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Fifth Circle Of Hell In Dante's Inferno

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In Canto VIII, Dante travels to the fifth circle of hell: an area where the wrathful succumb to endless suffering. Full of relentless anger, these damned souls persistently brawling with one another in the muck, but their fury-filled appetite never diminishes. During this section of his pilgrimage, Dante unexpectedly encounters a past adversary known as Fillipo Argenti. Argenti is “part of the Adimari family, [Black Guelphs], who were bitter political enemies of Dante,” a member of the White Guelphs (Dante’s Inferno VIII. note 57 (p. 65). As we see Argenti come up from the grime to present himself to the pilgrim, Dante promptly proclaims “May you weep and wail to all eternity, for I know you, hell-dog, filthy as you are” (Dante’s Inferno …show more content…

In recognizing this wretched shade that sobs before him, Dante portrays a strong sense of relentless anger that illuminates aspects of righteous indignation. For it is only through constant hostility towards Evil that one can truly purify the soul. Virgil recognizes this and embraces the indignant spirit, kissing him as he frowns (Dante’s Inferno VIII. 41-42 (p. 61). This kind of reception is notable because by welcoming merciless rejection of Evil, Virgil is allowing Dante to further his pursuit toward the purification of his soul. One’s soul deals with the heart and the heart cannot obtain true desire unless it is connected with the Lord. The Lord symbolizes ultimate good and rejects all and any aspects of wickedness. Therefore, in order for Dante to reach this pedestal of perfection, he must first realize that an individual must not “dare feel pity [in their heart] for those whom God has shut off from pity” (Dante’s Inferno VIII. note 43 (p. 65). Everyone that God has sent to hell is there to serve divine justice for a sin that they have committed in their moral life. They do not deserve sympathy or any form of commiseration. Righteous indignation is thus appropriate due to the fact that Dante is getting angry at wrath, which is something that is unethical and

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