Canto III

Summary In canto III, Dante travels through the gate. What he sees overwhelms him. The sinners in this area are forever chasing a banner. They are being chased by hornets and wasps, and their blood feeds worms and maggots that live below. Virgil guides Dante to the river that leads further into the inferno. Charon denies Dante’s passage further into the inferno because he is a living man destined for a better place. Virgil tells Charon that Dante must make this journey. At the end of the canto, Dante faints.

The Gate of Hell I AM THE WAY INTO THE CITY OF WOE I AM THE W In what ways does Dante’s use of a gate, an object familiar to all medieval people, make his allegory seem all the more real? I AM THE WAY INTO THE CITY OF WOE I AM THE W The gate symbolizes entering a different phase or place. The Gate of Hell is a door, locking up the condemned and warning all who enter. It also serves as a boundary.

The Gate of Hell Why do you think the imagery at this point in the poem appeals almost solely to the sense of hearing? “Here sighs and cries and wails coiled and recoiled on the starless air, spilling my soul to tears. A confusion of tongues and monstrous accents toiled in pain and anger. Voices hoarse and shrill and sounds of blows, all intermingled, raised tumult and pandemonium” (Dante 666). “‘Master, what gnaws at them so hideously their lamentation stuns the very air’ ‘They have no hope of death,’ he answered me” (Dante 667). The disturbing cries and sounds of the souls set the tone and mood for Inferno. Sound can be interpreted the same. The darkness of the place limits all other senses.

The Opportunists What message does this Canto provide to readers about those who will not or cannot make a commitment to God? What image might be appropriate to appear on the banner pursued by the Opportunists? Those who can’t make a commitment suffer the consequences, deserving nothing good. They took no side, therefore they are given no place. They pursue an eternal, ever-shifting banner, as they pursued the ever-shifting illusion of their own advantage. As their guilt conscience pursued them, they are pursued by wasps and hornets. “These are the nearly soulless whose lives concluded neither blame nor praise. They are mixed here with that despicable corps of angels who were neither God nor Satan, but only for themselves” (Dante 667). An image of something of self-desire would be appropriate.

The River Judging from this character, in what ways has the mythology of ancient Greece and Rome provided Dante with source material for his allegory? The general concept of the underworld is already set in stone. The reader can interpret what is going to happen and recognize the meaning behind it. According to Greek mythology, Charon is a boatman who ferries the souls of the dead across the river Styx to Hades. In Dante Inferno, he ferries on the Acheron.

Torments of Hell Why do you think Dante dwells on the physical torments of Hell? Having experienced this for the first time, Dante is shocked and feels sympathy for the condemned souls. He feels it is important to elaborate on the physical torments and how truly terrifying and horrible Hell is. The physical torments and consequences indicate what type of sin was committed by the individual.

The Vulgar Tongue A vulgar tongue is the language spoken by the “vulgus” or common people. As the common tongue became the dominant literary language, literature took an increasingly important place in the life of society. Choose three or four words that seem to you to reflect the language of ordinary people...

Senses and Culture Identify the senses to which the images in the last three stanzas of Canto III appeal. Why do you think Dante swoons at this point? Dante is a national hero for many Italians. Which writers, if any, play a similar role for Americans?

Stanza Analysis (Virgil): “This is the place I told you to expect. ~What does Vigil mean by “souls who have lost intellect?” How does this line connect with Dante’s belief that the human’s ability to think and reason are gifts from God? (Virgil): “This is the place I told you to expect. Here you shall pass among the fallen people, Souls who have lost the good of intellect.” (16-18) “No soul in Grace comes to this crossing; Therefore if Charon rages at your presence You will understand the reasons for his cursings” (124-126) ~Charon, the ferryman of the underworld, leads certain souls across Acheron into Limbo. Why does he rage in the presence of souls who are doomed for hell?