The Second Circle

I am not going to lie I have realized Dante's The Inferno was an incredibly hard choice of poetry to read. The language is filled with words I don't recognize, mostly because they haven't been used in hundreds of years. The way the passages of the poem are organized and the grammar of it all is also ancient. I feel like I have to read each chapter three times in order to get a grasp of it. So after reading poetry and reading about poetry from our textbook for a few hours I decided to test out some of my newly acquired knowledge on The Inferno.  I started at Canto V, which details Dante's descent into the Second Circle of Hell, which is centered on Lust.

Thus I descended out of the first circle
Down to the second, that less space begirds,
And so much greater dole, that goads to wailing.

Interesting use of words here who knows if they were common in Dante's day. I had to invariably look these up so I could get the full meaning of the passage. Begirds means to encircle with or as if with a band. Dole means a charitable dispensation of goods, especially money, food, or clothing. But archaically it means one's fate.  Goads means to prod or urge with or as if with a long pointed stick. Fascinating how understanding the definitions of words in a poem can change the meaning of it or deepen your perception. When I first read this it just described a man going further into hell. Now there is more claustrophobia, suffering, and fate attached to it. After analyzing and defining just this opening passage to Canto V I decided that poetry maybe can be fun with some deeper insight. I continued on...

There standeth Minos horribly, and snarls;

Examines the transgressions at the entrance;

Judges, and sends according as he girds him.

I say, that when the spirit evil-born

Cometh before him, wholly it confesses;

And this discriminator of transgressions

Seeth what place in Hell is meet for it;¹⁰

Girds himself with his tail as many times

As grades he wishes it should be thrust down.

Always before him many of them stand;

They go by turns each one unto the judgment;

They speak, and hear, and then are downward hurled.

While I was reading this I was able to see the relationship between Minos, who seems to be a judge in hell, and those who are to be judged. As I read I noticed that many action words were used to describe this relationship: Standeth, examines, judges, sends, girds, confesses, seeth, thrust, speak, hear, hurled. All action words, all quick. When I read the action words I associated the poem with comics I used to read as a kid making it easier for me to analyze. The condemned go through their line moving at a quick pace, with Minos the monster and their judge hurling them down to hell. I could visualize the scene in my head, frame for frame. This was just the first page of the Canto, but I honestly loved it! Breaking the poem down allowed me to have greater understanding and gave me something I could compare it to which always helps.

Entering the Inferno

So after spending about three hours of my morning going over the common readings and some literary terms while getting some errands done I decided to soak up some sun by the pool. While I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the fiction stories provided with the common readings I thought I would try brushing up on my poetry skills and have a little self introspection. I brought along a book of poetry I recently purchased called The Inferno by Dante. For those of you who know what that is, you know that it isn't really light poolside reading.

Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark....

The Inferno is the story of how one man (Dante) is guided through hell by a famous poet named Virgil. From what I have read so far he is not enjoying his experience at all and he is only a spectator. Now I know this is kind of an interesting choice for a book given the subject matter and the difficulty in reading 14th century epic poetry, but bear with me. I follow a show called Mad Men, which I consider to be the most well written show of all time, and after seeing the show's main character Don Draper reading and quoting passages from the book I felt compelled to read it and understand it myself. Don Draper himself is going through a bit of hell right now in the show, and there has been a constant tone of death felt throughout this season. By reading this book not only have I gained some insight into my favorite show, but I have also gained some personal treasure from it, much like when I read the scriptures. Two hours well spent. My favorite passage from today:

"Thy soul attainted is with cowardice,

Which many times a man encumbers so,

It turns him back from honored enterprise,

As false sight doth a beast, when he is shy."

Canto II: 45-48