Analysis of Beowulf

I. Character

Beowulf Beowulf exemplifies the traits of the perfect hero. The poem explores his heroism in two separate phases youth and age and through three separate and increasingly difficult conflicts with Grendel, Grendel s mother, and the dragon. Although we can view these three encounters as expressions of the heroic code, there is perhaps a clearer division between Beowulf s youthful heroism as an unfettered warrior and his mature heroism as a reliable king. These two phases of his life, separated by fifty years, correspond to two different models of virtue, and much of the moral reflection in the story centers on differentiating these two models and on showing how Beowulf makes the transition from one to the other. Grendel Likely the poem s most memorable creation, Grendel is one of the three monsters that Beowulf battles. His nature is ambiguous. Though he has many animal attributes and a grotesque, monstrous appearance, he seems to be guided by vaguely human emotions and impulses, and he shows more of an interior life than one might expect. Exiled to the swamplands outside the boundaries of human society, Grendel is an outcast who seems to long to be reinstated. The poet hints that behind Grendel s aggression against the Danes lies loneliness and jealousy. By lineage, Grendel is a member of Cain s clan, whom the creator had outlawed / and condemned as outcasts. (106 107). He is thus descended from a figure who epitomizes resentment and malice. While the poet somewhat sympathetically suggests that Grendel s deep bitterness about being excluded from the revelry in the mead-hall owes, in part, to his accursed status, he also points out that Grendel is [m]alignant by nature and that he has never show[n] remorse (137). Hrothgar Hrothgar, the aged ruler of the Danes who accepts Beowulf s help in the first part of the story, aids Beowulf s development into maturity. Hrothgar is a relatively static character, a force of stability in the social realm. Although he is as solidly rooted in the heroic code as Beowulf is, his old age and his experience with both good and ill fortune have caused him to develop a more reflective attitude toward heroism than Beowulf possesses. He is aware of both the privileges and the dangers of power, and he warns his young protg not to give in to pride and always to remember that blessings may turn to grief. Hrothgar s meditations on heroism and leadership, which take into account a hero s entire life span rather than just his valiant youth, reveal the contrast between youth and old age that forms the turning point in Beowulf s own development. Unferth Unferth s challenge to Beowulf s honor differentiates him from Beowulf and helps to reveal some of the subtleties of the heroic code that the warriors must follow. Unferth is presented as a lesser man, a foil for the near-perfect Beowulf. (A foil is a character whose traits contrast with and thereby accentuate those of another character.) The bitterness of Unferth s chiding of Beowulf about his swimming match with Breca clearly reflects his jealousy of the attention that Beowulf receives. It probably also stems from his shame at being unable to protect Heorot himself he is clearly not the sort of great warrior whom legend will remember. While boasting is a proper and acceptable form of self-assertion, Unferth s harsh words show that it ought not to be bitter or disparaging of others. Rather than heroism, Unferth s blustering reveals pride and resentment. Later, Unferth s gift of his sword for Beowulf s fight against Grendel s mother heals Unferth s breach of hospitality, but it does little to improve his heroic status. Unlike Beowulf, Unferth is clearly afraid to fight the monster himself. Wiglaf Wiglaf, one of Beowulf s kinsmen and thanes, is the only warrior brave enough to help the hero in his fight against the dragon. Wiglaf conforms perfectly to the heroic code in that he is willing to die attempting to defeat the opponent and, more importantly, to save his lord. In this regard, Wiglaf appears as a reflection of the young Beowulf in the first part of the story a warrior who is strong, fearless, valiant, and loyal. He embodies Beowulf s statement from the early scenes

of the poem that it is always better to act than to grieve. Wiglaf thus represents the next generation of heroism and the future of the kingdom. His bravery and solid bearing provide the single glint of optimism in the final part of the story, which, for the most part, is dominated by a tone of despair at what the future holds.

II.

Setting

Beowulf is an epic about a glorious past. But it's not just in "the past" now for us as 21st century readers. It wasalways set in the distant past. Beowulf was first told in Anglo-Saxon England sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries, but it's not about that time and place. It's actually set several hundred years earlier, in the 5th or 6th century. And it doesn't take place in England. Instead, the action happens in the land of the Danes (what is today the nation of Denmark) and the land of the Geats (what is today the nation of Sweden). So, if someone asks you what the setting of Beowulf is, you can tell them that it's 5th or 6th century Scandinavia. (Scandinavia is the part of Europe that includes Sweden and Denmark.) III. Plot

Sheafson, enjoys a prosperous and successful reign. He builds a great mead-hall, called Heorot, where his warriors can gather to drink, receive gifts from their lord, and listen to stories sung by the scops, or bards. But the jubilant noise from Heorot angers Grendel, a horrible demon who lives in the swamplands of Hrothgar s kingdom. Grendel terrorizes the Danes every night, killing them and defeating their efforts to fight back. The Danes suffer many years of fear, danger, and death at the hands of Grendel. Eventually, however, a young Geatish warrior named Beowulf hears of Hrothgar s plight. Inspired by the challenge, Beowulf sails to Denmark with a small company of men, determined to defeat Grendel. Hrothgar, who had once done a great favor for Beowulf s father Ecgtheow, accepts Beowulf s offer to fight Grendel and holds a feast in the hero s honor. During the feast, an envious Dane named Unferth taunts Beowulf and accuses him of being unworthy of his reputation. Beowulf responds with a boastful description of some of his past accomplishments. His confidence cheers the Danish warriors, and the feast lasts merrily into the night. At last, however, Grendel arrives. Beowulf fights him unarmed, proving himself stronger than the demon, who is terrified. As Grendel struggles to escape, Beowulf tears the monster s arm off. Mortally wounded, Grendel slinks back into the swamp to die. The severed arm is hung high in the mead-hall as a trophy of victory. The Danes are again overjoyed, and Beowulf s fame spreads across the kingdom. Beowulf departs after a sorrowful goodbye to Hrothgar, who has treated him like a son. He returns to Geatland, where he and his men are reunited with their king and queen, Hygelac and Hygd, to whom Beowulf recounts his adventures in Denmark. Beowulf then hands over most of his treasure to Hygelac, who, in turn, rewards him. In time, Hygelac is killed in a war against the Shylfings, and, after Hygelac s son dies, Beowulf ascends to the throne of the Geats. He rules wisely for fifty years, bringing prosperity to Geatland. When Beowulf is an old man, however, a thief disturbs a barrow, or mound, where a great dragon lies guarding a horde of treasure. Enraged, the dragon emerges from the barrow and begins unleashing fiery destruction upon the Geats. Sensing his own death approaching, Beowulf goes to fight the dragon. With the aid of Wiglaf, he succeeds in killing the beast, but at a heavy cost. The dragon bites Beowulf in the neck, and its fiery venom kills him moments after their encounter. The Geats fear that their enemies will attack them now that Beowulf is dead. According to Beowulf s wishes, they burn their departed king s body on a huge funeral pyre and then bury him with a massive treasure in a barrow overlooking the sea.

IV.

Climax

Back home in Geatland, Beowulf must defend his people against a marauding dragon. Just when you think Beowulf is going to live happily ever after, he has to face his greatest challenge yet: a fifty-foot-long firebreather. If anything screams "climactic battle scene," it's the arrival of a dragon.

V.

Summary

The poem begins with a brief genealogy of the Danes. Scyld Shefing was the first great king of the Danes, known for his ability to conquer enemies. Scyld becomes the great-grandfather of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes during the events of Beowulf. Hrothgar, like his ancestors before him, is a good king, and he wishes to celebrate his reign by building a grand hall called Heorot. Once the hall is finished, Hrothgar holds a large feast. The revelry attracts the attentions of the monster Grendel, who decides to attack during the night. In the morning, Hrothgar and his thanes discover the bloodshed and mourn the lost warriors. This begins Grendel's assault upon the Danes. Twelve years pass. Eventually the news of Grendel's aggression on the Danes reaches the Geats, another tribe. A Geat thane, Beowulf, decides to help the Danes; he sails to the land of the Danes with his best warriors. Upon their arrival, Hrothgar's thane Wulfgar judges the Geats worthy enough to speak with Hrothgar. Hrothgar remembers when he helped Beowulf's father Ecgtheow settle a feud; thus, he welcomes Beowulf's help gladly. Heorot is filled once again for a large feast in honor of Beowulf. During the feast, a thane named Unferth tries to get into a boasting match with Beowulf by accusing him of losing a swimming contest. Beowulf tells the story of his heroic victory in the contest, and the company celebrates his courage. During the height of the celebration, the Danish queen Wealhtheow comes forth, bearing the mead-cup. She presents it first to Hrothgar, then to the rest of the hall, and finally to Beowulf. As he receives the cup, Beowulf tells Wealhtheow that he will kill Grendel or be killed in Heorot. This simple declaration moves Wealhtheow and the Danes, and the revelry continues. Finally, everyone retires. Before he leaves, Hrothgar promises to give Beowulf everything if he can defeat Grendel. Beowulf says that he will leave God to judge the outcome. He and his thanes sleep in the hall as they wait for Grendel. Eventually Grendel arrives at Heorot as usual, hungry for flesh. Beowulf watches carefully as Grendel eats one of his men. When Grendel reaches for Beowulf, Beowulf grabs Grendel's arm and doesn't let go. Grendel writhes about in pain as Beowulf grips him. He thrashes about, causing the hall to nearly collapse. Soon Grendel tears away, leaving his arm in Beowulf's grasp. He slinks back to his lair in the moors and dies. The Danes, meanwhile, consider Beowulf as the greatest hero in Danish history. Hrothgar's minstrel sings songs of Beowulf and other great characters of the past, including Sigemund (who slew a dragon) and Heremod (who ruled his kingdom unwisely and was punished). In Heorot, Grendel's arm is nailed to the wall as a trophy. Hrothgar says that Beowulf will never lack for riches, and Beowulf graciously thanks him. The horses and men of the Geats are all richly adorned, in keeping with Hrothgar's wishes. Another party is held to celebrate Beowulf's victory. Hrothgar's minstrel tells another story at the feast, the story of the Frisian slaughter. An ancient Danish king had a daughter named Hildeburh; he married her to a king of the Frisians. While Hnaef, Hildeburh's brother, visited his sister, the Frisians attacked the Danes, killing Hnaef and Hildeburh's son in the process. Hengest, the next leader of the Danes, desired vengeance, and in the spring, the Danes attacked the Frisians, killing their leader and taking Hildeburh back to Denmark. After this story is told, Wealhtheow presents a necklace to Hrothgar while pleading with her brother-inlaw Hrothulf to help her two young sons if they should ever need it. Next she presents many golden treasures to Beowulf, such as necklaces, cups, and rings. Soon the feast ends, and everyone sleeps peacefully. In the night, Grendel's mother approaches the hall, wanting vengeance for her son. The warriors prepared for battle, leaving enough time for Grendel's mother to grab one of Hrothgar's counselors and run away. When Beowulf is summoned to the hall, he finds Hrothgar in mourning for his friend Aeschere. Hrothgar tells Beowulf where the creatures like Grendel live in a shadowy, fearful land within the moors. Beowulf persuades Hrothgar to ride with him to the moors. When they reach the edge of the moors, Beowulf calls for his armor, takes a sword from Unferth, and dives into the lake. After a long time, Beowulf reaches the bottom of the lake, where Grendel's mother is waiting to attack. Beowulf swings his sword, but discovers that it cannot cut her, so he tosses it away. They then wrestle until Beowulf spies a large sword nearby. He grabs it by the hilt and swings killing Grendel's mother by slicing off her head. Still in a rage, Beowulf finds the dead Grendel in the lair and cuts off his head as a trophy. As they wait, the Danes have given up all hope for Beowulf because he has been underwater for such a long time. They are shocked when Beowulf returns with Grendel's head and the hilt of the sword (which melted with the heat of Grendel's blood). They bear the hero and his booty back to Heorot, where another celebration takes place. Beowulf recounts his battle; Hrothgar praises him and gives him advice on being a king. A grand feast follows, and Beowulf is given more priceless treasures. The next morning, the Geats look forward to leaving Denmark. Before

they leave, Beowulf promises aid for Hrothgar from the Danes. Hrothgar praises Beowulf and promises that their lands will have an alliance forever. As the Geats leave, Hrothgar finds himself wishing Beowulf would never leave. The Geats return with much rejoicing to their homeland, where their king Hygelac and his queen Hygd greet them. In an aside, the narrator compares Hygd to the queen of the ancient Offa, who is not tamed until Offa comes to subjugate her. Beowulf tells his lord the events of his trip to Denmark. In the process, he tells another story that had previously been unmentioned. Hrothgar betrothed his daughter Freawaru to a prince of the Heathobards in order to settle an old feud. Beowulf speculates that someone will goad this Heathobard prince to take vengeance upon the Danes for all their past wrongs. Hygelac praises Beowulf for his bravery and gives him half the kingdom. They rule the kingdom together in peace and prosperity. Hygelac is killed in a battle soon after, so Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and rules the kingdom well. In the fiftieth year of Beowulf's reign, a monster arises to terrorize the Geats. A treasure trove was left by an ancient civilization, which guarded it jealously until only one member of the race was left. After the last person's death, a fire-breathing dragon found the treasure and guarded it for three hundred years. One day, a slave stumbled upon the treasure and stole a cup as an offering to his lord. The dragon awakened to find something missing from his treasure, and began his rampage upon the Geats. One day, Beowulf learns that this dragon has destroyed his own great hall. This attack sends him into deep thought. Soon he orders a shield to use for battle, but not without a heavy heart at what may happen to him. He recalls Hygelac's death in battle and his own narrow escape from this battle. He recalls a number of battles he has seen as he travels to the dragon's lair with eleven of his thanes. The servant who stole the cup leads them to the lair. As they wait to attack the dragon, Beowulf recounts the Geat royal family's plight, in which Hygelac's oldest brothers killed each other and left their father to die of a broken heart. Beowulf says he served Hygelac well, and a sword (named Naegling) that he won while serving Hygelac will help him save the kingdom once again. Beowulf leads the charge to the dragon's cave. The shield protects him from the dragon's flames, but his men flee in fear, leaving only one man behind. This man is Wiglaf, Beowulf's kinsman through Ecgtheow. Wiglaf becomes angry, but swears that he will stay by Beowulf's side. Just then the dragon rushes up to them. Beowulf and the dragon swing at each other three times, finally landing mortal blows upon each other the last time. The dragon is beheaded, but Beowulf is bitten and has a mortal poison from the dragon flowing through his body as a result. Wiglaf bathes his lord's body as Beowulf speaks on the treasure. He says that Wiglaf should inherit it as his kinsman; then he dies. After his death, the cowards return, to be severely chastised by Wiglaf. He sends a messenger to tell the people of their king's death. The messenger envisions the joy of the Geats' enemies upon hearing of the death of Beowulf. He also says that no man shall ever have the treasure for which Beowulf fought. Wiglaf and Beowulf's thanes toss the dragon's body into the sea. They place the treasure inside a mound with Beowulf's body and mourn for "the ablest of all world-kings."

VI.

Analysis

Beowulf is an extremely exciting and fascinating story about a character who lived in medieval Europe. The shocking thing for me about this work was to find out that it is the earliest poem in a modern European language. Beowulf is to the English what Homer and the Odyssey were to the Greeks. Although this is the earliest poem, it is still fun and exciting to read. I didn't believe that a poem which has been around for more than twelve centuries, could keep my interest. I was wrong. The book is filled with more blood and guts then the average summer horror flick. After the battle with Grendel, the monster which has been ravaging the Danish countryside and killing countless men, Beowulf makes sure that all people know that he had injured the great monster. It is translated that, "...no Dane doubted the victory, for the proof, hanging high from the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was the monster's arm, claw and shoulder and all" .It was the shocking use of detail and exciting battles that was left with me when I finished the book. I guess all book, regardless of their age can still be fun and entertaining to read.

Analysis of The Divine Comedy

I. Character Dante - The author and protagonist of Inferno; the focus of all action and interaction with other characters. Because Dante chose to present his fictional poem as a record of events that actually happened to him, a wide gulf between Dante the poet and Dante the character pervades the poem. For instance, Dante the poet often portrays Dante the character as compassionate and sympathetic at the sight of suffering sinners, but Dante the poet chose to place them in Hell and devised their suffering. As a result, if Dante the character is at all representative of Dante the poet, he is a very simplified version: sympathetic, somewhat fearful of danger, and confused both morally and intellectually by his experience in Hell. As the poem progresses, Dante the character gradually learns to abandon his sympathy and adopt a more pitiless attitude toward the punishment of sinners, which he views as merely a reflection of divine justice. Virgil - Dante s guide through the depths of Hell. Historically, Virgil lived in the first century B.C., in what is now northern Italy. Scholars consider him the greatest of the Latin poets. His masterpiece, the Aeneid, tells the story of how Aeneas, along with fellow survivors of the defeat of Troy, came to found Rome. The shade (or spirit) of Virgil that appears in Inferno has been condemned to an eternity in Hell because he lived prior to Christ s appearance on Earth (and thus prior to the possibility of redemption in Him). Nonetheless, Virgil has now received orders to lead Dante through Hell on his spiritual journey. Virgil proves a wise, resourceful, and commanding presence, but he often seems helpless to protect Dante from the true dangers of Hell. Critics generally consider Virgil an allegorical representation of human reason both in its immense power and in its inferiority to faith in God. Beatrice - One of the blessed in Heaven, Beatrice aids Dante s journey by asking an angel to find Virgil and bid him guide Dante through Hell. Like Dante and Virgil, Beatrice corresponds to a historical personage. Although the details of her life remain uncertain, we know that Dante fell passionately in love with her as a young man and never fell out of it. She has a limited role in Inferno but becomes more prominent in Purgatorio and Paradiso. In fact, Dante s entire imaginary journey throughout the afterlife aims, in part, to find Beatrice, whom he has lost on Earth because of her early death. Critics generally view Beatrice as an allegorical representation of spiritual love. Charon - A figure that Dante appropriates from Greek mythology, Charon is an old man who ferries souls across the river Acheron to Hell. Paolo and Francesca da Rimini - A pair of lovers condemned to the Second Circle of Hell for an adulterous love affair that they began after reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere. Lucifer - The prince of Hell, also referred to as Dis. Lucifer resides at the bottom of the Ninth (and final) Circle of Hell, beneath the Earth s surface, with his body jutting through the planet s center. An enormous giant, he has three faces but does not speak; his three mouths are busy chewing three of history s greatest traitors: Judas, the betrayer of Christ, and Cassius and Brutus, the betrayers of Julius Caesar. Minos - The king of Crete in Greek mythology, Minos is portrayed by Dante as a giant beast who stands at the Second Circle of Hell, deciding where the souls of sinners shall be sent for torment. Upon hearing a given sinner s confession, Minos curls his tail around himself a specific number of times to represent the circle of Hell to which the soul should be consigned. Pope Boniface VIII - A notoriously corrupt pope who reigned from 1294 to1303, Boniface made a concerted attempt to increase the political might of the Catholic Church and was thus a political enemy of Dante, who advocated a separation of church and state. Farinata - A Ghibelline political leader from Dante s era who resides among the Heretics in the Sixth Circle of Hell. Farinata is doomed to continue his intense obsession with Florentine politics, which he is now helpless to affect.

Phlegyas - The boatman who rows Dante and Virgil across the river Styx. Filippo Argenti - A Black Guelph, a political enemy of Dante who is now in the Fifth Circle of Hell. Argenti resides among the Wrathful in the river Styx. Nessus - The Centaur (half man and half horse) who carries Dante through the First Ring of the Seventh Circle of Hell. Pier della Vigna - A former advisor to Emperor Frederick II, della Vigna committed suicide when he fell into disfavor at the court. He now must spend eternity in the form of a tree. Geryon - The massive serpentine monster that transports Dante and Virgil from the Seventh to the Eighth Circle of Hell. Malacoda - The leader of the Malabranche, the demons who guard the Fifth Pouch of the Eighth Circle of Hell. Malacoda (his name means evil tail ) intentionally furnishes Virgil and Dante with erroneous directions. Vanni Fucci - A thief punished in the Seventh Pouch of the Eighth Circle of Hell who prophesies the defeat of the White Guelphs. A defiant soul, Fucci curses God and aims an obscene gesture at Him before Dante journeys on. Ulysses - The great hero of the Homeric epics the Iliad and the Odyssey. Ulysses was a bold and cunning man who is now imprisoned in the Eighth Pouch of the Eighth Circle of Hell among those guilty of Spiritual Theft. Guido da Montefeltro - An advisor to Pope Boniface VIII, da Montefeltro was promised anticipatory absolution forgiveness for a sin given prior to the perpetration of the sin itself. Da Montefeltro now suffers in Hell, since absolution cannot be gained without repentance and it is impossible to repent a sin before committing it. Antaeus - The giant who transports Dante and Virgil from the Eighth to the Ninth Circle of Hell. Count Ugolino - A traitor condemned to the Second Ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell. Ugolino gnaws on the head of another damned traitor, Archbishop Ruggieri. When Ruggieri imprisoned Ugolino and his sons, denying them food, Ugolino was driven to eat the corpses of his starved sons. Fra Alberigo and Branca d Oria - Sinners condemned to the Third Ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell. Fra Alberigo and Branca d Oria are unlike the other sinners Dante encounters: their crimes were deemed to be so great that devils snatched their souls from their living bodies; thus, their souls reside in Hell while their bodies live on, now guided and possessed by demons. II. Setting

The action takes place in 1300. It begins in the Forest of Darkness on Good Friday, the day commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, and ends the following Thursday. When Dante starts his journey, he is 35 years old exactly half the biblical life span of "three score years and ten." From the Forest of Darkness, Dante proceeds through Hell and Purgatory, then ascends into Heaven. III. Plot I NFERNO opens on the evening of Good Friday in the year 1300. Traveling through a dark wood, Dante Alighieri has lost his path and now wanders fearfully through the forest. The sun shines down on a mountain above him, and he attempts to climb up to it but finds his way blocked by three beasts a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf. Frightened and helpless, Dante returns to the dark wood. Here he encounters the ghost of Virgil, the great Roman poet, who has come to guide Dante back to his path, to the top of the mountain. Virgil says that their path will take them through Hell and that they will eventually reach Heaven, where Dante s beloved Beatrice awaits. He adds that it was Beatrice, along with two other holy women, who, seeing Dante lost in the wood, sent Virgil to guide him. Virgil leads Dante through the gates of Hell, marked by the haunting inscription ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE (III.7). They enter the outlying region of Hell, the Ante-Inferno, where the souls who in life could not commit to either

good or evil now must run in a futile chase after a blank banner, day after day, while hornets bite them and worms lap their blood. Dante witnesses their suffering with repugnance and pity. The ferryman Charon then takes him and his guide across the river Acheron, the real border of Hell. The First Circle of Hell, Limbo, houses pagans, including Virgil and many of the other great writers and poets of antiquity, who died without knowing of Christ. After meeting Horace, Ovid, and Lucan, Dante continues into the Second Circle of Hell, reserved for the sin of Lust. At the border of the Second Circle, the monster Minos lurks, assigning condemned souls to their punishments. He curls his tail around himself a certain number of times, indicating the number of the circle to which the soul must go. Inside the Second Circle, Dante watches as the souls of the Lustful swirl about in a terrible storm; Dante meets Francesca, who tells him the story of her doomed love affair with Paolo da Rimini, her husband s brother; the relationship has landed both in Hell. In the Third Circle of Hell, the Gluttonous must lie in mud and endure a rain of filth and excrement. In the Fourth Circle, the Avaricious and the Prodigal are made to charge at one another with giant boulders. The Fifth Circle of Hell contains the river Styx, a swampy, fetid cesspool in which the Wrathful spend eternity struggling with one another; the Sullen lie bound beneath the Styx s waters, choking on the mud. Dante glimpses Filippo Argenti, a former political enemy of his, and watches in delight as other souls tear the man to pieces. Virgil and Dante next proceed to the walls of the city of Dis, a city contained within the larger region of Hell. The demons who guard the gates refuse to open them for Virgil, and an angelic messenger arrives from Heaven to force the gates open before Dante. The Sixth Circle of Hell houses the Heretics, and there Dante encounters a rival political leader named Farinata. A deep valley leads into the First Ring of the Seventh Circle of Hell, where those who were violent toward others spend eternity in a river of boiling blood. Virgil and Dante meet a group of Centaurs, creatures who are half man, half horse. One of them, Nessus, takes them into the Second Ring of the Seventh Circle of Hell, where they encounter those who were violent toward themselves (the Suicides). These souls must endure eternity in the form of trees. Dante there speaks with Pier della Vigna. Going deeper into the Seventh Circle of Hell, the travelers find those who were violent toward God (the Blasphemers); Dante meets his old patron, Brunetto Latini, walking among the souls of those who were violent toward Nature (the Sodomites) on a desert of burning sand. They also encounter the Usurers, those who were violent toward Art. IV. Climax

The climax of a literary work can be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events. According to the first definition, the climax of The Divine Comedy occurs in Purgatory when Beatrice causes Dante to admit guilt and repent. According to the second definition, the climax occurs in Paradise when Dante beholds the light of God.

V.

Summary

The Inferno begins when Dante, in the middle of his life, is lost in a metaphorical dark wood that is, sin. He sees a sunlit hill but it unable to climb it because three wild beasts frighten him back (these symbolize different sins). Fortunately he then meets the spirit of the Roman epic poet Virgil, who says that he has been sent by Beatrice to lead him to salvation. (Beatrice was the spirit of a woman Dante loved very much, who had died years before.) However, Virgil says, they must go through Hell to get there. Dante is a little frightened, but is encouraged by the thought that Beatrice is looking over him. First Dante and Virgil go through the space outside Hell in the underworld, where the neutral spirits, who were neither good nor bad, are left to bewail their fate neither Heaven nor Hell will accept them. Then they come to the Acheron, an infernal river, where the boatman Charon ferries the damned souls into Hell. An earthquake leaves Dante unconscious, and when he wakes up they are in the first circle of Hell, Limbo. In Limbo there are the virtuous non-Christians: ancient Greek and Roman heroes, philosophers, and so forth. There are also some worthy Arabs, and the virtuous Jews of the Old Testament were there until Christ took them to Heaven. Dante is pleased to find himself accepted as an equal by the great classical poets. The spirits in Limbo are not tormented: they live in green meadows with a gentle sadness. Virgil was one of them. They passed to the second circle, where the demon Minos judged the sinners and assigned them their place in Hell. In the second circle the lustful were punished by having their spirits blown about by an unceasing wind. Dante spoke with

the spirit of Francesca da' Rimini, who had fallen unhappily in love with her husband's younger brother. He felt so sorry for her that he fainted from grief. When Dante awoke they were in the third circle, where the gluttons were punished. After Virgil pacified the doglike demon Cerberus, they saw where the gluttons lay in the mud, tormented by a heavy, cold rain. One of them, Ciacco, predicted the political future of Florence for Dante. In the fourth circle they had to pass the demon Plutus, who praised Satan. There the avaricious and the prodigal rolled weights around in opposite directions, berating each other for their sins. They came to the Styx, where the wrathful and the sullen were tormented. The wrathful fought in the muddy water and the sullen sank beneath it and lamented in gurgling voices. The boatman Phleygas resentfully ferried them across, passing the wrathful shade of Filippo Argenti, who tried to attack Dante. The sixth circle held heretics, who were imprisoned in red-hot sepulchers. Dante spoke with Farinata, a great-hearted Epicurean who predicted Dante's exile from Florence. He also met Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti, the father of his friend Guido. They passed the tomb of a heretical pope. They came to a stinking valley. Taking a moment to get used to the stench, Virgil explained to Dante the structure of Hell. It was cone shaped and was made up of increasingly tight circles. In Dis they would see the punishments of the violent, the fraudulent, and traitors. These were more serious sins than those of the earlier circles, which resulted from human weakness and overindulgence. In the first ring of the seventh circle they passed the Minotaur and met a group of centaurs, who shot the sinners who tried to escape with their arrows. The first ring was made up of the violent against others: tyrants and murderers. These were tormented in a river of boiling blood: the Phlegethon. In the second ring they found a black forest full of twisted trees. These were suicides: Dante spoke to one after seeing a broken twig bleed. The suicide was Pier della Vigna, who had committed suicide while wrongfully imprisoned by his patron. They were interrupted by two souls dashing through the forest, chased by black hounds. These were those who had been violent to their own possessions: those who had squandered their goods. In the third ring there were the violent against God: blasphemers, sodomites, and usurers. These were punished by having to sit or walk around on flaming sand under a rain of fire. Dante spoke affectionately with one sodomite, Ser Brunetto, who had been something of a mentor for him when he was alive. Thre other Florentines, also people Dante respected, asked him news about the city, and he said that it was doing badly. Virgil called up the monster Geryon, who symbolized fraud, from the eighth circle, while Dante spoke with some usurers. Geryon took Dante and Virgil down to the eigth circle on a terrifying ride. The eigth circle was Malebolge, and was formed of ten different enclosures in which different kinds of fraud were punished. In the first, Dante saw naked sinners being whipped by demons. He recognized one of them as Venedico Caccianemico, who had sold his sister to a lustful Marquis. He also saw Jason. These were panders and seducers: people who used fraud in matters of love. In the second, flatterers were mired in a stew of human excrement. In the third, the simonists were punished by being stuck upside down in rock with their feet on fire. Notably, Dante spoke with Pope Nicholas III there, who predicted that the current pope would also be damned for that sin. Dante was very unsympathetic. In the fourth enclosure, diviners, astrologers, and magicians were punished by having their heads on backwards. Dante was sad to see such a distortion of humanity, but Virgil hardened his heart. In the fifth, barrators were flung into a lake of hot pitch, and were guarded by devils, the Malebranche. Dante was frightened to see a devil come with an official from Lucca and throw him in. Virgil convinced the Malebranche that they should be allowed to pass unharmed, and they were given an escort of demons. As they were passing along, one sinner did not dive into the pitch fast enough and was caught by a devil. Through trickery he managed to get away unharmed, however, and two devils fell into the pitch, while Dante and Virgil discreetly left. Eventually pursued by irate devils, Dante and Virgil quickly went to safety in the sixth pouch of Malebolge, where hypocrites were made to wear heavy lead robes. They included two Jovial Friars, dishonest leaders of Florence.

They had a hard time reaching the seventh enclosure, where thieves were bitten by serpents, and then transformed into serpents themselves. Dante saw some famous thieves change shapes in this way. One of them predicted political misfortune for Dante. In the eighth pouch, fraudulent counselors were aflame. Dante learned the story of Ulysses' death, and heard the bitter tale of Guido da Montefeltro, who had been tricked into advising the pope to massacre some people, thinking that his soul was protected by a papal absolution. Dante was horrified by the gore in the ninth pouch, where sowers of scandal and schism were maimed by a devil with a sword. Among them he saw the founder of Islam and his nephew, and also the leader of a contemporary heretical order. In the tenth pouch there were three groups of falsifiers. The falsifiers of metals (alchemists) were plagued by a disease like leprosy. Dante spoke with two of them, who energetically scratched their scabs off. The second group was made up of those who impersonated other people, like Gianni Schicci and Myrrha. These were insane. There were also counterfeiters and liars. Moving on to the ninth circle, Dante was frightened by a loud bugle blast. What he thought was a city with towers turned out to be a number of giants, including Nimrodand those who had rebelled against the Olympians. A comparatively blameless giant helped Dante and Virgil into the pit of the ninth circle. In the first ring of the ninth circle, Dante saw sinners frozen into ice (the circle was a frozen lake). These were traitors against their kin, including two brothers who had murdered each other. The second ring, where sinners were deeper in the ice, held those who betrayed their parties and their homelands. Dante tormented one of these, Bocca, to make him confess his name. Two sinners were frozen close together, with one eating the other's head. Dante learned that the cannibal was Count Ugolino, who had been starved to death with his innocent children by the Archbishop Ruggieri. Dante spoke with some other sinners in the third ring, who had assassinated their guests. He learnt to his surprise that it was possible for a soul to be in Hell when its body was still living. In the fourth ring, traitors against their benefactors were totally covered in ice. Finally, at the bottom of Hell, Dante saw the gigantic figure of Lucifer, who ground up Judas, Brutus, and Cassius in his three mouths. Virgil and Dante climbed on Lucifer all the way through the center of the earth and to the other side, where they finally emerged in the southern hemisphere. VI. Analysis

The Inferno is an opaque poem, which lends itself particularly well to complicated interpretation, and no doubt was intended as such. Metaphors and symbolism are found in every line, and to give a complete description of all the interpretations that have been made would be a huge undertaking. However, in order to fathom the sheer richness of the poem, it is necessary to have an understanding of the more widely accepted interpretations. The Inferno was written during Dante's exile from Florence, whereas it purports to recount events that occurred much earlier. A passage in Canto XXI, 112-114, has been used by commentators to fix the fictional date of Canto I as the night before Good Friday, April 7, 1300. (In 1300 Dante was 35 years old: half of the Biblical span of 70 years.) The morning spent trying to climb the hill is thus Good Friday. One should note the careful correlation of Christian symbolic time with events in the poem. Since Dante wrote the Inferno after he was exiled in 1301, this made it possible for him to make accurate "predictions" about events which had already occurred, thus lending an aura of truth to his genuine prophecies. The dark forest is a metaphor for everything that Dante thought was wrong in 1300. This could include inner confusion and sin, the necessary imperfection of the world (as opposed to Paradise and God), political corruption, the absence of true authority, the bad behavior of the Pope, etc. Redemption is associated with struggle, in this case the struggle uphill, which is made impossibly difficult by the continual temptations of sin. The leopard is thought to symbolize lust, the lion pride, and the she-wolf avarice. The identity of the greyhound has been widely disputed: Christ, Dante himself, the Holy Roman Emperor, and Dante's benefactor Cangrande della Scala are some candidates. Since Dante strongly supported the imperial claim to authority, it seems most likely that the greyhound is the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VII (elected in 1308, probably before the Inferno was written, but after it "took place.")

Analysis of The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spencer

I. Character Arthur - The central hero of the poem, although he does not play the most significant role in its action. Arthur is in search of the Faerie Queene, whom he saw in a vision. The "real" Arthur was a king of the Britons in the 5th or 6th century A.D., but the little historical information we have about him is overwhelmed by his legend. Faerie Queene (also known as Gloriana) - Though she never appears in the poem, the Faerie Queene is the focus of the poem; her castle is the ultimate goal or destination of many of the poem s characters. She represents Queen Elizabeth, among others, as discussed in the Commentary. Redcrosse - The Redcrosse Knight is the hero of Book I; he stands for the virtue of Holiness. His real name is discovered to be George, and he ends up becoming St. George, the patron saint of England. On another level, though, he is the individual Christian fighting against evil--or the Protestant fighting the Catholic Church. Una - Redcrosse's future wife, and the other major protagonist in Book I. She is meek, humble, and beautiful, but strong when it is necessary; she represents Truth, which Redcrosse must find in order to be a true Christian. Duessa - The opposite of Una, she represents falsehood and nearly succeeds in getting Redcrosse to leave Una for good. She appears beautiful, but it is only skin-deep. Archimago - Next to Duessa, a major antagonist in Book I. Archimago is a sorcerer capable of changing his own appearance or that of others; in the end, his magic is proven weak and ineffective. Britomart - The hero of Book III, the female warrior virgin, who represents Chastity. She is a skilled fighter and strong of heart, with an amazing capacity for calm thought in troublesome circumstances. Of course, she is chaste, but she also desires true Christian love. She searches for her future husband, Arthegall, whom she saw in a vision through a magic mirror. Florimell - Another significant female character in Book III, Florimell represents Beauty. She is also chaste but constantly hounded by men who go mad with lust for her. She does love one knight, who seems to be the only character that does not love her. Satyrane - Satyrane is the son of a human and a satyr (a half-human, half-goat creature). He is "nature's knight," the best a man can be through his own natural abilities without the enlightenment of Christianity and God's grace. He is significant in both Book I and Book III, generally as an aide to the protagonists. II. Setting

In all forms of literature, setting is extremely important in recreating a universe in which characters are able to enact their physical or spiritual journeys. Symbolically they can define character, time, or the obstacles that both inhibit and challenge characters to complete their journeys. In the Faerie Queene, Spenser creates a universe that challenges and serves Redcrosse Knight's spiritual journey toward enlightenment. Settings that symbolize spiritual enlightenment or degradation form the dual aspects of fairyland, the dreamlike universe that composes the world stage in which many of the poem's adventures take place.

III. Plot The Faerie Queene is set in the fictional Faerie Land, ruled by the Queen Gloriana, an allegorical figure for Queen Elizabeth I, representing the quality of Glory. Spenser's original plan for The Faerie Queene was to write twelve books, each narrating the adventures of a different knight and focused on a particular virtue. In the beginning of the epic, these twelve knights were to be gathered at the annual feast of the Faerie Queene, where each was to be assigned a quest. Spenser's intention was to make Prince Arthur, representing the quality of Magnificence, the central character running

throughout all twelve books, although critics agree that Arthur's role in the narrative of The Faerie Queene does not fulfill this plan. Scholars confirm that Spenser certainly intended for Gloriana and Arthur to be married in Book XII. By the time of Spenser's death, he had published Books I through VI, and left a fragment that was published posthumously as The Mutability Cantos (1609). Many of the same characters and storylines recur throughout The Faerie Queene.This complex narrative scheme is known as intrelacement, or interlacing narratives. Each book within The Faerie Queene is further subdivided into cantos. While the canto was a traditional Italian literary device, Spenser was the first English poet to use it effectively. For his epic tale, Spenser invented his own stanza form, now known as the Spenserian stanza. It consists of nine iambic lines, the first eight lines having five stresses each and the last line having six stresses. The rhyme pattern of the Spenserian stanza is ababbcbcc. The slow build-up created by this arrangement of lines, leading up to the final line, has been described as that of a wave swelling and breaking onto shore. The hero of Book I is the Red Cross Knight, also referred to as St. George, the patron saint of England. During the course of his adventures, the Red Cross Knight acquires the virtue of Holiness. Una, a young woman, travels to the court of the Faerie Queene to ask for help in defeating a dragon that threatens her parents. Una there obtains the aid of the Red Cross Knight. Temporarily held captive by the villainess Duessa, the Red Cross Knight is rescued by King Arthur and goes on to defeat the dragon. At the end of Book I, Una and the Red Cross Knight are married. Book II features the hero Guyon, who represents the virtue of Temperance. After being rescued by Arthur, Guyon travels to the Bower of Bliss, a garden of delight representing the temptations of sensual pleasure. There, Guyon defeats the villainess Acrasia, who seduces men and turns them into beasts. Book III tells of the adventures of Britomart, a female knight, who represents the virtue of Chastity. Britomart has seen an image in a magic mirror of Artegall, the knight who is destined to be her beloved. She has also been told by Merlin that England will one day be ruled by her descendents. Thus, Britomart is on a quest to find Artegall, whom she has never met. Skilled in the art of battle, Britomart rescues the Red Cross Knight from a villain and goes on to rescue Amoret, a young bride held prisoner in a castle. Book IV concerns the virtue of Friendship, exemplified by the characters Cambel and Triamond. Critics have noted, however, that these two friends and the theme of friendship are not actually central to the actions related in Book IV. Rather, the continued adventures of Britomart and other secondary characters occupy the central narrative of this book. During a tournament, Britomart, disguised as a man, defeats the knight Artegall. Later, Artegall wins over Britomart in a fight, but when he discovers that she is a woman, the two fall immediately in love. Artegall is the hero of Book V, known as the Book of Justice. He sets out on a quest to rescue Irena from the villain Grantorto. In the course of his adventures, Artegall is held captive by Radigund, a villainous Amazonian queen who is in love with him. When Britomart learns of his imprisonment, she rescues Artegall by defeating Radigund in a fight and cutting off her head. In Book VI, the hero, Calidore, demonstrates the virtue of Courtesy. Calidore goes on a quest to subdue the Blatant Beast. Along the way, he falls in love with and becomes engaged to Pastorella, a shepherd girl. When Pastorella is abducted and held captive on an island by a band of outlaws, Calidore rescues her. He then goes on to subdue the Blatant Beast. The Mutability Cantos include two cantos of what critics sometimes refer to as Book VII. The tale related in these cantos concerns the goddess Mutability, who rebels against the rule of Jove and wreaks havoc on the universe. For her offense, Mutability is put on trial in a court over which the goddess Nature presides as judge. During this trial, the status of Mutability (the force of change) in the universe is debated among the gods. IV. Climax The climax of Book 1 occurs with the battle between Redcrosse and the dragon. The dragon, of course, is an image of Satan from Revelation, and its siege of Una s parent s castle is a general statement of the state of Christianity in a Satanically-controlled world, and a specific criticism of the Catholic Church s stranglehold over the political and historical ancestors of Protestantism (both in the Holy Land and in England herself). The three days of the battle correspond to the three days between Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, while the particular events of those three days represent specific church ordinances: Redcrosse s recovery by falling into the Well of Life represents Baptism, while the healing given by the Tree of Life parallels communion (or the Eucharist). V. Summary In The Faerie Queene, Spenser creates an allegory: The characters of his far-off, fanciful "Faerie Land" are meant to have a symbolic meaning in the real world. In Books I and III, the poet follows the journeys of two knights, Redcrosse and Britomart, and in doing so he examines the two virtues he considers most important to Christian life--Holiness and Chastity. Redcrosse, the knight of Holiness, is much like the Apostle Peter: In his eagerness to serve his Lord, he gets himself into unforeseen trouble that he is not yet virtuous enough to handle. His quest is to be united with Una, who signifies Truth--Holiness cannot be attained without knowledge of Christian truth. In his immature state, he mistakes

falsehood for truth by following the deceitful witch Duessa. He pays for this mistake with suffering, but in the end, this suffering makes way for his recovery in the House of Holiness, aided by Faith, Hope, and Charity. With newfound strength and the grace of God, he is able to conquer the dragon that represents all the evil in the world. In a different manner, Britomart also progresses in her virtue of chastity. She already has the strength to resist lust, but she is not ready to accept love, the love she feels when she sees a vision of her future husband in a magic mirror. She learns to incorporate chaste resistance with active love, which is what Spenser sees as true Christian love: moderation. Whereas Redcrosse made his own mistakes (to show to us the consequences of an unholy life), it is not Britomart but the other characters in Book III who show the destructive power of an unchaste life. Spenser says in his Preface to the poem that his goal is to show how a virtuous man should live. The themes of Book I and Book III come together in the idea that our native virtue must be augmented or transformed if it is to become true Christian virtue. Spenser has a high regard for the natural qualities of creatures; he shows that the satyrs, the lion, and many human characters have an inborn inclination toward the good. And yet, he consistently shows their failure when faced with the worst evils. These evils can only be defeated by the Christian good. As a purely poetic work, The Faerie Queene was neither original nor always remarkable; Spenser depends heavily on his Italian romantic sources (Ariosto & Tasso), as well as medieval and classical works like The Romance of the Rose and The Aeneid . It is Spenser's blending of such diverse sources with a high-minded allegory that makes the poem unique and remarkable. He is able to take images from superficial romances, courtly love stories, and tragic epics alike, and give them real importance in the context of the poem. No image is let fall from Spenser's pen that does not have grave significance, and this gives The Faerie Queene the richness that has kept it high among the ranks of the greatest poetry in the English language.

VI.

Analysis

"Nature is therefore itself a part of the great allegory. In fact, Spenser's allegorical poem is a synthesis of his vision of the world, comprising the forces that drive the world and human behavior at the same time. The poem relates mainly the adventures of Redcorsse, the errant knight of Holinesse, and Una, his female companion and the symbol of truth. The Faerie Queene is no less than Queen Elizabeth of England, whom Spenser regarded as a holy person because she was the defendant of Protestantism against the corrupted Catholicism. The allegory opposes these two religions, making it clear that Protestantism is the right religious view. In the first Book of the poem, nature is depicted in its entirely luxurious wilderness. There is a great array of mythological characters and beasts which are met, in turns, by the wandering knight. The divide between the natural and the unnatural forces obviously corresponds to that between good and evil. Although natural law is condemned by Puritanism, Spenser did not reject it. "