Humor in Dante's INFERNO: The Gargoyle Cantos
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The Divine Comedy
Written in the early fourteenth century, Dante's allegory was called "Comedy" until the mid sixteenth century when it began being called the "Divine Comedy." Dante was not writing a funny book. He called it "Comedy" because the story began in despair and ended in happiness. It consists of three parts or canticles, each of which is symbolic: The Inferno is recognition of sin; Purgatory is renunciation of sin; Paradise is salvation. Dante (Everyman Seeking Salvation) is led by the Roman poet Virgil (Human Reason) through the Inferno and Purgatory. At the top of Mount Purgatory, Beatrice (Divine Love) takes over to lead Dante through Paradise.
This is serious business! Above the gates of Hell is written "Abandon all hope ye who enter here." Sinners are being tortured according to symbolic retribution. The punishment always fits the crime. The Carnal, who let themselves be swept by the storm of their passions, are blown about by stormy winds. The Gluttons, who produced nothing but garbage, are in a garbage dump slavered over by Cerberus, the three-headed dog who was a glutton himself, just as they slavered over their food. The Heretics, who did not believe in immortality, are in burning tombs.
Gargoyle Cantos 21 and 22
Cantos 21 and 22 (Circle 8, Bolgia 5) show a remarkable difference in tone from the rest of the book. These cantos describe the Grafters, those who were corrupt in public office. They are in boiling pitch, raked apart by demons with grappling hooks if they try to rise above the surface. The pitch symbolizes their sticky fingers. They are raked apart as they raked in the money.
In 1302 in absentia, Dante had been unjustly accused of graft and exiled from Florence . If he had returned to Florence, he would have been burned alive. These two cantos about the Grafters seem to be Dante's way of thumbing his nose at his political enemies. The cantos are full of humor. In addition, for the first and only time Dante is shown as being in physical danger. Virgil tells him to hide behind a rock.
Prior to this, the guards had been mostly from mythology - for example, the Minotaur, Centaurs, Medusa, Geryon. Here, though, the demons have funny names like Curlybeard, Deaddog, Cramper, and Crazyred. Most people llaugh when they see a criminal outwit the cops. This happens in the Gargoyle Cantos. A Grafter has gotten out of the boiling pitch and is about to be clawed by the demons. He persuades them to let him go free. If they will let him sit unmolested on the banks of the ditch, he will signal his companions that it is safe to come out. Of course, the moment the demons leave him alone, he dives back into the pitch, thus escaping their grappling hooks and claws. Furious at Hellken, the demon who had allowed the sinner to escape, the demon Grizzly flies into him, and the two fight until they fall together into the " hot stew." (This would be a hilarious scene in a movie.)
Such difference in tone is why critics often call the cantos about the Grafters the Gargoyle Cantos. Just as the Gargoyles on a cathedral stand out as being grotesque, so do these cantos.
Humor in the Language
I taught John Ciardi's translation of Dante's Inferno (www.amazon.com/Inferno-Signet-Classics-Dante-Alighier.) Each canto begins with a prose summary in italics, followed by the canto itself written in three-line stanzas. After this come several pages of footnotes. After assigning the Gargoyle Cantos, I would always ask if any students had laughed. Inevitably the answer was "no!" Then I would have them hold together the footnotes of Canto 21 and the prose summary of Canto 22 so that they could follow me as I read aloud the end of Canto 21 and the beginning of Canto 22.
They turned along the left bank in a line,
but before they started, all of them together
had stuck their pointed tongues out as a sign
to their Captain that they wished permission to pass,
and he had made a trumpet of his ass. (End of Canto 21)
I have seen horsemen breaking camp. I have seen
the beginning of the assault, the march and muster,
and at times the retreat and riot. I have been
where chargers have trampled your land, O Aretines!
I have seen columns of foragers, shocks of tourney,
and running of tilts. I have seen the endless lines
march to bells, drums, trumpets, from far and near.
I have seen them march on signals from a castle.
I have seen them march with native and foreign gear.
But never yet have I seen horse or foot,
nor ship in range of land nor sight of star,
take its direction from so low a toot.
The sharpest students caught on at once. Others saw the light as soon as I explained,"He made a trumpet of his ass - so low a toot!" A few saw nothing funny but muttered, "How gross!" Some did not have any idea what was going on until a classmate exclaimed, "He farted!"
One year I was at a loss for words when an exchange student from Norway did not know the word "fart." I simply could not explain that term to a class of thirty students, and so I asked the person sitting next to her to do the job for me. About fifteen minutes later I heard laughter from her area of the room. After class I asked my "assistant" how she had managed to get the meaning across. She said she had tried several different ways but eventually burped and then explained a burp from the other end. Clever!
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Aye, had me laughing and left me with a smile, a crafty and creative one you are, thanks for the good read, 50
Hi mysterylady. Another outstanding hub! Since reading your article I've been searching high and low for my translation of The Divine Comedy, but to no avail. My flat looks like a hand grenade has been detonated inside it! I've emptied cuboards and drawers and I'm thinking about ripping my floorboards up. I know the damned thing is here somewhere!
However, I have found a small copy of The Inferno dated 1892. The translation is by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. (I've no idea how I came to own the book) To be honest, I wasn't aware that Longfellow had made a translation. So, many thanks, I've found a little gem!
Incidentally, Longfellow translates the fart at the end of Canto 21 thus:
"Along the left-hand dyke they wheeled about; but first had each one thrust his tongue between his teeth towards their leader for a signal; And he had made a trumpet of his rump."
And in Canto 22:
"Sometimes with trumpets and sometimes with bells, with kettle-drums, and signals of the castles, and with our own, and with outlandish things, But never yet with bagpipe so uncouth."
Brilliant stuff! Kindest regards, Kev.
Nell, thank you so much for telling me I got you interested in Dante. If you decide to give the book a try, look for a modern translation. The older ones can be very hard to read. I love Ciardi's. Teaching the Inferno was fun!
50, I love your description of me as "crafty and creative"! I am glad I left you with a smile.
Kev, I really appreciate your copying the lines from Longfellow. It is fascinating to compare him to Ciardi. I love your description of your search for the missing translation! Thanks for the compliment.
Great stuff. Giving your students an appreciation of classic literature is a service that can't be overvalued. There's a memorable fart in the Canterbury Tales too, as I'm sure you know!
Thank you, Paraglider. Another classic I find hilarious is the Decameron.
Hi M'Lady, I didn't know you were a literary archeologist, excavating gems from ancient manuscripts. Quite a treasure you have unearthed for us. Thank you for a tantalizing review of one I have not yet mastered. I will seek a modern translation as I am not up to descending into as many levels as Dante. =:)
Thank you, Winsome. If there is humor to be found, I'll probably find it! I do recommend the Ciardi translation. There are prose translations available, but Ciardi, according to the critics, captures more of the essence of Dante.
I'm definitely taking your advice for the Ciardi translation, since I have never read the book. I think it's high time I did.
I can think of a much faster way your assistant could have explained the "toot," but not nearly as ladylike.
Thank you, m'dear, don't know how I missed this. The two cantos describing the Grafters could well have been modeled after many of our current representatives in D.C.
I once visited a French Museum where Rodin's statue, The Kiss, was displayed. This marvelously realistic white marble statue was modeled after lovers described in Dante's 'Comedy'. Then I became very motivated to find a translation to enjoy his work. Thanks for reminding me with this masterful hub.
Christophe, I am so glad you had not forgotten me! And yes, do read the Ciardi translation of Dante. Since I don't speak Italian, I must believe the critics who praise him.
You are right about the "toot." That is why I chose a female assistant instead of trying to explain it myself.
Wow, "masterful hub," drbj! Thank you so much for the compliment. I think each of us appreciates the other's love of humor.
I love the Rodin museum in Paris, and one of my favorites is his sculpture of "The Kiss" that, if memory serves me, is Paolo and Francesca. I also remember his sculpture of "The Gates of Hell."
While there one year, I got a candid photo shot of a guard in the same pose as "The Thinker"! I wanted to put a roll of toilet paper in his hand, just as I have always wanted to do to "The Thinker."
Your students are lucky to have you. I think that more and more every time I read your stuff. It's all the stuffy, boring, PC teachers who suck the life out of literature. Yes, the language is difficult, and the references are obscure, and if that's all the kids see is "some old guy writing about stuff I don't know and don't care about" then how can they possibly see the joy, much less the value, of this stuff.
I hope your administrators appreciate you and reward you as you deserve (although I'm betting I already know the answer to that).
Shadesbreath, I am so glad you found this hub and commented. As I wrote it, I thought about your problems after eating the high fiber bar!
I am retired from teaching now but still often dream about it. My administrators varied. Many of them did appreciate me and my "unique" style of teaching. Others tolerated me. My salary, of course, was determined by how long I had been teaching. Merit was not a factor.
Well, teachers like you sure make the argument for merit pay seem sound. Or at least some kind of bonus structure. Maybe I've just spent too much time in the private sector. lol. Good work deserves more. :)
Believe it or not, Shadesbreath, I am divided on the issue of merit pay. Especially when I was new at the game, I sometimes resented the fact that I received less pay than teachers who were older but less competent. Later as I often worried about getting fired because of some of my wild classroom activities, I was glad that tenure protected me. One problem is how to determine merit. Some administrators, parents, and even students are terribly close-minded.
Yeah, my mom tells me stories about the parents. It's so funny how our nation seems to marvel at why education isn't working, and they go about these ridiculous contortions of social experimentation when it really comes down to the fact that kids whose parents are involved do fine, and kids whose parents aren't don't. Doesn't matter if you are teaching Aesops fables or the latest Sing-the-Alphabet fad technique. Involved parents will figure out how to make it work.
Hi mysterylady. Just a few lines to say thank you for sending me fan mail and for your kind and perceptive comments. I tried to send you some fan mail in return, but my computer fired off an empty dialog box in your direction - I'm convinced the bloody machine did it deliberately! In fact, I've a good mind to condemn the malevolent thing to Dante's sixth circle and the fiery torments of the City of Dis. (Consequently, the Hubpage system thinks I've posted fan mail to you, and won't let me into another dialog box).
What I intended to say was thanks for your brilliant hubs. They are paragons of clarity and you address your readers with great respect, power and eloquence. I'm always signposted on to read the classics that you illuminate in your articles, and you have that rarity of rarities in a writer - the power to make people laugh. Kindest regards, Kev.
Shadesbreath, while I agree with you somewhat, I also was happy when students kept to themselves some of the discussions that went on in my classroom. For instance, after teaching Camus' "The Plague," I wrote on one side of the blackboard,"God is good. He has a reason for everything that happens, even though we may not understand it at the time." On the other side I wrote, "Things happen that make absolutely no sense. Either there is no God, or if there is, He is a sadist." I had them sit according to their feelings and then fight it out, verbally, of course. I did not let them know what I thought. I do realize that many parents would not approve of this method of encouraging their children to think.
Kev, you are too, too kind! When someone of your intelligence and talent and wit finds merit in my writing, it gives my ego such a boost. "Paragons of clarity," "eloquence," Wow! My head is so big that I won't be able to walk through the door. I am very pleased that you enjoy my humor.
What an awesome lesson. And daring, pushing kids out of the harnesses of their parents. I'm sure that would have pissed parents off. Most parents, especially when it comes to religion, detest any kind of thought on the part of their kids, some parents ( a lot) forbid it--"This is MY house, and you will do what I tell you."
Great stuff. (And I LOVE that book. What a human examination that one is. Nice pull.)
Shadesbreath, now you know what I mean when I say, "It's a miracle I didn't get fired." My aim was not really to teach but to educate.
I suspected you would have read "The Plague." I also enjoyed teaching Camus' essay "The Myth of Sisyphus."
You are great! I had to hit every button. I can see I'll be doing that a lot! Thank for all the history and humor!
I really enjoyed this description of the Comedy as well as your wonderful ways in teaching it. Can I go back to school and be in your class - pretty please!
Camus is one of my all-time favourites. Have been reading him for many years. Just re-read his marvellous "Neither victims nor excecutioners" - great stuff.
Thanks so much.
Love and peace
Tony
Micky Dee, thank you so much! I am so glad 50 Caliber wrote the hub about you, making me check you out. As you can see, we both love humor. Thanks for the fan mail, too.
Tony, after reading some of your hubs and comments you have made on the hubs of others, I suspect we have a lot in common. Thank you for wishing you could be in my class. I'll bet I would have enjoyed teaching you!
Breaking Wind
I never knew Dante,
Divine Comedy's author
but through your hub
mysterylady did I learn
that Dante like many writers
the crime of flatulence did he commit
not the kind that has excessive gas
some vulgarly call "farting"
but writings pompously filled
with embellished language :))
Thank you for sharing the humorous side of Dante..it was a blast :)
Yes the sound of that ass trumpet never fails to make people laugh. It is probably mankinds first ever joke.
As far as The Inferno, I'm sure my ex's would have me thrown to the hottest level.
Thank you for visiting and commenting, SilentReed. Much of Dante is very serious, but I was happy to find the humor. I also enjoyed making my students laugh!
Lightning, You may be right. Probably the first joke was about that -- and maybe belching. Little kids, especially boys, still giggle when they make noises with their bodies.
The very worst sinner in hell is Satan, who has three heads (symbolizing a perversion of the trinity). Each head is chewing on a sinner.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
What an amazing teacher you are. I know you are retired, but you are still teaching. I just learned a TON!
Thank you.
Thank you so much, sueroy. You are right. Although retired, I can't stop teaching. I even dream about it!
And my oh my, how we do take direction from the lowest toot! Because it is a stinker - sending everyone on a trip of confusion. I believe the entire idea of hell is rooted in Dante’s Inferno and not in the Bible. And do we not live that hell just as Dante predicted? Thanks for a very interesting read.
Martie, I love your "Lowest toot...is a stinker." What a great way to put it! I agree that Dante has influenced us greatly. The Bible says very little about Hell. Since Dante's book is an allegory and all his characters and punishments are symbolic, he is actually writing about those who are alive.
Thanks for commenting. I am happy you found this "a very interesting read."
You have made me smile and I thank you for it :-)
Thank you, De Greek, for reading this and commenting. I am very glad I made you smile! You cannot imagine how much I enjoyed teaching this to my students. It was both a lesson in reading and a lesson in humor.
Nell Rose Level 8 Commenter 18 months ago
Hi, I love the story about explaining exactly what a fart meant! ha ha I would love to have had a teacher like you, mine were so boring, and even though I love history, it is only since I left school that I have totally understood it, even though I got my gcse's in it, so something went in! Dante's inferno is something that I have never really tackled so it is a bit confusing to me, but now you have given me a taster I think it is about time I took a bit of notice! see, you got me interested! lol thanks nell