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Hayley Stepp's Wikipedia's Inferno (Dante) article for ENGL2111.13[edit]

Analysis of Article[edit]

Summary: The original article that I revised greatly lacked details, henceforth not delivering a thorough explanation of the elements of the report concerning the eighth circle of hell in Dante's epic poem, The Inferno. Initially, the piece failed to deliver elaboration about the attributes of the poem it covers, as well as reasoning as to why the sins it reviews are frowned upon in the eyes of the Lord, which shall serve to clarify as to why this eight circle exists in the pits of hell.
Narrator & Point of View: The article has originally been composed in a third person point of view, which I believe an informative article such as an informative article should be written. I am confident in the fact that the first point of view should be obsolete on a website such as Wikipedia.
Characters: Before being edited, the article gave no acknowledgement to the various sinners of the eight circle, considering those punished of sacrilegious divinity are not the only evildoers who inhabit the level of the fraudulent. As well as this, the circle contains subsets of evildoers accused of various sins such as theft,

Reading List[edit]

A numbered list of all your readings go here. Use the following format:

Alighieri, Dante. (1321) Inferno.
Proverbs 3:5-7 (1974) King James Version.

Paragraph from article[edit]

Original[edit]

One of many examples of contrapasso occurs in the 4th Bolgia of the 8th circle of Hell (Inferno, Canto XX), where the sorcerers,astrologers, and false prophets have their heads twisted around on their bodies backward, so that they "found it necessary to walk backward, / because they could not see ahead of them."^[3] While referring primarily to attempts to see into the future by forbidden means, this also symbolizes the twisted nature of magic in general.^[4] Such a contrapasso "functions not merely as a form of divine revenge, but rather as the fulfillment of a destiny freely chosen by each soul during his or her life."^[5]

Revised[edit]

One of many various representations of contrapasso occurs in the fourth ditch of the 8th circle of Hell (Inferno, Canto XX), otherwise known as Malebolge, translating to “evil ditches,” the level in which the fraudulent are condemned; this level contains sinners of such acts of pandering, seduction, flattery, simony, corrupt politicians, thieves, hypocrites, deceivers, sowers of discord, and falsifiers. A subset of this circle contains those punished as a result of their involvement in the practice of works of the occult, such as sorcerers, astrologers, psychics, and false prophets, all referred to as diviners. ^[4] In the teachings of the Christian God, it is considered blasphemous to surmise and/or solicit predestined fortune, as the verse of this Proverbs 3:5-7, states, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.” To reflect upon this sin, the sinners accused of wicked prediction have their heads contorted around on their shoulders in a backward fashion, so that they "found it necessary to walk backward, / because they could not see ahead of them."^[3] While referring primarily to attempts to predict future occurrences by forbidden means, which is considered abominable in the Christian religion, this also symbolizes the corrupt nature of magic in its customary sense. This display of contrapasso "functions not merely as a form of divine revenge, but rather as the fulfillment of a destiny freely chosen by each soul during his or her life."^[5] Henceforth, the sufferers of this contrapasso are deformed in an ironic fashion, with their heads turned so that they only see what is past them, as on earth they claimed themselves seers of what was to come.

Original Contribution[edit]

I contributed to this article by providing biblical sources that inform the reader of God's perspective of false divinity, as well as elaborating about the various inhabitants that dwell in the eighth circle, all of which are sinners accused of fraud and not merely of the occult.

Notes[edit]

Angliss, Brian. "Dante's Inferno and Contrapasso." Scholars and Rogues. Wordpress,

30 Oct. 2013. Web. Retrieved 25 Oct. 2015.

"Malebolge." Dante's Inferno Wiki.

Retrieved 25 Oct. 2015.