LIMBO & LUSTFUL

LIMBO: THE FIRST CIRCLE

• Inhabitants are not corrupt - unlike the other circles.
• Were not baptised at birth or born before the coming of God.
• They live in a castle with seven gates - the seven virtues
• Their souls were never saved and are not punished physically, but spiritually
• "always unable to see God" therefore the "quiet sighs of sadness"

"Afterlife resting place of those who had died without personal sin but also without Faith and without Baptism." - Dante

LIMBO: THE FIRST CIRCLE

• Only possible way of leaving is to be saved by Jesus Christ
• Happened once - Virgil was an eye witness to the "Harrowing of Hell"
• Dante believes the power of God's unstoppable.
• Importance is to have a place to put innocents who didnt believe in God
• Contains virtuous non-Christian adults and unbaptized infants

"Even in Hell he recognizes all the good qualities of those that are condemned" - Dante

Allusion: Harrowing of Hell - references a story of when Jesus rescued the characters of the Old Testament from Hell (Moses, Adam, Abel, Abram, King David, Noah, Rachel and so forth)

LIMBO: THE FIRST CIRCLE

• 2 major groups:
• Famous poets (kept separately from the rest)
• (Homer, Ovid, Lucan, Horace & Virgil)
• Famous philosophers and historical figures (In the castle)
• (Aristotle, Hector, Ceasar, Saladin, Socrates, Pluto)

God gave these people the ability to think, create, and change the world. It was their choice not to accept this fact that condemned them to an eternity of hopelessness

LUST: THE SECOND CIRCLE

• For Dante, love from lust is when one acts on misguided desire
• Monster Minos is also located here, assigning sinners to their torments
• The Lustful are eternally trapped in a hurricane, strong winds & rain
• Called "Carnal Malefactors" for letting passion sway their reason
• Dante compares these souls to birds, they are useless against the storm

Contrapasso -
Since the lustful were blown about by passion in life, now they are doomed to be blown about by a cruel storm for the rest of time. With no rest or peace.

LUST: THE SECOND CIRCLE

• Cleopatra - Incestuous love; suicidal.
• Paris/Helen - Affair between the two.
• Semiramis - Marriage to father.
• Tristan/Isolt - Tristan had an affair with his aunt Isolt
• Dante calls out to these souls, asking for their story

Francesca da Rimini, a woman who committed adultery with her husband's younger brother, they were both killed when discovered

"Love led us straight to sudden death together". - Francesca da Ramini

Minos is symbolic of the sinner's conscience because just
as souls are eager to confess their sins, they're
also eager to gain a clear conscience. He places the soul in a circle where the conscience can rest because the consequence aligns with the sin.

SOURCES

• http://www.academia.edu/1522110/Dante_Canto_4
• http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/inferno/themes.html
• http://apliterature-sasd.wikispaces.com/Circle+I+-+Limbo+-+The+Virtuous+Pag...
• http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/d/the-divine-comedy-inferno/summary-a...
• http://historylists.org/art/9-circles-of-hell-dantes-inferno.html

SOURCES

• http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)
• http://prezi.com/qdm_tzb0uuhu/dante-inferno-canto-v/
• http://www.gradesaver.com/divine-comedyi-inferno/study-guide/section2/
• http://www.shmoop.com/inferno/canto-v-second-circle-summary.html
• http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/circle2.html