Analysis of The Divine Comedy by Dante: The Vision of Hell, Or The Inferno: Canto V



From the first circle I descended thus
Down to the second, which, a lesser space
Embracing, so much more of grief contains
Provoking bitter moans.    There, Minos stands
Grinning with ghastly feature: he, of all
Who enter, strict examining the crimes,

Gives sentence, and dismisses them beneath,
According as he foldeth him around:
For when before him comes th' ill fated soul,
It all confesses; and that judge severe
Of sins, considering what place in hell
Suits the transgression, with his tail so oft
Himself encircles, as degrees beneath
He dooms it to descend.    Before him stand
Always a num'rous throng; and in his turn
Each one to judgment passing, speaks, and hears
His fate, thence downward to his dwelling hurl'd.

"O thou! who to this residence of woe
Approachest?"    when he saw me coming, cried
Minos, relinquishing his dread employ,
"Look how thou enter here; beware in whom
Thou place thy trust; let not the entrance broad
Deceive thee to thy harm."    To him my guide:
"Wherefore exclaimest?    Hinder not his way
By destiny appointed; so 'tis will'd
Where will and power are one.    Ask thou no more."

Now 'gin the rueful wailings to be heard.
Now am I come where many a plaining voice
Smites on mine ear.    Into a place I came
Where light was silent all.    Bellowing there groan'd
A noise as of a sea in tempest torn
By warring winds.    The stormy blast of hell
With restless fury drives the spirits on
Whirl'd round and dash'd amain with sore annoy.

When they arrive before the ruinous sweep,
There shrieks are heard, there lamentations, moans,
And blasphemies 'gainst the good Power in heaven.

I understood that to this torment sad
The carnal sinners are condemn'd, in whom
Reason by lust is sway'd.    As in large troops
And multitudinous, when winter reigns,
The starlings on their wings are borne abroad;
So bears the tyrannous gust those evil souls.
On this side and on that, above, below,
It drives them: hope of rest to solace them
Is none, nor e'en of milder pang.    As cranes,
Chanting their dol'rous notes, traverse the sky,
Stretch'd out in long array: so I beheld
Spirits, who came loud wailing, hurried on
By their dire doom.    Then I: "Instructor! who
Are these, by the black air so scourg'd?"--"The first
'Mong those, of whom thou question'st," he replied,
"O'er many tongues was empress.    She in vice
Of luxury was so shameless, that she made
Liking be lawful by promulg'd decree,
To clear the blame she had herself incurr'd.
This is Semiramis, of whom 'tis writ,
That she succeeded Ninus her espous'd;
And held the land, which now the Soldan rules.
The next in amorous fury slew herself,
And to Sicheus' ashes broke her faith:
Then follows Cleopatra, lustful queen."

There mark'd I Helen, for whose sake so long
The time was fraught with evil; there the great
Achilles, who with love fought to the end.
Paris I saw, and Tristan; and beside
A thousand more he show'd me, and by name
Pointed them out, whom love bereav'd of life.

When I had heard my sage instructor name
Those dames and knights of antique days, o'erpower'd
By pity, well-nigh in amaze my mind
Was lost; and I began: "Bard! willingly
I would address those two together coming,
Which seem so light before the wind."    He thus:
"Note thou, when nearer they to us approach."

"Then by that love which carries them along,
Entreat; and they will come."    Soon as the wind
Sway'd them toward us, I thus fram'd my speech:
"O wearied spirits! come, and hold discourse
With us, if by none else restrain'd."    As doves
By fond desire invited, on wide wings
And firm, to their sweet nest returning home,
Cleave the air, wafted by their will along;
Thus issu'd from that troop, where Dido ranks,
They through the ill air speeding; with such force
My cry prevail'd by strong affection urg'd.

"O gracious creature and benign! who go'st
Visiting, through this element obscure,
Us, who the world with bloody stain imbru'd;
If for a friend the King of all we own'd,
Our pray'r to him should for thy peace arise,
Since thou hast pity on our evil plight.
()f whatsoe'er to hear or to discourse
It pleases thee, that will we hear, of that
Freely with thee discourse, while e'er the wind,
As now, is mute.    The land, that gave me birth,
Is situate on the coast, where Po descends
To rest in ocean with his sequent streams.

"Love, that in gentle heart is quickly learnt,
Entangled him by that fair form, from me
Ta'en in such cruel sort, as grieves me still:
Love, that denial takes from none belov'd,
Caught me with pleasing him so passing well,
That, as thou see'st, he yet deserts me not.

"Love brought us to one death: Caina waits
The soul, who spilt our life."    Such were their words;
At hearing which downward I bent my looks,
And held them there so long, that the bard cried:
"What art thou pond'ring?"    I in answer thus:
"Alas! by what sweet thoughts, what fond desire
Must they at length to that ill pass have reach'd!"

Then turning, I to them my speech address'd.
And thus began: "Francesca! your sad fate
Even to tears my grief and pity moves.
But tell me; in the time of your sweet sighs,
By what, and how love granted, that ye knew
Your yet uncertain wishes?"    She replied:
"No greater grief than to remember days
Of joy, when mis'ry is at hand!    That kens
Thy learn'd instructor.    Yet so eagerly
If thou art bent to know the primal root,
From whence our love gat being, I will do,
As one, who weeps and tells his tale.    One day
For our delight we read of Lancelot,
How him love thrall'd.    Alone we were, and no
Suspicion near us.    Ofttimes by that reading
Our eyes were drawn together, and the hue
Fled from our alter'd cheek.    But at one point
Alone we fell.    When of that smile we read,
The wished smile, rapturously kiss'd
By one so deep in love, then he, who ne'er
From me shall separate, at once my lips
All trembling kiss'd.    The book and writer both
Were love's purveyors.    In its leaves that day
We read no more."    While thus one spirit spake,
The other wail'd so sorely, that heartstruck
I through compassion fainting, seem'd not far
From death, and like a corpse fell to the ground.
  


Scheme AXBXXX CDXXEXCXXXX FGHIJGKXX LXMNXEOH XXX XIXBJXFXBPDOQXGXXRLXXXXXX STXGMX MDURVAX SUXWXXXSXWX XXDNXXWXUXXX XRXXEY XXXGAXX XTXXQGXARXQKYFVQXXXXXXKXPXD
Poetic Form
Metre 1011010101 1101010101 0101111101 010101111 1011010111 1101010001 1100010101 010111101 110111111101 1101001101 1101001101 1001011111 01110101 1111010111 10110011 1111010101 1111011101 1111110011 11111101 101001101 1111010101 1111110101 0111111111 1110111 1100010111 11010111111 110101111 1111110011 1111010111 11110110011 0111010101 1101010111 1101010101 110111101 11010101001 1111111 0110110010 10111111 0101010101 1011111011 011101 011111101 110111101 1110110101 1111111101 11111110111 101111001 110101111 1011110101 1111110101 1110111101 11111101101 10101110101 11001110111 101101101 1101110101 1111111 110101001 0101110101 01010010101 01110101 110010101 1111011111 0111110101 0101111101 101101001 0101111011 1011110111 1111110101 110110111 1101100111 1101011100 1111101010 1111010111 1111011101 1111110101 101111101 1101111111 1101010110 1111110111 11010010111 0111110101 1011011101 1101111101 1101110111 1101110101 11010001111 1001110001 110111011 1101011111 101111111101 11110110101 11111110 1101111111 10111011001 1111011111 1101011101 1101011101 1101011101 0101111111 11011011111 1101011101 1111011101 11111111011 11111111 01111011011 1101101111 0111111011 1111110101 01111111010 1111111111 1101111101 0101010111 1011110101 1110011111 1101110111 1101010101 1101110101 111111111 1101011100 1111110101 11101110111 1111011111 1100111110 1111011001 0101111110 10101010001 11101011111 0111111111 01111 1111011111 111101111 11001010101 0101001111 1111111101 010111011 1101010111 1101011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 6,024
Words 1,112
Sentences 59
Stanzas 13
Stanza Lengths 6, 11, 9, 8, 3, 25, 6, 7, 11, 12, 6, 7, 27
Lines Amount 138
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 358
Words per stanza (avg) 90
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 08, 2023

5:45 min read
5

Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri, simply referred to as Dante, was a major Italian poet of the Middle Ages. more…

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