Circle 8

Circle 8

• Circle 8 is super long so I'm going to run some of the different sections together.

Bolgia 1 & 2

The Panderers and the Seducers, The Flatterers


""It is Jason, who by courage and good advice made off with the Colchian Ram."


OK, this guy Jason's story is really interesting. He's got reason to be in hell. He happens to meet Hypsipyle after he finds this Ram thingy, he sleeps with her, gets her pregnant and then he leaves her as they say "pregnant and forsaken" so he can go on more adventures. Now he is burning in hell with all the rest of the seducers. I learned that from the notes in the end of the chapter.


Bolgia 3 & 4

The Simoniacs & The Fortune Tellers and Diviners

"And see tiresias, who by his arts succeeded in changing himself from man to woman, transforming all his limbs and all his parts; later he had two twined serpents once again with his conjurer's wandbefore he could resume his manly lineaments."


I did this just for you K-Dub. I was so shocked to see or even hear about Tiresias in Hell. At the same time it was pretty cool to see a character from another story in this one. Though it is sad to see him in hell it is fitting becausre he is a fortune teller but, it wasn't really like he chose to be one. he just happened to get really unlucky more than once. Poor poor Tiresias will he ever rest?



Bolgia 5

The Grafters

"There 'Yes' is 'No' and 'NO' is 'Yes' for a fee."

This quote makes me think of the captolist nations. Like a America for instance. It sounds just like us. "Its funny how Money changes situations" Lauren Hill once quoted. Americans will change their views on LIFE for a quick buck. Money is what you need to survive out here. America is a Grafter. We aren't the Land of the Free or the Home of the Brave, we are the Land of the Rich and the Home of the Wealthy. Thats the American way and whats so funny is that sometimes we don't even notice it in ourselves.


Bolgia 6

The Hypocrites

"The burnished robes are of thick lead," said one "and are hung on us like counterweights, so heavy that we, their fulcrums, creak and groan."

The Hypocrites punishment is very symbolic to their crime. They wear these robes of lead that are shaped like the robes of monks, the are forced to walk around in that heavy suit, up, down, and all around. Sounds painful doesn't it? The Monk shape represents how the hypocrites try to appear saintly, however the heavy lead they're made of represents how much guilt is truly weighing them down. I really enjoy how Dante very carefully plots some of his punishments. Some were random, others were ironic. Despite his arrogance he truly is a legendary writer.


Bolgia 7


Thieves


""The man who lies aslep will never waken fame, and his desire and all his life drift past him like a dream, and the traces of his memory fade from time like smoke in air, or ripples on a stream."

I love this quote. I'm thinking of putting it on my myspace. Pretty much if its too wordy for you, he's saying that the man who sleeps will be forgotten. What I want to know is in which context, is he talking about specifically in Hell or does he mean just in general? I think its something god to remeber when your geting ready to fall asleep in class. I also love howsharp and strict Virgil is with Dante. Once again the Parent/Child thing.


Bolgia 8

The Evil Counselors (George Bush and John McCain)

"I mourned among those rocks, and I mourn again when my memory returns to what I saw."


When Dante says things like this I always try to picture in my mind the things that he is talking about and horrible they are. He really is good a putting suspense in a story. He always has his audience at the edge of their seat waiting to hear about the next punishment. Each time he says something like that i always try to picture it as if it were me there looking through Dante's eyes, seeing what he saw. Its almost like creatingyour own movie. I think it really good Idea that really isn't used in many books today. The suspense just adds on to the horrible punishments Dante has witng for his audience. It's true humans are mostly more interested in the negative than the positive.


Bolgia 9


Sowers of Discord

"The devil who butchers us and sends us marching waits to renew our wounds with his long sword."

The Sowers of Discord aka The Drama Starters are pretty much some of the people we know in everyday life who like to start problems for no good reasons. This is my absolute favorite of all the punishments. It is very symbolic. They forced to walk around a tack with their limbs cut of and their entrails hanging out and their heads cut off. Then once they reach the end of the track and are healed, the demon rips them a new one (if you know what I mean) and then they start the track again with entrails hanging out and all of that sort of stuff. Since all they ever did was walk around bring about suffering now they walk around suffering in hell. Pretty deep Dante, Pretty Deep.....


Bolgia 10 (Finally!)


The Falsifiers

"And through the screams, putrid flesh spread upits sickening stench."

This is really good example of Dante's good use of adjectives. The words he uses gives the audience some of the most identifiable images and senses to try to imagine. He makes it easier for the audience see what he saw and feel what he felt. I can ieasily imagine the screams, the smell of sikness and rotting flesh, and old blood, and I can picture the sight of peole streched on the grown with boils and fevers and scabs. It was really imagery.