The Divine ComedyINFERNO

“Canto XVIII”

Esha C Ratcliff-Rogers

ORIGIN OF CANTO

Eighth CircleEighth Circle

• Known as “Malebolge”• Malebolge means “Evil Pouches”

• There are 10 Evil Pouches• Canto Addresses Pouches 1 and 2Pouches 1 and 2

Those Punished Here

• Sinners of ‘’simple or ordinary’ fraud

• 1st Pouch: Panderers and Seducers• 2nd Pouch: Flatterers

Punishment of Canto XVIII

• Those consumed within this canto are punished according to the sin they have committed:

• 1st Pouch Panderers/ Seducers: hrned demons strike them on their backs with enormous whips

• 2nd Pouch Flatterers: punished by being buried in excretory or fecal matter

Encounters along the Journey

• 1st Pouch• Venedico Caccianemico Pimp• Jason Seducer

- Victims: Men of Colchis, Hypsipyle, Medea

• 2nd Pouch• Alessio Intermines Flatterer• Thais Harlot

Summary

• This Canto begins a whole, new dimension of the Divine Comedy.• It introduces another level that is further sub-divided in multi-levels.• Those punished here are those who have committed fraud of some

sort: Panderers, Seducers, Flatterers.• Dante speaks more explicitly to describe contents to give reader a

more vivid description.

QUESTIONS???