In “The Inferno”, Dante describes the Woods of Suicide as
consisting of thorny and gnarled trees
which are the souls of those who committed suicide. The Harpies tormented the souls by breaking the branches and snapping limbs only to have them grow back again.
How does Dante feel about suicide?
When Dante/pilgrim enters into the seventh circle, he finds himself in another, darker forest.
Here the souls of those who have committed suicide are removed from their earthly bodies and are transformed into horrible, gnarled thorn bushes
. It hurt me deeply to read this part of The Divine Comedy.
What Canto is about suicide?
In
canto 13
of Dante’s ‘The Inferno’ we enter the second ring of the seventh circle, which is a sad looking forest. Here we find those who committed suicide, or violence against oneself.
Who does Dante cry for?
Suddenly, Dante sees three Furies—creatures that are half woman, half serpent. They shriek and laugh when they notice Dante, and call for
Medusa
to come and turn him into stone.
What is the punishment in Circle 7?
While traveling to the seventh circle, Dante and Virgil cross paths with a minotaur that protects this ring. The souls punished here
are forced to drown in boiling blood
and if they try to resurface above the level of their punishment they are shot with arrows by hundreds of centaurs who watch over them.
Why is Dante completely silent in Canto 12?
The pool of boiling blood
serves as an allegorically apt punishment for those who were violent toward others: they sit eternally submerged in the blood after which they lusted in life.
Why does Dante pity sinners?
He is also faced with many enemies and tests. The sinners cause
Dante to show sympathy for them because of their punishments they have to face
. When Dante reaches the fortunetellers and diviners he begins to feel sympathy for them. Virgil explains, “ There is no place for pity here.
What happens to the souls who betray their guests?
Dante displays his abhorrence of such crimes by devising a special rule for those who betray their guests:
their souls descend immediately to hell and their living bodies are possessed by demons when they commit
these acts (Inf. 33.121-6).
What is the punishment in Circle 9?
Those who get sent to the Ninth Circle are stuck in the lake,
their bottom halves frozen into it and unable to move
. The Devil, also called Lucifer or Satan, is at the center of the innermost layer of the Ninth Circle because he was originally an angel who ultimately rejected and betrayed God.
Did Virgil enter heaven?
Virgil was a Roman poet who lived between 70-19 BCE. … Virgil is trapped in limbo because he was born before the birth of Jesus Christ, and so he doesn’t really belong in hell, and
he can’t go to heaven because he was a pagan while alive
.
What is the punishment in Circle 8?
Dante calls it malebolge
Which sin is held in Circle 7?
The
sin suicide
is seen as a selfish act. One only thinks of themselves and no one else is the decision. When a person commits suicide, their souls loses it’s sense of identity.
What is the punishment in Canto 12?
The pool of boiling blood
serves as an allegorically apt punishment for those who were violent toward others: they sit eternally submerged in the blood after which they lusted in life.
Why is Minotaur in Circle 7?
The Minotaur is
a perfect guardian for the sinners of the seventh circle because of his bestial and violent nature
. Dante distorts neither the mythological Minotaur nor the Centaurs in Inferno; he found them appropriate as they were for this particular circle. … Minotaur Greek Mythology.
Why does Dante faint?
Virgil tells Dante to take comfort in Charon’s first refusal to carry him on the boat, because only condemned spirits come this way. As Virgil finishes his explanation,
a sudden earthquake, accompanied by wind and flashing fire from the ground
, terrifies Dante to such a degree that he faints.
What might Dante be suggesting about those who sin?
During his journey through hell, Dante sees that sin
must be punished because it goes against God and the perfection of the world
. … Moreover, he learns that sin functions on a continuum from least terrible to heinously awful; sins are punished by evaluating the gravity of the sin committed by the sinner.
