Song of Solomon

The characters of Song of Solomon complement each other in unusual ways. Certain characters, like Macon, Ruth, and their children, are "supposed" to display more civilized and sociably acceptable behavior. Other characters, Pilate, Reba, Hagar, and Guitar, are expected to behave like those on the other end of the social spectrum. In reality, it's the least likely of characters who exhibit the most highly regarded characteristics. Pilate, specifically, is a good example of this. The audience receives details of her appearance--she "was as poorly dressed as the doctor's daughter was well dressed" (5). From the beginning, her character is described as exactly the opposite of Macon, who is proper, neat and always dressed professionally. At first glance, Pilate is the disgraceful one. As the story develops, the audience can see how the personalities and beliefs of each character are also opposites. They not only contrast each other, they also contrast what is expected/perceived of each character. Macon's love of property and lack of morals do not match the kind of success and power given to his character. Pilate, who chooses to live the way that many of her neighbors try so hard to improve/escape from, seems to have her life more together. Appearances are misguiding and rarely are first appearences correct in this story.

Pilate's character is mysterious. She doesn't always make sense, and she often leaves the reader questioning her thoughts and motives. Though she has spent much of her life helping (and being surrounded by) women, she is quick to call them weak and foolish. This is an idea that reoccurs throughout the story. While many of the female characters do come off this way (Ruth and her daughters are weak, Hagar and Reba are foolish), the reader has to question if the men in the story are any better. Pilate appears to be the only character free from these characteristics. She seems to be all-knowing. So personally I wonder why she would make this statement. Why are women weak? Perhaps women's greatest (or sole?) weakness is how they rely on men.

It's Pilate's complexity and contradictory nature that make her such an important character in the telling of the story.

Cantos 31-33

Canto 33 line 85
Their youthful ages made them innocent!

This line made me think about where the children go when they die young. Obviously they aren't completely spared from punishments or from Hell, as mentioned in Canto 4. Limbo contained children who were not baptized. However, Dante encounters mostly adult souls, people who either knew or were supposed to know of their sins. So, are children always held accountable for their sins even if they were not aware that they were committing them? Is a child's ignorance to the "rules" an excuse for sinful behavior? I wonder if it was purposeful of Dante not to include many descriptions of such punishments of children. Perhaps this would have been too much, and perhaps he would have lost some merit or some readers. Including descriptions of suffering children would certainly bother readers more emotionally than any other passage. It would also show better than any other passage the unfairness of Hell.
Perhaps all children truly are innocent, and perhaps they're the ones who go to heaven.

Canto 33 124-130
Know that as soon as a soul commits betrayal
The way I did, a devil displaces it
And governs inside the body until its toll
Of years elapses. Meanwhile, down to this vat
The soul falls headlong-so it could be true
That this shade, wintering here behind me, yet
Appears above on earth too

I found this passage interesting because in this instance the soul who is being punished has not even died yet (or his body hasn't at least). The idea that you can start your eternal punishment before even completely leaving the earth is interesting. It brings the idea that one can be punished at any time, and death is not necessary to begin this punishment. This passage is also very sad because of the feeling of loss the person has towards what was taken from him, the remainder of his life. It's interesting how a devil replaces the soul inside the body. Why isn't the body just killed? Is this in itself another form of punishment (knowing your body is living on without you)?
I especially would like to know how this devil behaves in someone else's body. Would he personally try to create conflict in the sinner's life? Or does he simply take advantage of living life in human form (something he can no longer experience)?
Do the person's friends/family ever notice the change?

Why Dante?

Dante's Inferno has lasted through the centuries for many reasons, one being all the different elements and themes. Christianity is the most broad of these. Dante provides very specific images to what was previously left to the imagination. The different circles of Hell become more real and more frightening. Some may fear these sorts of punishments for their sins while others may find the hypocrisy in it all. Because religion itself and Christianity specifically aren't going anywhere, stories dealing heavily with the subject (like Dante's) are likely to attract readers no matter what the time period. Dante's Inferno is both a look into the past as well as something that can be applied to events today. Specific names and events mentioned in the story relate to Dante's era; however, the ideas presented with these events can be related to present day occurrences.
Though Dante's Inferno may give the reader something to fear, it also engages the audience with its morbid images. Audiences all throughout history are fascinated with the disgusting. For this reason alone, Dante's work has made its way through the centuries, capturing its audience with grotesque images.
Dante included many different elements in his story: political, mythological, and religious. This provides the reader with endless questions to ponder and ideas to think about. It is doubtful that any generation will get bored with the Inferno.

Cantos 21-23

Canto 22 lines 117-123
Timing exactly when,
Feet firm against the ground, the Navarrese
Suddenly leaped and instantly broke free
Out of their custody. Each demon, at this,
Felt stung by his misdoing-especially he
Who caused the blunder. So crying out, "You're caught!"
He flew away in pursuit, but futiley

This passage shows an example of where a sinner has power over the guards who keep them. They don't always have as much control over things/souls as they seem to. This passage and the next show the imperfections of the demons and their limitations. They're also obviously not the smartest or fastest of creatures either. Is it only on rare occasions that they get taken advantage of or do they normally have control over things? Is having to deal with all the trouble-making souls another form of punishment for the demons?


Canto 23 lines 46-52
Hurtling along with me upon his breast
Not like his mere companion, but like his child.
Just as his feet hit bottom, on the crest
Above us they appeared-but now they held
Nothing to fear, for that high Providence
That made them keepers of the fifth ditch willed
That they should have no power to leave its bounds.

The first two lines are interesting because Dante is described as a child and Virgil as a mother (mentioned earlier in the passage). Why specifically is Dante mentioned as a child and Virgil as a mother? Is Dante supposed to come off as extremely vulnerable and possibly innocent, like a child is? The fact that Virgil is described as a parent figure (specifically a mother, as mentioned earlier) seems quite purposeful. The relationship between the two was always presented as Virgil being the greater, more intellectual one and Dante being his follower. This description makes the relationship much more personal. Virgil appears very protective over Dante. Why does he care so much? The last line in this passage is also very important. These demons are presented as powerful inforcers of the rules/laws, but in this passage they are anything but. Their powers are limited and are kept in line by greater beings/powers. The demons are stuck there just like all the other souls.

Cantos 13-20

Canto 13 line 142
And I-I made my own house be my gallows.
This line and the longer passage it came from was especially sad to me. It described the stage designed for those who did harm to themselves, or committed suicide. In doing so, these people were hoping to escape pain and despair. Instead, they were thrown into even more of it, probably much more intense and everlasting than what they suffered from before. Once again, this idea of faith seems ironic. Instead of Christianity (& Christians) supporting those who suffer, especially believers who suffer, or relieving those of their suffering, it merely punishes them more if they choose to try to escape it. Is it their fault for leaving a life that by no control of their own was unfair and damaging? What is the purpose of God/the religion not offering hope to those before they commit such crimes?
This line also seems to have a double meaning, one very literal and one more metaphoric. The character speaking literally did kill himself (by hanging) in his house. Once he died, he was sent to this level of Hell where he and everyone else like him were made into trees. When the time comes, they receive their bodies, but these bodies are hung on their branches. Once again, his "house" (his tree form) becomes his "gallows".


Canto 19 lines 1-6
O Simon Magus, and O you wretched crowd
Of those who follow him and prostitute
In your rapacity the things of God
Which should be bridges of righteousness, to get
Silver and gold-it is time the trumpet sounded
For you: the third pouch is where you are put.

In this canto, Dante seems especially angry with the people placed here. Before he decribes the stages as foul-smelling, dirty, and disgusting. He actually pities the people who must suffer there. Here, however, he feels sorry for no one. Before even reaching the inside of this stage, he rants about his hate towards this specific crime. This sin, apparently, is worse than all the others. Perhaps it's especially important to Dante to punish these sinners because he's been personally affected by such people. Because Virgil later approves of Dante's thoughts towards these people, it is implied that the audience should, too. Some torture can invoke sympathy in the audience, but some crime are so harsh that no amount of torture is enough. This passage is the beginning of the canto that shows the difference between what is truly bad and what is perceived to be bad, at least according to Dante.
(According to Wikipedia) Simon Magus is the founder of Simonians and was considered to be a demon by some Christians.
Does Dante condemn those who commit such crimes because of personal experience or because it is also believed in the Christian religion that this is the worst (or one of) of all sins?

Cantos 6-12

Canto 6 lines 97-101

"Go back to your science, which teaches that the more

A creature is perfect, the more it perceives the good-

And likewise, pain. The accursed people here

Can never come to know true perfection; instead,

They can expect to come closer then than now"

A lot is packed into these five lines. This is a quote from Virgil. First he mentions the teachings of science, which seem possibly out of place in a book of religious thoughts and ideas. Science and religion are not known to mix well, and I'm assuming this was especially true during this time. Perhaps, however, some religious beliefs were considered scientific or fact. So, what does Virgil (& the society he grew up in) consider to be "science"? According to Virgil, this science teaches us that with perfection comes the ability to notice the good and the bad in the world. (Is it really science that teaches us this, though?) The most honorable of people can appreciate the good and recognize what is bad (according to Christians...). But isn't it also true that such sinners could know the difference just as well, yet disregard it?

Can the "accursed people...never come to know true perfection" because of how they used to live their lives or because of how they're treated in Hell? Are none of these people worth saving?

This "eye for an eye" philosophy seems contradictory to the Christian faith, or at least how it is perceived today. This idea is consistently present in all the levels of Hell. If you lived a certain sinful way, then you will forever endure the pain of such a sin. This is purely for suffer, not for learning from mistakes. Are these people aware of they're suffering if they never experience anything different?

If all of the different levels of Hell evoke sympathy in the reader, then is it the sinners who are or blame, or is it Christianity itself?

Canto 8 lines 77-80

Above the gates I saw

More than a thousand of those whom Heaven had spat

Like rain, all raging: "Who is this, who'd go

Without death through the kingdom of the dead?

This is the question we'd all like to know..

Perhaps Dante didn't choose to venture through Hell, but don't you wonder why he continues through so long without protest? And what is so special about Dante that he gets the opportunity/has to take on the burden of such a journey? Can any good possibly come from such a visit? Though the journey is more for the audience than for Dante, I still wonder the overall purpose or point. What are Dante's personal religious beliefs?

Masses and masses of people has been a reoccurring image in all the levels of Hell. "More than a thousand" describes this one. The fact that so many people are sent to suffer here makes it more personal. It's not just the worst of all mankind that is sent here; all wrongdoers end up here, even those who committed petty crimes of Christianity. The fact that Dante himself runs into so many familiar faces makes it seem like anyone could end up here. Is the purpose to make us all fear even our most insignificant of sins? Or perhaps it's to realize how unreasonable it all is? 

As a side note, I really like Dante's use of similes, as demonstrated in this passage (of those whom Heaven had spat like rain). It makes the descriptions much more powerful. 

Cantos I-V

CANTO IV lines 30-35

Through this, no other fault,

We are lost, afflicted only this one way:

That having no hope, we live in longing." I heard

These words with heartfelt grief that seized on me

Knowing how many worthy souls endured

Suspension in that Limbo.

In this passage, the reader, as well as Dante, gets a full sense of the injustice of hell (or at least the "level" right above it). It's not just a place for sinners. It's also a place for people whose only fault is being born centuries too soon or for not being baptized. It doesn't seem right that a place that houses all the evils of the world should also house honorable people who just happen to not have the "Christian" label. Though this "suspension in that Limbo" may not even come close to the conditions of the different levels of hell, the idea of being held captive for something completely outside of your control seems immoral (and one would assume immoral things to be unChristian). This situation, and similar ones that follow, show the hypocrisy of hell and the Christian faith altogether. 

 This passage was written to evoke a different emotion in the audience (sympathy instead of disgust).  It's clear that both Virgil and Dante are deeply affected by this place, meaning the audience should take special note of it, too. 

It is both ironic and fitting that the people here be made to live in the same way that brought them to Limbo in the first place, without hope (faith). This is true of all the different levels of hell, as later presented in the story.

CANTO V lines 8-13

Minos, great connoisseur of sin, discerns

For every spirit its proper place in Hell,

And wraps himself in his tail with as many turns 

As levels down that shade will have to dwell.

A crowd is always waiting: here each one learns 

His judgment and is assigned a place in Hell.

This passage introduces one of the most important characters, in my opinion. He's the ultimate form of justice and has the most power of any of the characters introduced so far. Does he just get to decide on his own what punishments will be given? If he truly is "dreadful," then can be really be fair in his judgments? Or are these judgments subject to his temperament? I wonder if this character is actually reasonable or if he just makes it up as he goes along. It seems that if each level of hell is made for people who committed certain sins, then his jobs isn't all that difficult. He simply matches specific sins to their broader categories, right? If this is true, then perhaps he's not the most powerful character. Maybe he's simply the messenger of someone who made up all the rules. Either way, his character appears to be one of the more interesting and maybe even one of the most mysterious. Instead of verbally telling people which level of hell they go to, he speaks by wrapping his tail around himself. Does this characteristic have a greater purpose? Or is it solely to increase his inhuman qualities? 

What also seems odd about this character is his place (and an important one at that) in a book about the Christian faith. Adding a mythical creature mixes religions/ideas, which is ironic considering (it seems like) such a thing could get you sent to hell.

Most importantly, I'd like to know: was he picked for the job because he's "dreadful" or was it the job that made him this way?