The Indifferent — Inferno, Canto 3

The Indifferent  Inferno 3

Before Hell proper begins, Dante has to walk through a crowd that belongs to neither Heaven nor Hell — and the first soul he recognizes there, he refuses to name. Inferno · Canto 3 · Lines 31–69 · Scene 8 DIVINE COMEDY · SCENE 8InfernoCanto 3 of 34PurgatorioParadiso Prompt: Watercolor on white paper. A vast, … Read more

The Three Beasts — Inferno, Canto 1

The Three Beasts  Inferno 1

The hill is visible, and for a moment the path seems clear. Then the beasts appear. A spotted cat — the lonza, whose Italian name has no certain English equivalent — blocks the way first. A lion follows. The she-wolf comes last and is the worst: she fills Dante with such dread that he loses … Read more

Dante’s Doubt — Inferno II

Dantes Doubt  Inferno 2

Canto 2 opens at nightfall — all creatures at rest, Dante alone still burdened — and immediately retracts the assent given at the end of Canto 1. He agreed to follow Virgil. Now he needs to know why he specifically should make this journey. Two precedents exist: Aeneas descended to serve the founding of Rome, … Read more