Daniel Scott Sonia Fanucchi

2388339 Canto 1
Dantes Inferno

ESSAY COVER SHEET

COURSE CODE: ENGL 2008A

NAME: Daniel Scott

STUDENT NO: 2388339
GROUP NO: Pity and Piety in Dante’s inferno
TUTOR : Sonia Fanucchi
DUE DATE : 19/03/2021

PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

I Daniel Scott
am a student registered for ENGL2008A
in Year 2 (year).

I hereby declare the following:

 I am aware that plagiarism (the use of someone else’s work without their
permission and/or without acknowledging the original source) is wrong.

 I confirm that the work submitted for assessment for the above course is my own
unaided work except where I have explicitly indicated otherwise.

 I have followed the required conventions in referencing the thoughts and ideas of
others.

 I understand that the University of the Witwatersrand may take disciplinary

action against me if there is a belief that this is not my own unaided work or that
I have failed to acknowledge the source of the ideas or words in my writing.

Signature: __________________________________

Date: ______19/03/2021________________

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Daniel Scott Sonia Fanucchi
2388339 Canto 1
Dantes Inferno

Answers for Canto I

1. I always knew who I am.

Yet, I never portrayed the me, that I am to be.
Scared of the world and the binaries brought on by a capitalist world.
It evolves into a convulsion of bullets that barrage at the brain, heart and soul.

School. Work. Family. Life.

Is this what is intended for me? To live a tedious, monochromatic and flat life?
2. Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alighieri has many connections to the text in Question 1.
Firstly, some similarities are creating the essence of a “journey” (Dante, 1), that
connect the writer and reader. Furthermore, the idea of the journey is used to highlight
the dread coming from both sides of life, in Question 1 the text focuses on the
monotony of life. Secondly, another similarity is an ever-present idea that harshness is
uncontrollable to the speaker, the “nature of the wood, savage, dense and harsh- “(5)
highlights the way life and the afterlife is against you and set out to crumble you. In
Question 1’s text the “convulsion of bullets” is a metaphor for uncontrollable forces
aimed against the speaker. Lastly, another similarity is an imbalance of power, both
speakers in each text are under a personified figure, when “I saw its shoulders” (16) in
Dante’s Canto and the presentation of question in Question 1’s text. This emulates the
idea that someone or something is always in control of life regardless of what life you
choose.
However, there are an array of differences, the text in Question 1 focuses on
the human elements of life that are not inherently natural in many cultures of the
world, yet Dante encapsulates rage and anger in all elemental forms, the “perilous
waters” (24) and the “light of the planet” (17) brings forth an ethereal tone to the
poem. The junction between all forms of nature allows for Dante to emphasise the
impact of this journey, for all and for himself.
3. Dante starts Inferno I by creating a sense of collectiveness, to relate to a common
pilgrimage of the afterlife, religion and life itself. Dante uses the term “our” (1) to
highlight the significance many people have towards their faith as well to allow Dante

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Dantes Inferno

to be seen as a martyr for a collection of people. Dante emphasises this by highlight

the pain and anguish the speaker goes through, such as the “wearied flesh” (28) the
speaker bears going on this journey. Moreover, “my life” will imply that the speaker
uses this journey as personal venture to exploit the findings of their journey, by using
“our” (Line 1), Dante creates a shared journey that allows the reader to be brought
along throughout the Canto. Furthermore, Dante signifies that “no mortal being ever
left alive” (Line 27) upon this pass that is taken, this allows to Dante to solidify the
position of a martyr and be the sacrificial lamb.
4. In Dante’s Inferno I, the main connotation of Christianity is the essence of Lent,
which is characterised by Dante himself taking a spiritual voyage to hell. Firstly, the
idea that the speaker “forsook the one true way” (Line 12) is reminiscent of reaching
the path to ultimate enlightenment, much like a cleansing, that Dante uses to being a
journey. As well as walking “along the desert slope” (Line 29), like Jesus in the desert
for 40 days and 40 nights. These tones of Christianity allow Dante to create a divine
tone for the reader to appease with the journey of exploration in the “vast desert”
(Line 64). Secondly, Dante sets the time of the poem, by creating the presence of a
“sweet season” (Line 43), that represents Spring or Easter, this alignment of time
allows Dante to depict a transitionary period in the life of someone or himself, by
creating an impression of Spring it allows Dante to stimulate change of spirituality
and essence in man. By doing this Dante inflicts change upon the reader, which
allows him to amplify the forces of “God’s own love” (Line 39).
Dante uses these underlying tones of a pilgrimage and spiritual journey to
highlight the piety of Virgil, the one that acts as a “shade” (Line 66) of mercy for the
speaker. Virgil is seen as a guardian angel, as he falls “before my eyes” (Line 62) of
the speaker and the reader. This introduction allows for Dante to put Virgil in a
position of authority, leadership and guidance, to become a “teacher” (Line 85) of the
journey.
5. The three beasts of the mountain are representations of emotion of man that prevents
Dante from climbing to the “peak that gives delight” (Line 77). Firstly, the “leopard
light and swift” (Line 32) is portrayed as an imposing force that overtakes the speaker
and does not allow Dante to ascend to enlightenment. To the reader, the leopard is
used as a tool to personify the feeling of anxiety the speaker holds, where several

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Dantes Inferno

times he “turned to go back down” (Line 36). This force is used by Dante to expose
the human flaws people have to truly ascend into spirituality, the ability to trust in
something is blocked by the presence of the leopard. Secondly, the lion “furious with
hunger” (Line 47) represents the anger and greed of man, that blocks the true journey
of ascendance. The “beast with gaudy fur” (Line 41) is used by Dante as a tool to
highlight the true gluttony of man and portray the disgust the poet has for the way the
man has engulfed the world. The lion is a representation of the internal struggle to
always want more for the self and to achieve personal growth. Lastly, the wolf “that
have made many live-in wretchedness” (Line 51) is the embodiment of despair. That
is used by Dante to highlight the true fall of man to the reader. By Dante turning the
speaker into a dejection of nature where he is driven to “where the sun is silent” (Line
60) further forces Dante into an unnatural world, mentally and physically. This last
beast is seen as being “charged with all the appetites” (Line 50) is used by Dante to
show the everlasting feeling of there always being a dark world or a negative in every
light we see.
In conclusion, all three beasts are used as tools to deliver an amalgamated
embodiment of the phases of limbo man passes through. However, it also adversely
portrays the true faults of man, by confining these beasts as the guardians of delight.
Dante aims to show the reader an unveiled and raw sequence of the path after life, that
is symbolic of the true pilgrimage. Dante highlights the importance of stripping man
of their pride, hope and passion to reveal the true feeling of delight.

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2388339 Canto 1
Dantes Inferno

Works Cited

Aligheri, Dante. The Inferno. Trans. Robert Hollander & Jean Hollander. New York: Anchor
Books, 2000.