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DANTE'S USE OF THE EXTENDED SIMILE
IN THE INFERNO
294
THE EXTENDED SIMILE IN THE INFERNO 295
the final vision, there is more and more metaphor, and that this
is appropriate since the nature of the poem alters from narrative
to visionary.
Somewhat different is the approach of Miss Batard, who
has studied the working of Dante's imagination as it is revealed
in the total imagery.8 Although her discussion contributes little
to our knowledge of the nature of Dante's similes, it does
illustrate the interaction of the similes and the other images
and figures of the poem.
This survey of the previous critical material dealing with
Dante's similes indicates an increasing awareness of the necessity
of focusing the discussion on the text of the poem in all of its
aspects-the nature of the secondary term, its relation to the
primary term and the immediate and total context, its
interaction with the other imagery and the allegory. In this
article I will try to explore these several relations, with the hope
of revealing the complex contribution of the extended simile
to the central design of the poem. I will try to show that the
similes have a power of suggestion which is much greater than
the specific comparison and which is in fact an integral part
of the narrative stream.
However, before turning to the particular similes, it is
necessary to recall that the principle of suggestion is to be
found near the center of Dante's poetic conception, since he
is endeavoring to evoke an abstract pattern which can be applied
to many areas of experience. That Dante understood figurative
language, not as a form of ornamentation, but rather as a means
of expressing the truth, of making intelligible the unintelligible
can be induced from the following quotation in which Beatrice
is explaining to Dante the projected appearance of the blessed
in the celestial spheres from their home in the Empyrean:
5
300 JAMES APPLEWHITE
harmony with the whole canto, the stil nuovo tone of which
contrasts both with the dark forest the poets have left and
with the stark horror of the inferno they are about to enter.
It is a sort of lyric interlude, but an interlude which is also
a hope for the poet and a prefiguration of the Earthly Paradise
for the reader, since Beatrice not only descends, but also ascends.
Thus it is highly appropriate that this simile be found in
connection with Beatrice's appearance, for it is she who brings
back to the poet the world of the Vita Nuova as he looks
forward to Paradise.
The image is all the more striking since in typical Dantean
fashion the secondary term precedes the primary. However, far
from representing a stalling point in the course of the narrative,
in this simile as in the preceding one, a narrative transition is
made within the figure itself. The image is completely
symmetrical, there being a direct correspondence between the
two subjects. The parallel may be classified as the status quo
ante (" i fioretti, dal notturno gelo / chinati e chiusi " = " mia
virtute stanca "); the motivating force (" 1' sol li 'mbianca " /
= " tanto buono ardire al cor mi corse,"); and the result (" si
drizzan tutti aperti in loro stelo," / = " ch'i' cominciai come
persona franca: :"). Once we reach the result we are already
passing beyond the status quo of the narrative. One can only
marvel at the skill of a poet who can thus progress his narrative
while focusing our attention on an emotional state.
There is another type of simile found in the Inferno which
might be called the epic simile. It is also an extended
comparison, but differs from the first two similes we have
considered because of its asymmetrical structure and because it
does not contain a precise correspondence between the respective
contents of the two terms of the comparison. The several
occurences of this type of simile in the Inferno are usually
troubling to the critics and commentators because of the seeming
lack of relevance of the secondary term and because the tone of
the simile seems to defy integration with the flow of the
narrative. I believe that if we talk, not in terms of unified
content or narrative, but in terms of artistic unity, it is then
possible to note that these passages are extremely relevant, and
302 JAMES APPLEWHITE
than the reaction they produce in Dante and the peasant, nor
any similarity between Dante and the rustic other than this
relation. Nor is there any visual comparison between the delicate
late winter landscape and the horrid ruggedness of the infernal
terrain. Structurally, the simile lacks the symmetrical proportion
so characteristic of the other type of simile we have discussed.
Moreover, the tone of the passage is directly opposed to the
prevailing mood of the narrative. The style of the passage, the
periphrasis of the first tercet, the preciositd of the second suggest
the atmosphere of a or a dolce stil novo
Provencal lyric
composition, and are far removed from the vibrant
monumentality of the Inferno. " La figura del villano, che 'si
batte I'anca' e 'qua e 1l si lagna, / come '1 tapin che non sa
che si faccia,' non &ritratta dal vero nd approfondita psicologi-
camente, ma stilizzata secondo un modulo di grazia disegnativa
lineare e goticizzante. A tale disposizione, alquanto esterna e
decorativa, della sensibilit5 che ispira la pagina, rispondono i
mezzi stilistici, lessicali, metrici, con la ricercata invenzione delle
figure (cfr. vv. 1-2, 4-6, is, 18), con lo studio delle rime difficili
(-empra, -anca, -agna, -accia, -astro, -eggia, -appa) e anche, con
frequenza insolita, delle rime equivoche (cfr. vv. 2 e 6, 11 e 13,
e 24, 37 e 39)-" 11
o20
The disparity of the two terms of the simile, the seemingly
incongruous evocation have led many readers to consider this
material extraneous to the poem, an interesting if somewhat
overdone lyrical passage to be appreciated somehow out of
context. I believe this to be a mistake, and all the more so since
this is not the only passage in the poem where the art of Dante
seems to escape the context of the narrative, nor even the only
instance of a run-a-way simile. In reading him we become aware
that Dante is extremely conscious of his stylistic means and is
aware at all times of the effect he is producing, and that the
Commedia is one of the most carefully and elaborately
constructed of all works of art. To say that he forgot himself
once or twice is plausible, but to say that he forgot himself
repeatedly is not. It is far more reasonable to assume that the
unity exists on a level other than content, tone or style: on
the level of artistic composition.
304 JAMES APPLEWHITE
non corra che virth nol guidi;"), and the conscious self-
admonition of Dante the poet is echoed in the precarious
physical position of Dante the pilgrim who is in danger of falling
into the error of those who did not guide the flight of their
intelligence with virtue (" Io stava sovra '1 ponte a veder surto, /
si che s'io non avessi un ronchion preso, / caduto sarei girl
sanz'esser urto."). Finally, the voyage of Ulysses is generally read
to symbolize the inability of man to attain the Earthly Paradise
on the basis of purely human values and without Grace.
From this point of view, the calm of the scene in the first
simile, which pictures a peasant, a man of little genius, who
" si riposa " when his effort is no longer illumined, provides a
double contrast with the difficulties of the pilgrim Dante and
the restless roving of Ulysses, for both are struggling without
complete illumination. The contrast is even present in the
comparison of the joyful spectacle of the fireflies with the
tormented flames of the damned, though the purely visual
experience is similar.
In a like manner, in the second simile the flaming ascent
of the prophet Elijah is a pictorial representation of a virtuous
flight, an illustration which could not be expressed explicitly
in the Inferno because it could not be consciously perceived by
the pilgrim in his state of ignorance. Moreover, the periphrasis
which is used to designate Elisha suggests a contrast between
the chosen prophet as spectator and the pilgrim Dante as
spectator. Thus, in this canto, the motif of the allegory is
presented through the variations of invective, self-admonition,
the calm of the peasant's ordinary, controlled genius, the
heavenly flight of the prophet, the state of the damned, and
the final voyage of Ulysses, in an ever increasing crescendo.
These examples from the Inferno illustrate how there is
an interpenetration of different areas of reality at any one
moment of the poem. Not only do the similes of Dante increase
the visual vividness of the scene, they also enhance the
suggestiveness of the narrative moment by offering contrasting
variations which both expand and conflict with the episodes
and the other imagery. Moreover, they often play an important
role in the very flow of this narrative. They are well-forged
THE EXTENDED SIMILE IN THE INFERNO 309