Daniel Scott Sonia Fanucchi

2388339 Pity and Piety

ENGL2008A Dante’s Inferno

ESSAY COVER SHEET

COURSE CODE: ENGL 2008A

NAME: Daniel Scott

STUDENT NO: 2388339
GROUP NO: Pity and Piety in Dante’s inferno
TUTOR : Sonia Fanucchi
DUE DATE: 23/04/2021

PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

I Daniel Scott
am a student registered for ENGL2008A
in Year 2 (year).

I hereby declare the following:

 I am aware that plagiarism (the use of someone else’s work without their
permission and/or without acknowledging the original source) is wrong.

 I confirm that the work submitted for assessment for the above course is my own
unaided work except where I have explicitly indicated otherwise.

 I have followed the required conventions in referencing the thoughts and ideas of
others.

 I understand that the University of the Witwatersrand may take disciplinary

action against me if there is a belief that this is not my own unaided work or that
I have failed to acknowledge the source of the ideas or words in my writing.

Signature: __________________________________

Date: ______23/04/2021________________

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Daniel Scott Sonia Fanucchi
2388339 Pity and Piety
ENGL2008A Dante’s Inferno
Dante Alighieri’s poem, Inferno, depicts the perplex and arduous pilgrimage through hell
which Dante and Virgil face together from Canto 1(Kirkpatrick II). In this poem Virgil is
solidified as the “poet, you who guide” (Alighieri 2, 10) Dante and the readers themselves.
Virgil’s role as the guide is to teach, protect and provide duality to the pilgrimage Dante is
on. Firstly, Virgil, the poet, uses fables to deliver allegorical messages to Dante, through the
platform of the souls that are flying through hell, such as Francesca. Secondly, Virgil’s duty
is to protect Dante on the treacherous journey in hopes to strengthen Dante’s spiritual and
emotional abilities. Lastly, the presence of Virgil himself is juxtaposed against Dante, where
Virgil is a guide and Dante the pilgrim, yet both are poets (Guyler 39). These techniques are
used by Dante to create a multifaceted presence of Virgil that is able to teach Dante and the
reader of the multidimensional layers of hell but also sin and the person who commits the act.
In Inferno, Virgil is introduced to Dante as he travels through the “dark wood”
(Alighieri 1, 2) and Virgil is brought into Dante’s path as the light and saviour, “whether a
shade or living man” (Line 66). The creation of a bright presence allows the reader and Dante
to view Virgil through the lens of a saviour, as his physical position draws him to that
perception. This is what allows the poet to create the need for Virgil to being “my teacher and
my author” (Line 85). Firstly, the beginning of Inferno is fortified with challenges for Dante,
and this is done to employ the idea of necessity for Virgil. Dante’s continual movement
through an “arduous passage” (Canto 2, 12) in the beginning Dante’s inability to face the
three beasts, shows the reader Dante’s lack of spiritual understanding upon starting this
pilgrimage. In addition, dynamic of power between the two characters are used by the poet to
create the underlying tone of reliance on Virgil, as seen in Canto 2, Dante is not prepared to
“face the struggle” (Line 4) of going through the memories of the mortal world that reflects
the sins he had undergone. Furthermore, in Canto 2 the constant presentation of emotional
and physical battles with Dante allows Virgil to criticise the path that Dante, like stating his
“spirit is assailed by cowardice” (Line 45) whenever Dante is posed with something
overpowering him. The poet uses Virgil as a tool to expand the thinking of Dante and to free
Dante from “fear” (Line 49) in this example. To the reader, the poet uses Virgil as a
“fountainhead” (Canto 1, 79) for spiritual guidance that is allowed to vocally expresses the
faults and negative attachments of the soul, such as cowardice, fear, pity and passion. In
addition, Virgil adopts a paternal role in guiding Dante, as in Canto eight when the “master
put his arms around” (Line 43) Dante and “kissed” (Line 44) him. These acts of affection not
only reinforce the bond between the two characters, but it is used by the poet to create a sense

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Daniel Scott Sonia Fanucchi
2388339 Pity and Piety
ENGL2008A Dante’s Inferno
of camaraderie along this journey. This is done to portray the diversity of Virgil and make his
presence appreciated by the reader. As stated in Kirkpatrick, Virgil is the voice of rationality,
to become a voice of understanding for the reader and Dante (Kirkpatrick, II). These qualities
of power, affection and spirituality allow Virgil to be an effective guide for the reader and
Dante along the pilgrimage to find true spiritual enlightenment.
Secondly, in Inferno, Virgil is always present to protect Dante from perverseness
along journey. One encounter of mortal perverseness is meeting Filippo Argenti, upon
crossing the “sea of wisdom” (Canto 8, 7), where a man “full of arrogance” (Line 46) attacks
Dante. Virgil, “the wary master thrust him off, saying away there with the other dogs” (Line
41-42). This immediate response of Virgil is proof of his affection and care for Dante but also
Virgil’s desire to want Dante to finish this journey through the circles of hell. However, this
also highlights Virgil’s position in hell that allows him authoritative justice is influential to
Dante as it portrays the essence of piety and then your desires “deserves to be filled” (Line
57), such as seeing Argenti getting torn to pieces. The subtle hint of suggestive power allows
Virgil to be viewed as a covenant where his presence allows benefits, such as protection to
fall on Dante in the journey. The poet does this to create a redeemable quality of Virgil that
solidifies the bond created between the characters, to comment on the protective nature of
faith and in trusting your spiritual nature. Furthermore, in Canto nine the idea of protection is
emphasised when Dante and Virgil travel through the hellish swamp and encountering the
“three hellish, blood-stained Furies” (Line 50), which causes Dante to be “pressed close to
the poet” (Line 51). During this phase of hell, Dante asserts his role as the minor and this is
used by the poet to highlight Virgil’s position of piety. This is used by the poet to comment
on the reliance of the spirit and how it reflects your attitude in hell, it allows Dante and the
reader to view how having understood your sin delivers you to a heightened position in the
after world. Moreover, the extent Virgil goes to, to protect Dante is philanthropic where he
even physically covers Dante’s “face with his hands” (Line 60) in fear of destruction to being
turned to stone by Medusa. Virgil’s ability to not trust Dante and needing to protect him is
used by the poet to express the urgency for Dante to learn about the transgressions that put
you in these positions. To the reader the poet shows Virgil as a saviour emotionally but
physically in assisting Dante to reach his true point of desire. In addition, by protecting Dante
it allows Virgil to teach him about sin through the perspective of hell and not the mortal
world, that show the consequences of passion as seen in Francesca or wrath like Phlegyas.

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Daniel Scott Sonia Fanucchi
2388339 Pity and Piety
ENGL2008A Dante’s Inferno
Lastly, the role of Virgil in Inferno is to provide duality fir the character of Dante and
the readers, as stated in Guyler that both Dante and Virgil lead dual roles in the poem (Guyler
39). Virgil was born man and lived in an “age of false and lying gods” (Alighieri 1, 72), a
poet but now a spirit to guide Dante, a lost soul in search of enlightenment. Dante a living
man that proceeds on the “journey of our life” (Line 1) that experiences the passions of
mortality, such as emotion like being “confounded with grief” (Canto 5, 3) after falling like a
dead body. Although Dante himself is a poet and this is what allows him to entrust Virgil in
guiding his soul. By both Virgil and Dante being poets, it allows Alighieri to evoke a sense of
realism as he shows the reader the range of one type of soul, the artist and fabricator of life.
This creates a dichotomous perspective of the poet, Virgil the pagan and unbound spirit and
Dante the mortal who is bound by the frames of religion and faith on the pilgrimage. Guyler
states the relationship between Virgil and Dante creates psychological realism (Guyler 39).
This realism is used by the poet to depict the battle of the self and identity, especially the
religious identity of Virgil, the pagan and Dante catholic. To the reader it expresses the
challenges of religion, and Virgil is used as a catalyst to evoke the feelings of doubt and
unconformity in following a traditional religious view. This is what allows Virgil to be
diverse in his teaching to Dante, Virgil is not an archetype of saint like behaviour and is used
to show Dante how to effectively pay your retributions in hell.
In conclusion, Virgil is a multifaceted guide in Inferno his ability to provide
knowledge, perspective, protection and duality allow him to effectively communicate the
allegorical lessons behind each passage. Such as revealing the complexities of emotion, by
Virgil allowing Dante to hear the tale of Beatrice his lover. In addition, Virgil allows Dante to
explore himself the miseries that are in hell, such as Phlegyas and Filippo Argenti who were
consumed by wrath. Overall, the role of Virgil is to show a sense of collectiveness in the
struggle of pilgrimage, the poet does this to suggest there is no singular heroism under the
eyes of religion. Virgil creates a sense of convenance for Dante and is used by the poet to add
camaraderie in travelling through hell and explicating the sins of living in a mortal life.

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Daniel Scott Sonia Fanucchi
2388339 Pity and Piety
ENGL2008A Dante’s Inferno

Works cited

Alighieri, Dante. The Inferno. Trans. Robert Hollander & Jean Hollander. New York: Anchor
Books, 2000.

Guyler, Sam. Virgil the Hypocrite: Almost: A Re-Interpretation of Inferno XXIII. Dante
Studies, with the Annual Report of the Dante Society, 1972.

Kirkpatrick, Robin. Dante’s Inferno: Difficulty and Dead Poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1987. Print.