Dante is lost in a dark forest and Virgil comes to rescue him.[1]Dante’s poem consists of 100 cantos (think of chapters or sections). This first canto is considered an introduction to the rest of the poem. Following this one, then, there are 99 more cantos – … Continue reading
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At some point in the middle of my life[2]In the Italian, Dante uses the phrase “our life,” indicating to his readers that they are also woven into the fabric of his poem, and should consider themselves as fellow pilgrims on this journey … Continue reading – I can’t be precise, but I came to my senses in what seemed like a dense, dark forest because I had wandered – who knows how long – from the right path of life. It’s very hard for me to explain what this experience was like, finding myself in that wild, savage wood.[3]A dark forest, wild beasts, shadows, and unexpected terrors – Dante heightens our expectations with this image of sin and its effects which some commentators refer to as a “moral wilderness,” … Continue reading Just thinking about it now brings back terrible memories – such a bitter place – a nightmare, almost as bitter as Death itself! But I also want to show that good actually came from this, and to do that, I have to go back to the beginning and talk about things that were not good at all.[4]There is a wonderful irony at work here. The Poet tells us that his experience of this “moral wilderness” was nightmarish and almost worse than death (see Job 21:6: “Even when I remember, I am … Continue reading
So, to start …. I really can’t say how or when I came into that place[5]It is not too soon to notify the reader that there are two Dantes. One is the poet himself, and the other is the chief character within the poem written by the first. Dante the poet will occasionally … Continue reading because – let me be honest – it was like I had become sleepy and just slowly strayed away from the path of truth. At some point, wandering lost in that moral darkness, I came out of the trees into a kind of valley near the foot of a hill.[6]In the poem, this is the morning of Good Friday. By now, my heart was plunged deep in fear. But I got hold of myself and looked up where I saw that the sun’s rays were lighting the top of that hill[7]Dante refers to the sun as a “planet.” In his poem, he uses the Ptolemaic system of the cosmos in which the Earth is at the center with the sun and all the other planets revolving around it. – the light that enables us to follow the true path in life.[8]A sheer abundance of symbolism awaits the reader of this poem. This opening canto is an introduction to the whole poem, and subtly foreshadows its three-part structure. We have already seen the … Continue reading
I was panting like a swimmer who, now safely on shore, looks back at the dangerous waters behind him.[9]Some commentators appropriately suggest that what Dante has experienced here is a kind of moral “shipwreck” from which he has narrowly escaped. And after spending such a night of fear and desperation in that morbid forest, just seeing the sunlight caused the terror in my heart to subside.[10]Night is often used as a symbol of sin and error. Ready to flee from that awful forest, I turned around once more just to see that place where no living soul escapes.[11]A foreshadowing of Hell. I was dead tired and rested for a while; then I began to climb up that barren slope before me, sort of limping upward – my stronger foot ahead of the weaker one.[12]The effects of sin still weigh heavily (symbolically) on Dante: he is filled with fear, he cannot rest, and he limps. Nevertheless, he seems to have some power of his will left by which he starts to … Continue reading
But! Just where the slope began to rise, out sprang a leopard, sleek and fast. Its hide was covered over with spots. No matter where I moved, there was that menacing beast blocking my way. Here and there it lunged at me, so that time and again it seemed the only thing to do was to run back down the hill.[13]While there are differences among commentators on the symbolism of this leopard, the most reasonable interpretation is that it represents fraud, which makes things appear what they’re not. Covered … Continue reading
It was early in the morning, and the sun was climbing into the sky with those same stars that moved with it in the heavens on the first day of creation. That was the day Divine Love ignited their beauty and set them turning. Seeing all of this, and knowing that it was springtime, made me think that I just might make it past that wild, painted beast.[14]The workings of fraud: forgetting the direction he’s running, this confluence of the rising sun, the stars, creation, springtime, and Divine Love lead Dante to believe that will be able to escape.
Well, that was a rash thought! My hopes collapsed into worse fright when all of a sudden a lion came straight at me! His head raised high, he roared with such ferocious hunger that the air around him seemed panicked at his presence.[15]Having been deceived by fraud into thinking (foolishly) that he would be safe, Dante is confronted by a second dangerous beast, a lion, which symbolizes violence. And as if this wasn’t enough, a gaunt she-wolf appeared, lean and snarling as though racked with every kind of greed.[16]This she-wolf, greedy and ravenous, represents the sins of unbridled lust and sensuality. You can imagine how many people she’s led to grief! Indeed, she brought my spirit so low because of the fear that seized me then – I just gave up all hope of climbing that hill.[17]Note how many times already Dante has expressed his fear which, in this third encounter with a dangerous beast, completely incapacitates him. Imagining how many others have been ruined by this … Continue reading
Like a gambler who one moment celebrates his winnings but then cries to see them trickle away, just so that relentless she-beast slowly forced me back into the darkness of that terrible forest I had just escaped. Running recklessly back into it, I caught sight of a figure coming toward me slowly – dim and faint, possibly, from so long a silence.[18]Though he staked everything on climbing the mountain and lost everything to the beasts that drove him back, meeting this stranger foreshadows the possible return of the hope he lost moments ago, … Continue reading
As I came closer to him standing there in that wretched place, I cried out in my anguish: “For God’s sake, have pity on my soul, you standing there – whatever you are – a ghost or a living man!”[19]Dante is in such a piteous state he cannot even tell whether the stranger he meets is alive or a ghost. All he can do is cry out.
“Alive once, no longer do I live,” he said. “I was a Lombard. My parents were Mantuans. And me, I was born late in Julius’ reign and lived in Rome when Augustus was emperor. Back then people still worshiped false and lying gods. I was a poet, and renowned for the epic whose hero was Aeneas. He fled the destruction of Troy and followed his destiny to be the father of Rome[20]Midway through this first canto, Dante now meets Virgil, the greatest of the Roman poets of the Augustan Age and author of Rome’s greatest epic, the Aeneid. One cannot overestimate Dante’s … Continue reading. But tell me, why are you rushing back into such a God-forsaken place? What drives you into such misery? Turn around. Climb this beautiful mountain here. Don’t you realize it’s the source of all man’s joy?”[21]In Dante’s poem, Virgil represents the voice of Reason, as can be seen in these three questions.
“Oh, my God! You are Virgil! You are that fountain from which flows such a rich stream of words,”I said to him, humbly lowering my head. “You are the light and the honor of all other poets. At last I begin to understand, and so may all the years I devoted to studying your verses, and the deep love I have for you, come to help me now! You are my mentor, my teacher, the first of all the authors I love. Do you realize that you alone are the one whose noble style I adopted that would bring me great honor?[22]Like the fountain he alludes to, Dante here lets flow his high praise for his poetic mentor and of his major literary influence on him. But look over there: you can see the snarling beast that finally forced me to run back down into this darkness. Most famous sage, save me from her, I beg you! Look at me trembling here.” I just stood there crying.[23]On the surface, this meeting of student and teacher is a wonderful coincidence, but it is also filled with pathos as the weeping Dante cries in front of his beloved teacher that he desperately needs … Continue reading
“Look, my son,” he answered, “it’s clear to me that if you ever hope to get out of this deadly place you’re going to have to take a different road.[24]Another foreshadowing of the macro structure of the Poem and of what lies ahead for Dante. Your tears are justified: that beast there has never allowed anyone to pass along that slope. She stops them right off and kills them! Her nature is beyond perverse and vicious. Her belly is never full; the more she eats, the more she craves.[25]As the voice of Reason, Virgil clearly articulates Dante’s situation, and in quickly sizing up the evil nature of the she-wolf, he creates an image of unbridled sensuality. Not only that, but the … Continue reading She mates with every kind of creature, and will go on doing so until that big dog, the greyhound, comes and chases her down. She’ll die a terrible death in his fangs! You see, he doesn’t care about land or money. He’s sustained by virtue, by wisdom and love.[26]This “dog” has baffled commentators for centuries, and there are many different explanations. I agree with several who see either or both a spiritual and temporal ruler, someone who will save … Continue reading He’ll be born between the two Feltros,[27]The location and/or meaning of these two places has been problematic for centuries. If the greyhound is Can Grande, then the Feltros might be a reference to or boundaries of lands controlled by him … Continue reading and his destiny will be to save poor fallen Italy – just as Camilla, Turnus, Nisus, and Eurylaus did, about whom I wrote in my great poem.[28]This is an interesting mingling of enemies in ancient Italian history. Camilla and Turnus were natives who fought against the invading Trojans, among whom were Nisus and Eurylaus. All four of them … Continue reading You can be certain of this: he’ll hunt for her everywhere until he drives her back to Hell where Envy first let her loose on mankind.[29]At the mention of Envy here, see Wisdom 2:24: “But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are allied with him experience it.”
“So, for your own good, I think the best thing is for you to follow me. I’ll guide you and lead you out of here. But our path will take us through an eternal place where you’ll hear tormented souls shrieking in desperation. I’ll even show you some as old as time itself. From all this you’ll learn what the second death is.[30]These lines, of course, refer to their upcoming travels through the pit of Hell. Keep in mind that only a short while ago Dante thought he could escape the dark forest by climbing the mountain. But … Continue reading But that’s not the end of our journey. Later, you’ll see different souls, souls who rejoice even as they suffer in hope, because they know their pains won’t last forever.[31]A reference to the Mountain of Purgatory. Eventually, they’ll join the blessed ones. If you wish to see those holy ones, I will give you over to a spirit much worthier than I. She will take you to them.[32]Sometimes, notes in the text must be “spoilers.” In this case, the reference here is to Beatrice, the third major figure in Dante’s Poem. She is Dante’s Muse, she is like the “fuel” that … Continue reading Me, I’ll go back then, leaving you with her because The Emperor whose city she’ll guide you to will not allow me to lead anyone beyond those souls who suffer in joy. That’s because I never knew Him when I was alive.[33]Virgil lived from 70BC-19BC. He reigns everywhere, and He rules everywhere. His throne is in the city of the holy ones, and happy are those He brings there as His citizens.”[34]Here, Virgil refers to Heaven where, because he was a pagan, he is not allowed to enter. Yet his affirmations about God are truly religious.
Hearing this, I begged him: “O Poet, in the name of God – the God you never knew – save me from this wretched place, and worse! Be my guide, lead me to that holy place where St. Peter guards the gate. And, yes, through that place of anguish, too.”
He nodded, moved on, and I followed right behind him.
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Notes & Commentary
| ↑1 | Dante’s poem consists of 100 cantos (think of chapters or sections). This first canto is considered an introduction to the rest of the poem. Following this one, then, there are 99 more cantos – 33 more in the Inferno, 33 in the Purgatorio, and 33 in the Paradiso, for a total of 100. Each of the three major parts of the poem is called a canticle (song). |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | In the Italian, Dante uses the phrase “our life,” indicating to his readers that they are also woven into the fabric of his poem, and should consider themselves as fellow pilgrims on this journey with him. Life is often imaged as a journey, and for the Christian Dante, our journey through life is intended to bring us to our “true home” in Heaven – from sin (the Inferno), to repentance (the Purgatorio), to redemption (Paradiso). |
| ↑3 | A dark forest, wild beasts, shadows, and unexpected terrors – Dante heightens our expectations with this image of sin and its effects which some commentators refer to as a “moral wilderness,” or “the wood of error.” In a kind of “mid-life crisis,” Dante has lost his way because he has not been attentive to the right path. In Proverbs 2:10ff, we read that wisdom, knowledge, and understanding will save those who are upright “…from those who have left the straight paths to walk in the ways of darkness.” Later in the poem, he will suggest that righteousness or virtue is something that must be attended to continually or it will fade away. |
| ↑4 | There is a wonderful irony at work here. The Poet tells us that his experience of this “moral wilderness” was nightmarish and almost worse than death (see Job 21:6: “Even when I remember, I am terrified; and my body trembles in horror”). Yet – and this is clever – though he would rather not talk about his experience, it has aroused his conscience and caused him to “wake up,” as it were, and come back to his senses. He sees that good can come from talking about it, and so in this positive light he launches into the first part of his poem. |
| ↑5 | It is not too soon to notify the reader that there are two Dantes. One is the poet himself, and the other is the chief character within the poem written by the first. Dante the poet will occasionally step into his poem, but it is Dante the pilgrim – the traveler – who speaks most of the time. |
| ↑6 | In the poem, this is the morning of Good Friday. |
| ↑7 | Dante refers to the sun as a “planet.” In his poem, he uses the Ptolemaic system of the cosmos in which the Earth is at the center with the sun and all the other planets revolving around it. |
| ↑8 | A sheer abundance of symbolism awaits the reader of this poem. This opening canto is an introduction to the whole poem, and subtly foreshadows its three-part structure. We have already seen the significance of the dark forest, which symbolizes sin in all its facets (the Inferno). But now Dante emerges from this forest and sees before him a hill or mountain rising before him (the Purgatorio), where the (moral) darkness of the forest is pierced by the light of the rising sun, a symbol for God and the light/love of God (the Paradiso). See John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” |
| ↑9 | Some commentators appropriately suggest that what Dante has experienced here is a kind of moral “shipwreck” from which he has narrowly escaped. |
| ↑10 | Night is often used as a symbol of sin and error. |
| ↑11 | A foreshadowing of Hell. |
| ↑12 | The effects of sin still weigh heavily (symbolically) on Dante: he is filled with fear, he cannot rest, and he limps. Nevertheless, he seems to have some power of his will left by which he starts to climb upward – the right direction, as it were. |
| ↑13 | While there are differences among commentators on the symbolism of this leopard, the most reasonable interpretation is that it represents fraud, which makes things appear what they’re not. Covered with a lovely hide, this swift and stealthy creature is really extremely dangerous. And it forces Dante to flee back down into the dark forest. |
| ↑14 | The workings of fraud: forgetting the direction he’s running, this confluence of the rising sun, the stars, creation, springtime, and Divine Love lead Dante to believe that will be able to escape. |
| ↑15 | Having been deceived by fraud into thinking (foolishly) that he would be safe, Dante is confronted by a second dangerous beast, a lion, which symbolizes violence. |
| ↑16 | This she-wolf, greedy and ravenous, represents the sins of unbridled lust and sensuality. |
| ↑17 | Note how many times already Dante has expressed his fear which, in this third encounter with a dangerous beast, completely incapacitates him. Imagining how many others have been ruined by this voracious creature, his will is so weak and shattered that he simply gives up.
And now that we have encountered these beasts, they will recede into the background for the moment. But we will want to keep in mind how each of them is emblematic of the three major divisions of Dante’s Inferno: first, the sins of the wolf (carnal sins); then the sins of the lion (violence); and finally, the sins of the leopard (fraud). See Jeremiah 5:6: “Therefore, lions from the forest slay them, wolves of the desert ravage them, leopards keep watch round their cities: all who come out are torn to pieces, for their crimes are many, their rebellions numerous.” |
| ↑18 | Though he staked everything on climbing the mountain and lost everything to the beasts that drove him back, meeting this stranger foreshadows the possible return of the hope he lost moments ago, particularly since this stranger seems to be coming out of the forest that Dante is rushing back into. |
| ↑19 | Dante is in such a piteous state he cannot even tell whether the stranger he meets is alive or a ghost. All he can do is cry out. |
| ↑20 | Midway through this first canto, Dante now meets Virgil, the greatest of the Roman poets of the Augustan Age and author of Rome’s greatest epic, the Aeneid. One cannot overestimate Dante’s admiration of Virgil, as he will tell us, and the influence the Roman poet had on him. Interestingly, the protagonists in both Virgil’s and Dante’s poems are destined to make journeys of world-shaping significance. |
| ↑21 | In Dante’s poem, Virgil represents the voice of Reason, as can be seen in these three questions. |
| ↑22 | Like the fountain he alludes to, Dante here lets flow his high praise for his poetic mentor and of his major literary influence on him. |
| ↑23 | On the surface, this meeting of student and teacher is a wonderful coincidence, but it is also filled with pathos as the weeping Dante cries in front of his beloved teacher that he desperately needs help. Note how the first spoken words of Dante the pilgrim echo the opening of Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me!” |
| ↑24 | Another foreshadowing of the macro structure of the Poem and of what lies ahead for Dante. |
| ↑25 | As the voice of Reason, Virgil clearly articulates Dante’s situation, and in quickly sizing up the evil nature of the she-wolf, he creates an image of unbridled sensuality. Not only that, but the idea of a creature that mates with every other kind of creature is a gross violation of Nature. |
| ↑26 | This “dog” has baffled commentators for centuries, and there are many different explanations. I agree with several who see either or both a spiritual and temporal ruler, someone who will save Italy and set her on the right path. Certainly one definite person could be Can Grande Della Scala (or “Big Dog”), a young nobleman of an illustrious family in Verona who offered Dante their hospitality after he was exiled from Florence, and to whom he dedicated the Paradiso. |
| ↑27 | The location and/or meaning of these two places has been problematic for centuries. If the greyhound is Can Grande, then the Feltros might be a reference to or boundaries of lands controlled by him in the region around Verona. |
| ↑28 | This is an interesting mingling of enemies in ancient Italian history. Camilla and Turnus were natives who fought against the invading Trojans, among whom were Nisus and Eurylaus. All four of them were brave and valiant warriors, their deeds noted in the latter part of Virgil’s epic. |
| ↑29 | At the mention of Envy here, see Wisdom 2:24: “But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are allied with him experience it.” |
| ↑30 | These lines, of course, refer to their upcoming travels through the pit of Hell. Keep in mind that only a short while ago Dante thought he could escape the dark forest by climbing the mountain. But that was a foolish hope, and he was driven back down by the beasts of sensuality, violence, and fraud. Nevertheless, some 700 years before the likes of Freud or Jung, Virgil (Dante the Poet), as the voice of Reason, understands that Dante the pilgrim cannot escape from his “beasts” by running away from them. Rather, like a good therapist, Virgil will lead him down and in to face his demons and thus conquer them. |
| ↑31 | A reference to the Mountain of Purgatory. |
| ↑32 | Sometimes, notes in the text must be “spoilers.” In this case, the reference here is to Beatrice, the third major figure in Dante’s Poem. She is Dante’s Muse, she is like the “fuel” that energizes the entire Poem, and she represents all that is good and beautiful and noble. She represents divine revelation and grace, and she will be Dante’s guide throughout his travels in Heaven. |
| ↑33 | Virgil lived from 70BC-19BC. |
| ↑34 | Here, Virgil refers to Heaven where, because he was a pagan, he is not allowed to enter. Yet his affirmations about God are truly religious. |