Inferno is the first of three sections of Dante’s classic poem The Divine Comedy. Since this book is so complex, I’m breaking it up into three reviews (although it is only one of the 23 in 2023 challenge books). I went into this book with a high degree of reserve. My husband read it a year ago and did not enjoy it at all. No rave reviews from that department, so I was worried that I, too, would have to slog my way through an unenjoyable read. In the end, the result has been far more mixed that I expected.
Plot summary
On the eve of his 36th birthday, Dante is lost in a wood and beset with dangers from wild beasts. On the point of despair, he is rescued by the shade of Virgil, who appears to guide him. But Virgil isn’t only here to help him through the forest. He has been sent from Heaven to guide Dante through hell, purgatory and ultimately to heaven, before returning him to earth.
The first section is Inferno (Hell). It is exactly one third of the book, as each section is broken up into 33 cantos, and each canto into 33 lines. Dante and Virgil descend through the nine levels of Hell, meeting condemned sinners and learning about the structure of hell. At the end, they meet Satan, before coming out into Purgatory. This is the end of the first third of the book, and where Virgil will leave Dante and hand him over to another guide.
Inferno is a difficult read, so find a good reference
This is not an easy read. On starting, I struggled to understand the older language and the oblique references to past Italian noblemen. My ‘modern’ brain questioned whether this could really be such a great work, when it felt so clunky to read. I actually sat down to give myself a reality check at that point. Just because a book is difficult for me, it doesn’t mean it isn’t a great work! I think you have to approach Dante with enough humility to know that you’re probably the problem, not the poem. With that new mindset, I became more open to trying to understand it, and things went on better.
I would note that throughout my reading, I have relied heavily on CliffsNotes. Before each canto, I read the corresponding summary in CliffsNotes, and then read the original. This has helped hugely with my understanding of the poem, and given meaning to some of the obscure names that Dante includes. I would strongly recommend having a good summary guide with you when reading this, whether CliffsNotes or something more erudite. It will really help with your connection to the content.
The darkness of Inferno is illuminated by its creativity
After an inauspicious start, I didn’t think I’d be able to get into this poem at all. But after rebuking myself for egotism, I actually began to enjoy Inferno. What struck me most was the sheer creativity of this work. Dante created such a layered and believable picture of Hell, that I find myself thinking of it as the real Hell. How else could it possibly work, than in these shrinking circles, moving from fire to ice as evil increases? It just makes sense.
I think it’s a tribute to the way in which Dante has become so much a part of Western culture, that I was familiar with these general ideas. But I had to realise that this was all completely new when Dante wrote it. What a mind! This is such a fascinating idea to conceive of and to bring to life so strongly.
This part of the whole poem is, obviously, the darkest part of the work. And it truly does get to you, these rings of suffering sinners. Even with my need for CliffsNotes, I could pick up on the suffering and the horror that develops through the piece. It made me think about my own failings, quite a lot. It is rather helpful to have some concept of where sin could lead. Which I know sounds terribly dark and serious. But it isn’t, really. It is just a handy way of conceptualising things that so often feel unreal and far away.
I hope that the next two sections, Purgatorio and Paradisio have a similar effect. It would be lovely to have a better concept of and connection to Heaven! But we’ll find out how that goes in the next two reviews.
