Dante
Dante the Pilgrim was once a spiritual and holy man, but as of recently he had felt less than holy. Yet, he still wants to remain spiritual. To do this, Dante must recognize the true nature of his sin(s), renounce them, and pay penance for them by travelling though the nine levels of hell. Dante the Author constructs several perspectives in the poem starting here. The light and dark imagery that will become repetitive and more abundant in later cantos. The light represents reason, truth, righteousness, and goodness. The main points in canto two lie in the fact that Dante introduces the character of Beatrice. Dante held her in high regard and thus immortalized her in his literature. In Canto III Dante and Virgil enter the gate that leads to the Vestibule of Hell, a place described as “nowhere.” Here, “souls who lived a life but lived it with no blame and no praise” (ln 36) must spend their eternity. In Canto IV, Dante awakens and finds himself “upon the brink of grief’s abysmal valley” (ln 8). This is the first level of hell, known as Limbo. Here, the virtuous non Christians dwell. This is the circle that Virgil resides in. The shades that belong to this circle have not sinned, but are condemned to hell because they have not been baptized or came before Christ’s birth. They receive no pain from their punishment. Yet, they must live without ever seeing God. This random condemnation rubs me the wrong way because it condems people for events out of their control, their birth. It also condems them for not being baptised which seems to go against the “forgiving God” notion. In Canto V, Dante and Virgil descend into the Second Circle of Hell, Lustful. At the gate to the circle stands Minos, son of Zeus and Europa, King of Crete, and known for his wisdom and judicial kings. His purpose is to appoint all that enter hell to what level of hell they must go. After strong words from Virgil, Minos allows them to pass. Dante wakes to find himself in the Third...
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