Dance With The Devil

1) Dante's Divine Comedy in many ways functions as a critique of his modern society; faced with violence and corruption in Florence, Dante reacts with moral outrage towards his contemporaries. For this prompt, find a story from our news today that strikes a chord of moral outrage in you. Summarize the story in detail and explain your outrage, making sure to cite your research. Then, connect your story back to The Inferno - is this an issue that Dante addresses in any way or is it something unique to our modern society? Would you and Dante be in agreement regarding this issue?

     Our 21st century society certainly has its flaws. From violence, to fraud, to rape - the world tragically has all ends covered. Dante, in The Inferno, addresses his feelings towards these sins which were also committed in his time in Florence. One very real aspect of society which strikes a chord of moral outrage in me is gang violence. Violence from gangs is much more common than expected, and is at an alarmingly high rate in the United States. The reasoning behind many of these gangs' hatred is rooted from so long ago that no one even knows why they violently despise the other so vehemently. But, in spite of their lack of solid purpose, these gangs continue to ravage innocent people, rape unsuspecting victims, and scar people every day. These types of sinners could be punished under many different circles of Dante's Hell ( like a Venn diagram! Haha).

In the song Dance With the Devil by Immortal Technique, a recollection of a true story, a man named William (Billy) is pressured to join a gang because he believes it will provide a better life for he and his family. To join the gang, he is forced to sneak up on a woman in the street, rape her, and then murder her when finished. (Please disregard the foul language in the song if you look up the lyrics.) At the end of the attack, he reveals the face of the innocent, crying victim. He screams and begins to shutter and cringe. The limp, bloody woman was his own mother. The singer of the song at the end confesses that he was not the murderer and rapist, but rather one of the men pressuring the victim's son into the gang. He sings of how incredibly regretful he feels, and preaches to others who may be in that situation: "So when the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never, Because the dance with the devil might last you forever."

He warns everyone to be very careful, because "devils used to be gods, angels that fell from the top". This parallels Dante's Inferno quite well in the perception that everyone in life is a beautiful creation of God, but if the wrong choices are made anyone and everyone is susceptible to becoming a Devil, or sinner in Hell, very easily. The singer of the song is trying to help his fellow mankind before they make a mistake as grave as he did, which haunts him every day of his life. 

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This is an acoustic version of the song Dance with the Devil by Immortal Technique.

The song uses  profanity and is somewhat graphic due to its raw and tragic subject matter.

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      Although this song specifically speaks about one situation, it really addresses bigger, world-wide problems. Incidents of violence such as this one happen far too often. These gangs would be punished in Circles 2, 5, 6, 7, and all bolgias except 3 and 4 and of Circle 8 if they were banished to Dante's Inferno. WOW! That is a lot of punishment. Deserved punishment, if I might add. Dante addresses lustful sinners in circle two, which would be where someone who committed rape would be sent. Also, circle seven is where the violent people are banished. Violent gang members would most definitely fit under both of these categories. During Dante's time there was no such thing as the "Bloods and Crips" (haha), however, as Dante mentions several times in the novel, there are feuding families in Florence which strongly resemble the competition between gangs in modern culture. Because of these rivalries between fellow men, gang members could also be sent to circle 8 bolgia 9, where Sowers of Discord are punished. These are sinners who disconnected connections or relationships in life. Gangs often unjustly disconnect families and friends by pressuring people into their gang or by framing people.

      Dante's Hell would not be favorable for the violent gangs and their members resembling the ones in the song above. People who have committed crimes of this level of violence deserve punishment of equal penance.

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This is a map from the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement site depicting the magnitude of gang-related  

arrests due to violence.

Blood is Life, Blood is Death

3) In Circle 7, the Violent are punished in three separate rounds depending on the nature of their violent tendencies. Choose one round within Circle 7 and explore an archetypal symbol that Dante uses there to explore the sin. You may, for example, look at the river of blood in Round 1 or the trees in Round 2 or the desert and fire in Round 3. Consider the archetype itself and then how Dante utilizes the symbol to enhance his own work.

Dante's Inferno is jam-packed with symbolism. Each canto and stanza of the Inferno possesses an alternative meaning. This was Dante's way of conveying his controversial theories and beliefs about society. Hidden in each vivid description and conversation is an allusion to his opinions on mankind and life.

In Circle Seven, Dante encounters a River of Blood in which people who were violent againsttheir fellow men were banished to boil for eternity. The blood in this circle of Hell represents the bloodshed of the people who were victimized by the violent sinner. The blood's molten, excruciating temperature is the punishment the sinners receive for initially spilling the blood. It is symbolic of God's scolding attitude towards the violent.

"So we moved along the bank of the scalding purple river

in which the shrieking wraiths were boiled and dyed." (96)

~ Image from Wikipedia

However, on a broader scale, the River of Blood represents much more. Blood is an archetypical figure which represents a multitude of meanings. Most commonly, the archetype of blood represents that of life. Even dating back to the Bible blood has represented vitality. It is believed that Jesus's blood is the blood which gives us life. Blood is the substance which humans and animals thrive on - without blood surging through our veins we would not live. Even the color of blood is sharp and lively, but in Circle 7 the blood in the river is described as "purple", which is not a natural, hue for blood to be. Purple blood signifies ill health, and in this case signifies the gloomy remorseful mental state of the souls regarding their punishment and sins. The River of Blood is ironic because what usually serves as the root of life is serving the sinners' fatal pain eternally. It suffocates the sinners, drowning them in guilt and immerses them in heavy and hot stagnant misery.

Interestingly, blood can represent death as well. When large amounts of blood are expelled from the body, fatality occurs. This also is a symbolic aspect of blood in Circle Seven.

The fact that the blood is flowing through a river is additionally metaphorical. A river is usually filled with cool, crisp water and inhabited by aquatic life. This river, however, is dank and laden with tortured spirits. Dante is attempting to illustrate the sharp contrast between life on Earth and life in hell. In this circle he once again tries to prevent all readers from committing sins - in this case, the sin of violence.

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• Below is another video from the EA Games video game Dante's Inferno. Although this is just a game, it provides correct depictions of the three rings of Circle Seven. Note the immense River of Blood.

"Everything in Moderation. Nothing in excess." - Socrates

3) Choose one circle that Dante visits in Upper Hell and carefully analyze how the punishment of the sinners embodies the law of contrapasso. To develop this topic to the proper degree, you will need to very closely analyze specific language and imagery utilized in this circle. Make sure to consider the description of the circle itself, the way the sin is described, and the way the punishment is described. What does Dante seem to be asserting about this sin specifically through the punishment he chooses.

   Contraposso is the manifestation of a person's sins in life as a symbolic punishment in Dante's Inferno. Although each circle has a contraposso of its own, the punishment in the second circle of Upper Hell definitively symbolizes the sin of carnality - "And this, I learned, was the never-ending flight/of those who sinned in the flesh, the carnal and lusty/who betrayed reason to their appetite" (37).

      This canto (V) begins with the introduction of Minos, the semi-bestial judge who determines the punishment of each soul. Minos coils a long tail to illustrate the circle number they are banished. This long tail is similar to that of a snake. I found it interesting that in Greek mythology, the Minoan Snake Goddess is symbolic of fertility. Fertility is in connection with the lust of the sinners sent to Circle II in this canto. Also, the dis-union of Minos's body (half beast, half man) symbolizes Dante's ambivalent feelings toward love and lust. Love is good, and love is evil.

Francesca and Paolo, lovers condemned to Circle II
 because of adultery.

      Souls who loved and lusted too much were sent to Circle II. As punishment for their excessive passion and carnal actions, these people were condemned to an eternity amidst violent storms, wind, and tempest, which strained and whirled the shrieking souls constantly inflicted with anguish. The contraposso of this punishment is the idea that the sinners' carnal and passionate actions in life represent wind in that they both serve as a distraction, throwing people off course and leading them away from reason. Love and lust altar the focus of life to one of flesh and stimulus.

      The imagery used in this circle also embodies the law of contraposso and symbolism. Dante describes the circle as dark. Although this detail seems minute, there is hidden meaning behind it. The carnals are forced to live forever in the darkness because (blatantly enough...) most of the lustful sins committed in their lives took place in the dark. By sinning, the carnals chose their punishment of darkness. Also, Dante spots cranes flying above the tempest, crying. When a group of souls see the cranes, they attempt to join them-- but are once again set off course by the lashing of the sharp winds. In Greek culture, cranes were admired for their endurance and conduct, and their triangular flocking pattern which mimics the Holy Trinity and Dante's obsession with the number 3. The sinners' failed to follow the path of the focused birds because the wind caused them to lose sight of their reason and destination, leading them astray similarly to the way lust caused them to lose sight of reason in life.

      Dante in the story cries and faints at the end of this circle. He has much pity on the souls and is confused about how people could be punished for great love. Beatrice the Love Goddess is said to be a representation of a "perfect" woman who he was madly in love with for his whole life- even during his marriage. It seems to me that Dante feels relatable to the sinners of this circle in that he loved another woman while he was married. In my opinion, Dante is also presenting the idea that love is based on good, heavenly intentions, but excess of it is evil.

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• Beware if you get nightmares easily - this video is kind of scary! However, it provides a vivid illustration of Dante's imagery in Canto V Circle II.