#3
Comments: 1
�He listens well who takes notes.�
The Divine Comedy
Through Cantos eleven to fifteen Virgil continues to lead
Dante lower and lower into the deeper, nastier circles of hell. Dante knows
nothing about hell and Virgil shows great knowledge and teaches him everything
he should need or want to know. Dante doesn�t necessarily �take notes� but he
pays close attention to his master and it is apparent that he is growing to
understand and learn from what Virgil tells him. Virgil plays the role of
Dante�s conscious alter-ego, as he has much knowledge of his surroundings and
Dante does not.
In Canto eleven, Dante and Virgil come upon the sixth circle and a cliff that has fallen from the earthquake that occurred when Jesus was crucified. Virgil doesn�t hesitate in explaining to Dante the levels in which they pass. Without exclaiming it, Virgil infers �He listens well who takes notes.� He doesn�t tell Dante this but he wants Dante to learn and understand the cruelty and dangers of hell as best as possible. �My son�there are below this wall three smaller circles, each in its degree like those you are about to leave�I will explain how each is prisoned, and why.� (104) Virgil starts by calling Dante his son, showing that he cares for him. Then he explains the next three levels of hell, while Dante �takes notes.� Dante must listen well and �take notes� if he is to learn the complexity of this dangerous place.
In Canto thirteen Dante and Virgil enter the Wood of the Suicides. This wood is full with those who inflicted pain upon themselves and these people were not granted the form of a human but instead as trees. Only when a limb of the tree is broken, or the tree is injured in any other way, can the soul speak. They can only speak through their pain. �I think perhaps he thought that I was thinking those cries rose from among the twisted roots through which the spirits of the damned were slinking to hide from us. Therefore my Master said: �if you break off a twig, what you will learn will drive what you are thinking from your heard.��(120) (Taken from Nika Myers response) Dante listens to Virgil and performs the action he was asked to do. He listened and took mental note of what Virgil told him, and Virgil�s lesson shown through. Dante breaks a branch and the soul talks to him only while its blood flows. Dante learns that the souls are punished by the pain being inflicted upon them, as in their lives they inflicted pain upon themselves.
Within Canto fourteen Virgil and
Dante have come upon the Plain of Burning Sand. This is where those who have
been violent towards God are located. Virgil warns Dante about the dangers of
this realm. �Now follow me; and mind for your own good you do not step upon the
burning sand, but keep well back along the edge of the wood.� (130) Virgil warns
Dante not to step on the burning sand and away from the woods. Dante must take
heed in his suggestions or he will be gravely affected. He must take mental
notes of all that Virgil says in order to stay safe in this dangerous and cruel
place.
Back to entries Comment on this entry
