Lines 1-9 in Canto 3 of the Inferno, (Hell), the first of three books of the Divine Comedy, include, in line 9, the classic saying known by all of "ALL HOPE ABANDON YE WHO ENTER IN"
I show here all 9 lines, refer to William Blake's painting of The Gate of Hell, and search for the "gesture," in each line or collection of lines as described in previous posts on the Divine Comedy.
First, the verse lines, which with the exception of the last, are a translation by Mark Musa which are the words written within the stone above the door of the Gate of Hell:
"I am the way into the doleful city,
I am the way to eternal grief,
I am the way to a forsaken race.
Justice it was that moved my great creator;
Divine omnipotence created me,
and highest wisdom joined with primal love.
Before me nothing but eternal things
were made, and I shall last eternally.
All hope abandon, ye who enter in!" (Henry Longfellow)
Rather than trying to "understand" the lines and what 'they mean', intellectually, in the head, speak them, look at Blake's picture of Virgil with Dante the Pilgrim at the entrance to gate of hell, replicate their respective gestures and the gesture of the whole scene and occasion. For it is what any lines "speak, mean to us" individually that matters - not what others tell us "what they mean." Musa adds a further three lines at the end of the first nine which help form a picture of the overall context. These are:
"I saw these words spelled out in somber colours
inscribed along the ledge above a gate;
'Master,' I said, 'these words I see are cruel.'
To access Blake's painting Google "William Blake The Gate of Hell". A picture will be displayed which shows, in blue, two characters in front of an opening in a wall within which what looks like inverted icicles are present. Consider who the characters are. There are only two at this point in the story, in fact rarely are there more throughout the whole Poem. One is Dante in the role of the Pilgrim, the other is Virgil. Which is which. What is the predominant gesture of each and towards each other.
This is the first of three Gates, critical stages in the Divine Comedy, in the whole Poem. The second is travelling on a boat from Hell to Purgatory. The third is the submersion of the Pilgrim in the waters of the River Lethe, entering Paradise.
I attach a short recording I have made of all 12 lines. Create a recording yourself if you are able. Play with creating the image of this incredibly foreboding occasion and the pace and pitch that is needed to create the necessary image.
Tell me and others who follow this Blog how you get on.
The next Post on the Divine Comedy will consider Illustrations and related texts of further scenes from the Inferno.
