Canto XXVIIICircle 8 Bolgia 9

You are Here

Within this Bolgia reside the Sowers of

Discord

Sinners

“These souls destroyed institutions that God meant to be united. “

Sinners ContinuedThere are three Classes of

sin in this ring.Class 1 Class 2 Class 3Sowers of

Religious DiscordSowers of Political

DiscordSowers of Discord Between Kinsman

This sin deals with the

destruction of the Church

through separation of

its parts.

This sin deals with the

destruction of community

through political actions.

This sin deals with the

destruction of family the

building block of community.

Dante’s Thoughts and Feelings About This Circle

Dante’s is shocked at the gruesome nature of this bolgia remarking on the horrible mutilations several times in the canto.

Dante seems disgusted about this canto’s sinners a bit more than normal even insulting one of the sinners.

Virgil

Virgil speaks once in this canto addressing

Muhammad.He answers his call with an explanation of how Dante is not yet dead but on a

greater journey.

Famous FacesMuhammed- class 1 Cause of a schism in the Church.Ali- class 1 Cause of the Sunni Shiite separation.

Mosca dei Lamberti- class 2.Pier Da Medicina- class 2.Curio- class 2.

Bertrand De Born- class 3 caused a fight between King Henry II and his son.

The Punishment

The sinner’s punishment for the 9th Bolgia is to be torn and hacked by a demon with a bloody sword for all of eternity.

After which the mutilated souls drag their hacked bodies in a circle back to the demon after healing to be torn anew.

Symbolism

Just as their sins were to disjoin what God had intended to be whole , they are slashed apart by the demons of Hell.

And as they walk the eternal track gripping their appendages to be healed and hacked again, the law of retribution emerges for these souls.

Allegorical Interpretation

Throughout the 9th Bolgia Dante places many souls who are at the center of many heated debates of his time and are even prevalent in modern times.

Dante references the souls of Muhammad and Ali as prime examples for sowing discord against God revealing his obvious opinion towards Islam.

Allegorical Continued.

Then he makes brief mentions of the fates of people important to Dante’s time most importantly being Bertrand De Born because of his haunting appearance as a decapitated figure holding his head.

The Horrific Scene of Bertrand’s Soul

Tropological Interpretation Dante places these souls in the 9th Bolgia because

of their sins (whether intentional or not) that places schisms in the very fabric of the society that Man creates from God’s grace.

The level of punishment is decided by which type of discord you create; religious discord, political discord, and the worst of all discord between kinsmen.

Dante’s message is that the sin of sowing discord or planting the seed of deception is so odious that it can only be punished by an eternal circle of violence and pain.

Ontological Interpretation

Through this canto Dante’s disgust for these souls of fraud in the 8th circle is beginning to reach its climax as he observes these despicable souls yearning to be remembered.

Analysis of Styles Dante makes the usual use of Imagery to

assault the senses. (Ex.”Between his legs all of his red guts hung”)

Dante utilizes descriptive language. (“he had his throat slit, and his nose slashed off as far as the eyebrows, and a wound where one of his ears had been”)

Allusions make a big part of this canto with Dante using important or relevant people to allude to larger meanings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD4ZoM2Qh10

FIN

Presented and Created by Ryo Lambert and Lorenzo Baca