Guy P. Raffa
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226702674
- eISBN:
- 9780226702780
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226702780.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter presents a brief plot summary for the second circle of Hell, followed by explanations of “encounters” and “allusions”, significant verses (in Italian and English), and study questions to ...
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This chapter presents a brief plot summary for the second circle of Hell, followed by explanations of “encounters” and “allusions”, significant verses (in Italian and English), and study questions to aid in comprehension and facilitate discussion of the poem. Dante and Virgil encounter Minos, the monster who judges all the souls damned to Hell, at the entrance to the second circle. Tossed about by vicious winds, the spirits within this circle are guilty of lust, a sin that for many led to adultery and for at least some of the most famous—Dido, Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Achilles, Paris, and Tristan—to a violent death. Here Dante is drawn to two lustful souls still bound to one another in Hell: the beautiful Francesca and her handsome brother-in-law Paolo were murdered by the betrayed husband. Dante is so distraught after hearing Francesca's moving tale of how she and Paolo came to act on their passion that he faints and falls hard to the ground.Less
This chapter presents a brief plot summary for the second circle of Hell, followed by explanations of “encounters” and “allusions”, significant verses (in Italian and English), and study questions to aid in comprehension and facilitate discussion of the poem. Dante and Virgil encounter Minos, the monster who judges all the souls damned to Hell, at the entrance to the second circle. Tossed about by vicious winds, the spirits within this circle are guilty of lust, a sin that for many led to adultery and for at least some of the most famous—Dido, Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Achilles, Paris, and Tristan—to a violent death. Here Dante is drawn to two lustful souls still bound to one another in Hell: the beautiful Francesca and her handsome brother-in-law Paolo were murdered by the betrayed husband. Dante is so distraught after hearing Francesca's moving tale of how she and Paolo came to act on their passion that he faints and falls hard to the ground.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226289533
- eISBN:
- 9780226289557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226289557.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter introduces the two great prophets of Minoan modernism, Friedrich Nietzsche and Heinrich Schliemann. It also investigates the way in which Nietzsche's heroic, aristocratic creed for a ...
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This chapter introduces the two great prophets of Minoan modernism, Friedrich Nietzsche and Heinrich Schliemann. It also investigates the way in which Nietzsche's heroic, aristocratic creed for a godless age, based on his passionate reading of Homer, became entangled with Schliemann's exhumation of the Homeric heroes from the shaft graves of Mycenae. Schliemann's wealth cushioned him from the consequences of his recklessness. His bildungsroman brought to archaeology's myth about itself a potent mixture of magic, adventure, and buried treasure. Nietzsche's analysis of the deep past paved the way for a prophecy of the near future. The bequest of the treasures of Troy marked the beginning of the real German infatuation with Schliemann and his discoveries. Arthur Evans turned out to be perfectly poised to assume his position as archaeologist-theologian for Nietzsche's new tragic age.Less
This chapter introduces the two great prophets of Minoan modernism, Friedrich Nietzsche and Heinrich Schliemann. It also investigates the way in which Nietzsche's heroic, aristocratic creed for a godless age, based on his passionate reading of Homer, became entangled with Schliemann's exhumation of the Homeric heroes from the shaft graves of Mycenae. Schliemann's wealth cushioned him from the consequences of his recklessness. His bildungsroman brought to archaeology's myth about itself a potent mixture of magic, adventure, and buried treasure. Nietzsche's analysis of the deep past paved the way for a prophecy of the near future. The bequest of the treasures of Troy marked the beginning of the real German infatuation with Schliemann and his discoveries. Arthur Evans turned out to be perfectly poised to assume his position as archaeologist-theologian for Nietzsche's new tragic age.
