“Inferno”, 2021, p. 931)

The Leopard represents Malice and Fraud, the Lion is Violence and Ambition, and the She-Wolf is Incontinence (no self restraint). These three animals are the primary examples of symbolism that Dante uses, and are intended to emphasize how humans – Dante included – cannot hope to ascend to heaven on their own because their own guilt holds them back and make it feel hopeless. My question to everyone who’s read this far is this:

Why does Dante choose to incorporate and consolidate so many aspects of faith and the spiritual realm into one story when it is clearly meant to focus on the more Christian beliefs and faith? (i.e why is Dante mixing up Christian beliefs with Roman/Greek mythos, and does it contribute to, or take away from his main ideas about sin?)

While written during an entirely different time period under vastly different circumstances, the Greek epic “The Odyssey” shares a few similar elements with the Dante Alighieri’s poem “Inferno.” The big picture here is simply that Dante’s inferno is also an epic in its own right. As is characteristic of many other pieces of literature that could be considered an “epic,” Dante uses his writing to explore his understanding of the supernatural forces that influenced his personal and cultural beliefs; in his case, this was the metaphorical exploration of the depths of hell, whereas in the Odyssey it was Odysseus sailing all over the ocean defeating supernatural monsters with the aid of Athena.
There is also a pattern in how both Dante and Odysseus seem to make a circuit of their journey; they start in one place, travel as far away as seems possible and then return back with an enlightened worldview. One third similarity can be seen in how both Dante and Odysseus frequently receive help or guidance from their companions or people they encounter on their travels. As already mentioned, for Odysseus this would primarily include Athena, but also characters such as Calypso, the various island kings he encounters, Circe, and ironically even some dead spirits from the underworld. For Dante, these characters would include his primary companion Virgil, but he also receives assistance or information from other characters he meets along the way such as Virgil’s contemporary philosophers and poets, a whole slew of ghosts and spirits, and even a few demons.

However, one of the biggest and most obvious differences between Inferno and the Odyssey is how Inferno is a lyrical poem and the Odyssey is most definitely not; they are both an epic with similar story elements, but Inferno clearly emphasizes several poetic elements that the Odyssey does not contain: consistent rhyme scheme, dramatic figurative language and strong metaphors. While this can be seen in every stanza of the poem from beginning to end, lines 37-39 of Canto V does a good job illustrating this when it says:
“And this, I learned, was the never-ending flight
of those who sinned in the flesh, the carnal and lusty
who betrayed reason to their appetite.” (“Inferno”, 2021, p. 949)

References:
Alighieri, D. (2021). Inferno. In M. Puchner (Ed.), Norton Anthology of World Literature (shorter 4th ed., pp. 925-1084). https://ncia.wwnorton.com/169414/r/goto/cfi/578

Dantes Inferno Discussion
Antonio Romero
South Plains College
ENGL-2332 World Literature
Ms. Escamilla
October 14, 2022

In every journey with the main character navigating the unknown, a guide is there to lead the way for the protagonist. Virgil the guide for the story Dantes Inferno plays an especially important role for the main character Dante as he navigates the Inferno. The story starts with Dante being stopped by three beasts on his way to paradise. The guide, Virgil, then appears to guide Dante down through the inferno. When in the inferno, the story makes it clear that Dante would be lost or destroyed before he even reaches the first circle. “By failure to understand what point it was I had pass through, judge if I was perplexed.” (Lines 93-96) In Dantes Inferno, Virgil is symbolized as human reason. In the story Virgil is given a chance to leave but Dante cannot enter. Instead, Virgil stays to open the door for Dante, proving his loyalty and his righteousness.
The Odyssey and Inferno while being different settings have a few comparisons. Both of the stories follow two men on a journey to a prized place. Odysseus goes on the journey by sailing in the intent of arriving at his homeland back to his wife, after fighting in the trojan war. Dante is on the journey to paradise but like Odysseus, Dante has to brave many conflicts. Through both of these characters’s journey they both gain help from a nonhuman being. In the odyssey the goddess Athena does what she can and manipulates events to help Odysseus. Also in Dante’s Inferno his guide Virgil who was once a human helps Dante navigate and reflect on himself throughout. With those two comparisons it should be a safe guess to assume that Odysseus and Dante are fundamental the same man but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Odysseus is a strong clever man that fought in the trojan war even devising a plan that would turn the tide of a never ending war. Dante however starts his story as a civil servant, essentially a politician. Dante is more of a political person instead of being a man of action like Odysseus

The three circles I chose were wrath, violence, and fraud. I believe having pain inflicted on you is a fair punishment. It is similar to the phrase “an eye for an eye”. The people are treated as how their victims have been treated. The sublevel of violence against others has a symbolic meaning to it. The sinners are submerged in blood. The lower they are, the more people they have killed. I enjoy this interpretation. The more blood on their hands, the more they will be consumed by it. The level of fraud is clever, especially the false identity portion. The serpents take over the human form and become hideous hybrids. Essentially, the serpents are taking away the person’s true identity and turning it into something they hate. What would be another punishment that you would enforce?

Inferno is similar to The Odyssey because both have a journey, start in media res, and involve Greek mythology. Both stories tell a tale about the main character going through a lengthy journey to get to a certain place. Odysseus traveled back home while Dante traveled out of Hell. Both stories start in media res. Odysseus is on the island longing to go back home. Dante is lost in the Dark Woods. Lastly, both stories incorporated Greek mythology by adding beasts, gods, and places. Centaurs, gorgons, and demons are examples of beasts in either story. Cerberus is shown in both stories. There are also references towards Greek gods in both Inferno and The Odyssey.

Alighieri, D., & Palma, M. (2021). Inferno. W.W. Norton & Company.