Blogpost #6

Blogpost #6

Throughout Cantos XXI-XXVII, it is evident that the path Dante and Virgil are traveling on is getting tougher and tougher and more obstacles are being thrown their way. As their voyage becomes increasingly more difficult, a shift in their relationship is seen and they become closer. Evidence of an obstruction in their path is first mentioned in Canto XXI on page 191 lines 107 and 108 when one of the demons warns Dante and Virgil, “’There is no use in going much farther on this ridge, because the sixth bridge … is smashed to bits.’” It is calculated on the next page, by the way, that this bridge crumbled 1266 years ago on Holy Saturday following Jesus’s death (this is explained in greater detail in the reference pages in the back of the novel). This is significant because it not only gives the reader a reference as to when Dante entered Hell, but also because it signifies that Dante is going through a huge struggle that will have great significance to humanity, just as Jesus did the same week 1266 prior. The next obstacle Dante and Virgil face that brings them closer together is in the beginning of Canto XXIII, when they realize they are about to be hunted down by demons for causing them harm. At the bottom of page 207, Virgil says to Dante, “If I were a leaded mirror< I could not gather in your outer image more quickly than I have received your inner. For even now your thoughts have joined my own; in both our acts we are kin—with both our minds I’ve come to one decision.” Virgil says this to point out that the fear they share makes them alike and bonds them together. Their bond is developed further on the next page, when the demons fly to them and Virgil immediately becomes protective of Dante, like a mother’s instinct (lines 37-45). It even goes as far as to say that Virgil cares for Dante more than himself. This shift in their bond shows a development in their characters, as they are now more reliant on each other and trust each other more. Another time this shift can be seen in the text is in Canto XXIV on page 219. As Dante and Virgil are traveling on an extremely steep slope, Dante reaches a breaking point and tries to quit pushing forward. But instead of breaking, Virgil delivers a motivational speech to him and instills confidence in Dante to keep going.

Throughout this selection, Dante uses foreshadowing in many interesting ways. One particular instance I found interesting is on page 197 at the beginning of Canto XXII. At this point in the journey, Dante and Virgil are being accompanied by a pack of demons through the Fifth Pouch of the Eighth Circle. In this circle, Dante has already witnesses that Barrators are punished by being forced to submerge themselves into boiling tar. In lines 19-24, Dante mentions that occasionally these spirits come out of the tar like dolphins and show their backs in our to have a brief moment to “ease [their] torment.” Back in the time period Inferno was written, dolphins were seen as a warning for a storm coming. The use of dolphins in this chapter is symbolic because it foreshadows both the immediate possibility of conflict, in which the spirit may be tortured by demons if caught coming up out of the tar, and the more long term possibility of conflict, which takes effect at the end of the Canto, when Dante and Virgil cause a scene that results in two demons dying, which puts their lives at risk.

Another case of foreshadowing I found interesting in the passage is on pages 223 and 225 of Canto XXIV. At this point, Dante encounters Pistoia, a thief who forewarns Dante that the two groups in Florence (the Blacks and the Whites) will have a “fierce” and “impetuous” “clash” which will result in the Blacks defeating the Whites. Back in Italy, Dante is part of the Whites, so this foretelling is a warning of a struggle Dante will face on Earth. This also connects to another warning from a spirit in an earlier chapter in which it was told that the Blacks would win the battle at first, but eventually, with God and Dante’s help, the Whites would triumph.

Many cases of poetic justice are also seen throughout this selection. For example, on pages 209 and 211 the hypocrites are described as wearing cloaks that are “dazzled” on the outside but “heavy” and made of lead on the inside. This is to signify that the image hypocrites like to portray themselves as through their words is much more appealing than their true character, which often goes against what they say.