Canto 19 and 20 Kiegan Rice and Palak Patel
19 Literal Third Pouch of 8 th Circle of Hell Simony Buying/Selling Pardons or Church Offices Punishment Souls stuck headfirst in pits, only legs out Flames touch at their feet Pope Nicholas III Thinks Dante is Pope Bontiface
19 Literal (cont.) Pope Nicholas III claims that worse than him still live on Earth Dante – Reference to St. Peter Didn’t buy key to Heaven and Earth Virgil agrees with Dante, helps him to fourth pit
19 Allegorical Shows that sale of holy things is not yet a thing of the past, including arranged marriages (technically sale) He saw his marriage as a political marriage, wanted to marry Beatrice Still feels sympathetic towards sinner, confused as to what is going on in his journey through hell Less sympathetic as book goes along, accepts divine justice
19 Moral Criticism of the Catholic Church Pope Nicholas, Simon Magus (sorcerer) Represented spiritual services for money Indulgences - Reformation Like worshipping a false idol
19 Anagogical Upside-down people Subordinated the heavenly to the Earthly Simon Magus – Talked against before reach Simony circle, Simony is named after him
20 Literal Fourth Pouch of 8 th Circle of Hell Punishment, endless walking Sees…OMG…backwards heads!! pity Astrologers, Diviners, Magicians Amphiaraus, Tiresias, Aruns, Manto Virgil tells about the founding of Mantua
20 Allegorical The Divine Comedy, as it goes deeper into hell and harsher punishments, now has less emphasis on Dante’s character and more on moral judgment of others Dante- sympathy and uncertainty, goal: moral clarity Virgil- rationality and straightforward, goal: lead Dante
20 Moral Used trickery instead of actual magic Didn’t like astrologers Virgil had absolutely no sympathy for them either
20 Anagogical Must look backwards because they tried to look forward into the future during life Deformation of Education = Magic Virgil’s Reason vs. Magic Possibly represents Dante’s view of Reason vs. Power
19 & 20 Poetic 19 – Dante’s speech about simony – 6 lines – Devil?! “Here pity or here piety, must die if the other lives; who’s wickeder than one that’s agonised by God’s high equity” Double significance, mutually exclusive (HARRY POTTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)