The Divine Comedy
INFERNO
“Canto XVIII”
Esha C Ratcliff-Rogers
ORIGIN OF CANTO
Eighth Circle
• Known as “Malebolge”
• Malebolge means “Evil Pouches”
• There are 10 Evil Pouches
• Canto Addresses Pouches 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???