Monday, November 23, 2009
::InFeRnO::
There is a wall running along the outside and has a great circular pit at its center. You see ten evenly spaced ridges run between the wall and the pit. These ridges create ten separate pits, in which the perpetrators receive their punishments...This is Malebolge, the eighth circle of Hell. The Panders and the Seducers in the First Pouch acted pimps, selling women as merchandise from one buyer to the next. Now for their punishment they run from one demon’s whip to another’s as if they are now the cattle, or slaves. There is a part that sticks out to me and its when Dante says, “Searching it with my eyes / I saw one there whose head was so befouled / With shit, you couldn’t tell which one he was” (XVIII.106–108). Dante finds humor in this punishment i think and appreciates the power of scripture, but throws in a bit of humor with it. All this time Virgil and Dante have been threatened by demons or those who work in Hell as the punishers or even some of the beasts, but everytime they just say they are on a voyage to Heaven they are left alone and allowed to pass. Why is this? SInce it is Hell of coarse wouldnt you think that those who are in it would despise anyone who was Heaven bound? Also not only were the two poets allowed to pass, but they were given 10 demons now to go with them. However these demons are captives here too, because as seen in Canto XXIII, they cannot leave the Fifth Pouch. The demons are fallen angels, and have been given their own particular tortures for their unloyalty to God. Dante’s encounter with the crucified Caiphus was a sense of moral highlight to Christian believers i think. Caiphus was a priest under Pontious Pilate, who told the Pharisees to let Jesus die, than make chaos and trouble in the nation. He was a hypocrit, preaching common sense but not showing it, he now stays in the Sixth Pouch. Because he called for Christ’s crucifixion, he lies crucified. Just like Jesus did for us, and because his actions contributed to the suffering of one for the sins of many, he now lies up there for all of the other sinners in the Sixth Pouch.
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am i the only one still doing this? haha, well anyways...
ReplyDeletedante and virgil are allowed to pass i think cuz they are on a mission from god, and god still has the ultimate power, even in hell. so they can't do anything about it!
good job melon... (we're almost done) ;)
haha yes megan, you were. i wasn't able to get on the internet for a while, but i'm commenting now! (sorry it's so late mel lol)
ReplyDeletei just have one question. if virgil and dante are given 10 demons, but the demons are still sentenced to the 5th Pouch where they can't leave, why are they "given" to them? They can't go anywhere...right?
but good job! way to keep on top of it!
Megan's right, Virgil and Dante are allowed to pass because in Dante's version of hell God's power is so extensively in control that its [hell's] residents are unable to do anything but obey him. It was only before being sent here that they could resist his will (or try to).
ReplyDeleteYou made it...nice work Melissa. You chose a very challenging piece.
almost forgot...noticed you stopped with posts for the week of the fifteenth, and a Thanksgiving break post. Ideally, we should have two more...one for December 6, and one for the 13th of December. If you choose to post them they will be accepted without penalty and your grade will be upped accordingly. As it stands, I will post the grade based on what you have already posted ...
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