Dark Wood -- Worldliness (before entering Hell) ? Dante is trying to get to the top of Mount of Joy – He ’ s been too worldly & sinful …. ? The woods are dark and scary ? 3 beasts block his journey (symbols of the major divisions of Hell): ? Leopard – represents malice (hate) & fraud (trickery, deception) ? Lion – represents violence ? She-Wolf – represents unrestrained immorality (doing what feels good not matter the consequences) ? Dante can ’ t go forward, and he can ’ t go backward because of the beasts ? Beatrice appears & tells him that his idol, Virgil, will lead him through Hell and help him find his way to forgiveness ( Purgatoro ) and redemption ( Paradisio – Heaven) ? Dante & Virgil begin their journey through Hell Vestibule ? The first souls to be tormented are the Opportunists (or COWARDS) – those who were only out for themselves. They never chose to be good (accept God) or particularly bad. ? The Opportunists chase a Golden Banner waving in the wind – because they wavered in life. Angels who did not choose God or Satan are included here. ? The Opportunists are stung by bees & wasps, and maggots suck the pus that oozes from their sores for eternity ? The air smells horrible — like being stuck in West Lincoln when the chicken farmer across the street spreads his chicken manure!!!! ? Dante & e up to Charon , who transports the dead across the River Acheron ? The inscription above the River says: ? ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE 1 st Ring: Limbo ? On the edge of Hell – for those not saved even though they did not sin ? Heaven does not claim them, Hell does not want them. ? Some people here: classic Greek figures ( Homer , Ovid, & Virgil ) ? No “ new ” people would go here because according to Dante ’ s view of religion, Christ came to save humans from an eternity of limbo. 2 nd Ring: Lustful ? At the gate to Level 2, Minos , the Judge of the Underworld, evaluates each sinner ’ s life. He coils his tail to
