Cantos III and IV Canto III Here Dante

Cantos III and IV

Canto III Here Dante and Virgil see the opportunists, nor good or evil, self-serving individuals, as well as angels who took no sides in the rebellion of Angels. As punishment they chase a shifting banner, swarmed by wasps. Blood drips off their wasp stings and onto the floor covered in maggots. All of this takes place in relative darkness. The opportunists fall just outside of the first circle of hell because they still believe in God, and aren't inherently bad, such as Pope Celestine V. After this, Virgil and Dante cross Acheron. Dante, essentially, passes out.

Canto IV Limbo: First circle and home of virtuous pagans, and other figures that lived before Christ. Some examples include Homer, Ovid, Plato, and Socrates. While none of them are punished, Virgil claims they have pain in "lack of hope" Dante meets Homer, Ovid, Horace, and Lucan. The six of them head towards a castle, known as the “Citadel of Human Reasoning” where he claims his "words fall short of reality" (line 147). From there Dante and Virgil moved further into hell, where less and less light shine

Literary Devices "Seven towering battlements" (Line 107) as well as "seven gates" (Line 110) are Symbolism for the seven moral virtues. Notable diction is "crowned" on line 54 referring to Jesus' crown of thorns.