In Canto VI of Dante’s Inferno, the Pilgrim meets Ciacco. As an inhabitant of hell, Ciacco has “lost the good of the intellect” (3.18). Superficially, it seems as if Ciacco has lost the good of the intellect because he is gluttonous. More profoundly, however, Ciacco lost the good of the intellect in the following sense: Ciacco desires to be remembered admirably by others. He fixates on his desire, and it causes him to work excessively to maintain this stature. Ultimately, Ciacco’s excessive efforts perpetuate him into a state of decline and render him incapable of being remembered admirably by others. This thesis will be demonstrated using principles of close reading, including temporal order, shifts in diction, juxtaposition, structural arrangement, and irony. Canto VI involves the Third Circle of the hell, where those committing sins of gluttony reside. Dante encounters one glutton, Ciacco, who immediately sits up when he sees Dante. Dante inquires about who Ciacco is and why he is in hell. The glutton tells Dante of his past relation to Florence and then proceeds to prophesize the cause for the division between its citizens. Dante desires to know more about the others in hell, and Ciacco tells him that they descend far lower. …show more content…
Both of these scenarios reveal undesirable aspects surrounding Ciacco’s character and disposition. For instance, when Ciacco tells Dante he has nothing more to say and that Dante should answer no more, it is done as a means of avoidance. The rain in which Ciacco languishes, moreover, eliminates the element of blindness that keeps him protected in the sunlit life. These instances act as a sort of epiphany for Ciacco, for he recognizes his current condition. Ultimately, this perpetuates Ciacco’s decline, as he continues to fixate on being remembered admirably by