Strange Punishments,Respect, and then SNAKES by Breanna Poole
Strange Punishments and then SNAKES by Breanna Poole
Cantos Eighteen really, really confused me. That was mostly because I didn't understand the inflicted punishment. This punishment is supposed to be reserved for those that are fraudulent, and over the course of this Cantos we meet an a)pimp and b) seducer(s). And the punishment is to be covered in human feces and excrement, as well as having it rained down upon them for all time. Unless I have just missed something, this punishment is just one I don't understand. I understand these punishments are supposed to be ironic, but this one I am seriously coming up blank on. How is this punishment ironic or connected to what they have done? I feel like I might have misunderstood something or that I'm missing some important piece of information I just don't understand.
I also want to make a side note that the way Dante refers to the poet/his guide is just really interesting. It's obvious that Dante the character and the writer hold an awful lot of respect. Dante compares to the guide protecting him like to that of a mother protecting a child and how the guide didn't hesitate to reach for Dante when they fell down the cliff side. They use really interesting language to describe this relationship and I deeply enjoy the way it's written, as it's a very respectful and mutual relationship. It's really nice to see this kind of companionship, it reminds me almost of the brotherly bond of Enkidu and Gilgamesh from The Epic of Gilgamesh in a strange way.
And this is more of a personal note but oh my fairy godmother, the punishment for the thieves TERRIFIES me. Having snakes tied around you as you are stripped naked? That's just -- *shivers* Snakes just scare the ever living daylights out of me and so the thought of having that punishment for all eternity really scared me. I actually had to put the book down because of it because -- oh. Okay, personal note over.
P.S. I commented on Abbigayle and Joshua's posts.
Cantos Eighteen really, really confused me. That was mostly because I didn't understand the inflicted punishment. This punishment is supposed to be reserved for those that are fraudulent, and over the course of this Cantos we meet an a)pimp and b) seducer(s). And the punishment is to be covered in human feces and excrement, as well as having it rained down upon them for all time. Unless I have just missed something, this punishment is just one I don't understand. I understand these punishments are supposed to be ironic, but this one I am seriously coming up blank on. How is this punishment ironic or connected to what they have done? I feel like I might have misunderstood something or that I'm missing some important piece of information I just don't understand.
I also want to make a side note that the way Dante refers to the poet/his guide is just really interesting. It's obvious that Dante the character and the writer hold an awful lot of respect. Dante compares to the guide protecting him like to that of a mother protecting a child and how the guide didn't hesitate to reach for Dante when they fell down the cliff side. They use really interesting language to describe this relationship and I deeply enjoy the way it's written, as it's a very respectful and mutual relationship. It's really nice to see this kind of companionship, it reminds me almost of the brotherly bond of Enkidu and Gilgamesh from The Epic of Gilgamesh in a strange way.
And this is more of a personal note but oh my fairy godmother, the punishment for the thieves TERRIFIES me. Having snakes tied around you as you are stripped naked? That's just -- *shivers* Snakes just scare the ever living daylights out of me and so the thought of having that punishment for all eternity really scared me. I actually had to put the book down because of it because -- oh. Okay, personal note over.
P.S. I commented on Abbigayle and Joshua's posts.
Cantos eighteen also had me questioning the intent of the punishment they were destined, as I had been able to make the previous connections without much thought, although this one confused me. I did love the detailing, though, such as in lines 106-108, "the walls were fungus-crusted, thick with mold which rose in vapors from below and clung, making a nauseous brawl with eyes and nose." I mean, I can picture that - and thanks to having to clean three freezers of rotten meat due to a power outage, I think I can at least imagine what it smelt like... That sort of imagery helped me make it through the chapter, which, yes, it was gross, but still.........
ReplyDeleteI think that Cantos eighteen`s punishment was just purely disgusting. These people used what they had to corrupt others so they ended up in an environment that was corrupted itself. If everything was washed away then it could be clean and cleaning is an active activity that you have to take and these people never took an active part to get rid of the filth and instead just piled it on. Maybe I stretching a lot here but that is the only thing I could understand this punishment.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I hate snakes with a passion as well, but I'll just say, the punishmemt involving being whipped by angry demons while walking around naked seems the worst to me. Utter humiliation for the rest of eternity? No thanks, fam. Great Blog, B!
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