Blog Post One

Dante describes the first circle of Hell as a serene environment, containing a dome of light, a sweet brook, and a green meadow blooming.  He says, "No tortured wailing rose to greet us here, but sounds of sighing rose from every side" (50).  Usually you would think that the first part of Hell would be filled with immediate suffering and pain instead of portraying a tranquil atmosphere, and the punishment would be very harsh.  Dante describes the environment as a peaceful place to make the first punishment seem not so bad.  He does this to trick the mind, making the reader think that Hell isn't so bad, but in actuality it gets worse and worse.  The sighing in the circle also indicates that this first circle of Hell is not so severe in the beginning.  Although Dante portrays Circle One as a peaceful place, there are still sinners and punishments that he and Virgil will encounter.

The Virtuous Pagans, the first set of sinners, were born before Christ, therefore they cannot get into heaven because since they did not get to know Christ in life, they will not know Him in death.  They cannot come into the light of God if they never know Christ.  Even though they are in Hell, Virgil emphasizes their likeable personalities when he says to Dante, "I wish to know before you travel on/that these were sinless" (50).  Virgil stops Dante to tell him that the Virtuous Pagans really weren't terrible people; they did not disobey God nor committed sins.  Thus, they were cast into Hell because their lives came before Christ.  Although their punishment is not very harsh, it still impacts the sinners.  Dante says that they "lacked Baptism's grace" (50).  Baptism is an important part of Christianity because it is a necessary part of salvation, and since they were born before Christianity, they have to stay in Hell forever due to this unfair and uncontrollable consequence.  Dante also says that the Virtuous Pagans are "spared the fire" of Hell (51).  When you usually think of fire, you think of the bright color it produces, and it is a symbol of destruction, pain, and chaos.  The Pagans can do without this severe pain, destruction, and chaos fire brings, and instead "live on in desire" (51).
Poets and philosophers, like Homer, Horace, and Ovid, are mostly found in Limbo, and they do not experience the "fire" of Hell, as mentioned above.  For one thing they were born before Christ, but since they are philosophers and poets, human reason blocks them the hope of seeing God.  This human reason is not led by God, therefore it is not enough to go into heaven.  Likewise, many of the philosophers live in the Great Citadel, or a castle.  The Great Citadel represents philosophy, or human reason.  But, this human reason produces is own light, not the light of God.  Therefore, the castle is eternally separated from God's magnificent light, and in Hell it will be surrounded in darkness eternally.

Dante symphathizes with the Virtuous Pagans because of their sin and punishment, feeling sorry and pity for them.  He says, "I thought how many worthy souls there were/suspended in that Limbo, and a weight/closed on my heart for the noblest suffer" (51).  You can tell the words "weight," "closed," and "suffer" are used in a negative context, and Dante knows the Virtuous Pagans are in a sad situation because they didn't do anything wrong.  Dante also mentions how a weight closed on his heart.  The heart is a symbol of joy and compassion.  When the weight closed on Dante's heart, all the joy and compassion his heart contains is shut out.  When the joy and compassion is locked out, all hope is also locked out of the Virtuous Pagans' hearts, resulting in them not being able to have the hope to know Christ forever.