And now I can hear the notes of agony/ In sad crescendo beginning to reach my ear / Now I am where the noise of lamentation/ Comes at me in blasts of sorrow. Canto IV 24-27
The Inferno of Dante reminds me of an epic; an epic like Lord of the Rings. It seems to me that the epic is a story. A story of passion, a story of love. But in that story Dante finds a little more than he expected to in his grief for his dead lover.
A second thought that struck me as odd, is Dante's focus on emotions and thoughts rather then on the actual gruesome acts that I think of when I think of hell. I think of hell as a place of torture, but especially in Canto III and IV, I find that Dante seems to view Hell as a place of emotional sorrow and unrest. A friend once described her view of hell, and I have come to agree. Hell she said was a place where she was completely isolated. It was a cell in which from she could see people suffering and yet she could not leave the cell to help them. I find that Dante agree's with my friend. Dante portrays this world of suffering and pain that isolates the reader from what is going on, and in no way does the reader have a way to save the pain and suffering that cries out from the words that Dante writes. So in fact Dante in this way gives us a little bit of hell, by letting us know the suffering, letting us pity, and want to help, but feel isolated in this world, because nothing we can do can change his words or save his imaginary people from the eternal suffering Dante has surrendered them to.
I also find it odd that the way Dante characterizes each level so far with names. I am afraid that because I don't know the names I will not understand the significance of each level of hell. The reference to the philosophers somewhat transcends the ages because to me they represent this intellectual aspect of life. I am not sure why though Dante chooses to send them to hell. Or I may be confused that they actually are in hell. The point being is that the difference in ages between when Dante wrote "The Inferno" and now seems to add a new twist to what Dante says; in fact I found myself trying substitute the names Dante used centuries ago with actual names of people that fit my age and era--I wonder though if Dante would consider the names black cats, and simply meant to just be there. From the evidence he has provided each name does somehow characterize the level it is at.
I think the power of the intellect is held in a sort of godliness. Thus, he follows Virgil a poet of both high intellect and artistic vision. He isn't lead by Gabriel or St. Peter. I find that interesting.
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