Canto 13
No fruit, but poisoned thorns- an allusion to both the garden of eden and jesus, the boughs of the dying people carry no fruit as the tree of knowledge did. This could show that these people have not learned from their mistakes. The thorns are tied into jesus' crown of thorns which he wore as he was crucified. These souls wear their own crown of thorns for eternity.
Canto 14
"he was one of the seven kings who besieged Thebes" "disdain for god" - Thebes, was an ancient city in egypt. The seven kings who stormed it were adrastus, amphiaraus, capaneus, hippomedon, parthenopeus,polynices,and tydeus. Capaeneus ithe man who lays under the raining fire. He is famous for defying the god zeus, saying that zeus himself could not stop him from scaling the wall. Arrogance is his flaw.
canto 15
"who gains the victory, not one who loses." Shows the persons arrogance, they are burning in hell yet openly defies god and acts like they achieved some victory. Dante is using him as an example to warn against such arrogance but at the same tim he could be criticizing the church. THis man might only believe in himself, yet is punished for his beliefs.
(sidenote, I have noticed that there are almost No female characters in all of hell, only the nagels mentioned before hell. This could be because they were all in heaven or purgatory, or it could show how dante does not have any feminine interaction.

blog entries

Chapter 5
Minos- allusion to Greece judge/king. Was the son of Zeus and Europia.
“Francesca, your suffering makes me weep for sorrow and pity” Line 104 Francesca was a lover who was killed for her lustful relationship with a man, however the couples reason for this sin was a book. Dante could be making a comment on how powerful books can be, and in doing so possibly give a reason for his writing this one. Perhaps Dante is hoping to help recharge the church by producing a book capable of showing all the sins of hell.
Canto 6
“wherever I step or look. I am in the third Circle, a realm of cold and heavy rain”-Line 5 Dante fainted at the tale of the lovers, odd considering what he has already seen in the 2nnd and 1st circle and what he is soon to see, this is one of his most negative reactions. This could be because he knows he will end up in this circle of hell when he dies due to his relationship with Beatrice.
Canto 7
“Fortune, like any other god, foresees, judges, and rules her appointed realm.” Line 76 – Fortunes a strumpet whom controls men, yet Virgil describes how those who curse her should actually be thanking her, if she does not give them wealth then they cannot end up in this circle of hell for the greedy.
“this canticle they gargle from the craw, unable to speak whole words.” This seems like a description of an extremely angry man and thus fits the punishment of those who could not control their anger. You can see the man foaming at the mouth incapable of words out of frustration, and then compare that image to these buried souls.
Canto 8
Phlegyas- first off Phlegyas complains of being tricked by Virgil, as if this has happened in the past. Phlegyas burnt down the temple of Apollo because Apollo had raped and killed his daughter and given his grandchild to a centaur. For this he was thrown into hell.
“Baked red as though just taken from the fire”- these mosques are suffering as they were temples for false idol. The muslims were not exactly popular in this period of time, and even their great rulers like saladin were put in the first circle of hell. Heaven is a one denomination society in this book.

"but heaven expels them not to mar its pleasure" line 35- God has placed the indecisive in an area outside of hell, this area is even worse than the first level of hell as members must walk bitten by flies on maggots. Could be a comment on how unfair or odd Dante considered christianity or could represent his views on indecisiveness. Clearly something is off in this world of half-hell. he describes the people as "never having lived" and neither part of hell or his enemies. WHile in hell dante seems scared or pitiful of the sufferers, here he seems disgusted by them.
"crowded in a herd, they obey if he should summonas he strikes at any laggards with his oar" possibly a comparison to jesus (albeit a very violent jesus) as charon seems to be acting like a shepard lashing out at straying sheep. Charon could be the savior of the dead as he is allowing them to cross the river as god has wished, just as jesus guided souls to heaven. So if the souls before jesus went to hell, whered the souls before charon go?
Cantos 4
"note well... the one who carries the sword and strides before the others"- line 71
Interesting to note that in hell, homer carries a sword whereas on earth he carried a pen. Seems as if the poetry he wrote on earth was not enough to save him and bring him to heaven, what other reason could there be for him to carry a sword? After all the pen is mightier than the sword. Literally taken it could mean homers adapting to the dangerous area he now inhabits, however nothing is literal. Homer is portrayed as a valiant knight, which is used to show how dante looks up to him. However it could be a silly childish admiration, as dante is supposed to look up to homer for being a thinker, not a man of action.
"for my demandng thme so pulls my story, to multiply the telling would be too little for the multitude of fact that filled my journey."
Basically dante is blowing his own horn here, saying that his journey is so great and full of FACT that to dwell on his stay with the ultimate poets of history with which he fits in perfectly would be a waste of his valuable parchment and he needs to move on to the important parts of the story which are his journey through hell. This piece is beginning to seem more and more as if it was written at or for the church stritcly, or might be an insight into Dante's cocky mannerism.

imagist

imagist- imagism was a movement around the beginning of the 20th century, which focussed on creating vivid images using sharp, clear language. In act the main goal of the imagist was to use basic language but use the exactly correct word. They formed in response to the gregorian romantic times and victorian poetry of earlier times which had what they thought lots of careless thinking. The movement avoided cliche's and merely suggests themes rather than presents full ideas.Alfred lord Tennyson and henry Longfellow were among the leaders of this movement along with TE Hulme and ezra pound. Ezra pound called imagery "that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time."

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

 --William Carlos Williams

metaphysical

Metaphysical poets were a loss group of poets which existed in the 16th and 17th. This group developed as a form of defiance against the flowery romantic poetry of their predecessors. Rather metaphysical poets use concise diction of everyday speech. The most important of these poets were john Donne and George Herbert. Metaphysical poetry employs paradoxical images and relies on intellectual wit and learned imagery as well as much satire. Metaphsycial poets often focus on a number of themes including love, and religion however they analyze these things rather than enjoy them. Also poems are usually arguements.
"air and angels" by john donne
Twice or thrice had I lov'd thee,
2Before I knew thy face or name;
3So in a voice, so in a shapeless flame
4Angels affect us oft, and worshipp'd be;
5 Still when, to where thou wert, I came,
6Some lovely glorious nothing I did see.
7 But since my soul, whose child love is,
8Takes limbs of flesh, and else could nothing do,
9 More subtle than the parent is
10Love must not be, but take a body too;
11 And therefore what thou wert, and who,
12 I bid Love ask, and now
13That it assume thy body, I allow,
14And fix itself in thy lip, eye, and brow.

15Whilst thus to ballast love I thought,
16And so more steadily to have gone,
17With wares which would sink admiration,
18I saw I had love's pinnace overfraught;
19 Ev'ry thy hair for love to work upon
20Is much too much, some fitter must be sought;
21 For, nor in nothing, nor in things
22Extreme, and scatt'ring bright, can love inhere;
23 Then, as an angel, face, and wings
24Of air, not pure as it, yet pure, doth wear,
25 So thy love may be my love's sphere;
26 Just such disparity
27As is 'twixt air and angels' purity,
28'Twixt women's love, and men's, will ever be.