Inferno Canto 5

The Inferno

Canto 5

The Carnal

Summary

The six poets Homer, Horace, Ovid, Lucan, Virgil, and Dante leave limbo and meet Minos outside of the second circle. Minos is the beast-like judge of the damned. He is the one who tell the souls what level they go to for their punishment, he is also the first monster Dante meets in hell. Minos tries to send the poets back, but Virgil insists they move forward. This second level is called the carnal. Once they enter the second level they see the souls floating around above them. These sinners are here because they choose love and lust over everything. We see some recognizable historical figures in this level like Achilles, Paris, and Helen. While Virgil is explaining the sins of these souls Dante notices a couple who is floating together, unlike the others who are floating alone. Their names were Paolo and Francesca. Dante asks them why they are both here. Francesca tells Dante their love story. By the end of their tale, Dante is so stricken with pain and pity that he faints.

Characters/People

Minos- he is the dreaded half-beast judge of the damned. He assigns each soul to a level most suited for their sins.

Semiramis-she is the legendary queen of Assyria she succeeds her husband Ninus after he dies.

Dido- Queen of Carthage, she promised to stay loyal to her husband but she fell in love with Aeneas. When he left Dido, she stabbed herself. Dido should be on the seventh level with the suicides but since it was out of love she was put in the second level.

Cleopatra- once the ruler of Egypt had an infamous love life. Just as men loved her she loved them back.

Helen- she betrayed her husband and her country by running away with Paris to Troy.

Paris- he took Helen back to Troy, which in turn lead to the destruction of his city Troy.

Tristan- he falls in love with his uncle’s fiancé Iseult by accidently drinking a magic potion. In the end his uncle kills him with a poisoned arrow.

Achilles- he fell in love with Polyxena and abandoned the Greeks for her. But when he arrived to the temple to marry her, Paris killed him.

Francesca- she was married to lame but brave warrior named Giovanni. She fell in love with his younger brother named Paolo.

Paolo- brother of the lame warrior Giovanni who fell in love with his wife. Giovanni killed them as they laid in bed together

Sin/Sinners

These sinners are the carnal and lusty. These are the sins of the She-Wolf. They followed sexual desire and chose love over everything. It appears, to Dante that there is a very fine line between love and lust. The deal breaker is weather you cross that line or not. We see how destructive sexual desires can be. The sinners actions usually lead to their demise. It seems that the sinners did whatever they could to fulfill their sexual desires. Even though Dante is most bothered by lust, he makes lust the least serious of the sins. Lust is one of the more natural sins, this may be a reason why Dante sees it as a less serious crime.

Punishment/Contrapasso

These sinners have it easy. They are simply whirled around endlessly through stormy winds. Just like their hearts were whirled around by “love” they are now whirled around.

Questions

Do you think the punishment fits the crime? If not then what?

Why do you think Dante is sympathetic to the carnal and lusty?