The Inferno: Canto 1
Created .For Lent, I'm reading The Inferno, part one of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. As I make my way through this classic work, I'll journal my experience. I'm using Anthony Esolen's translation, and will supplement my reading by listening to Ascend: The Great Books Podcast.
The plan is to read one Canto each day, once through on my own, then once with the notes in the back of the book, and journal my thoughts here.
2/18/2026: Canto 1
I read Canto 1 this morning when I got up. I got right into the peom, skipping the Introduction. I'll come back to the Introduction when I finish the book. I like that this edition of the book has the Italian and English on facing pages; though I don't know Italian, it's nice to know it's there.
Synopsis:
Dante wakes up in a strange wilderness, sees a mountain, and encounters a leopard, a lion, and a wolf. He gets past the first two, but the wolf shakes him to the core, and he flees. He meets Virgil, who proposes a journey through Hell and Purgatory, after which he will need a new guide because Virgil cannot make the journey to Paradise himself.
Thoughts:
Canto 1 went pretty quickly. Here are some notes, from before I read Esolen's notes:
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I feel like there is some symbolism behind the leopard, lion, and she-wolf, but I'm not sure yet what it is.
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Virgil, speaking about the she-wolf, says:
Many a living soul takes her to wife
and many shall, until the Grayhound comes,
he who will make her die in misery.I'm not really sure what he means here that many people take the she-wolf to wife, or what the Grayhound is. It seems that the fate of the she-wolf is decided, but I'm not following the symbolism. It seems that the Grayhound is perhaps some contemporary Italian politician, but perhaps there's actually a theological meaning here.
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Right after talking about the Grayhound, there are references to people I don't know: Camilla, who died; and Nisus, Turnus, and Euryalus.
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Why is Virgil shut out of Paradise? He says himself that he rebelled against God, but I don't know his story, and wonder if he we'll learn more about the guide, or if Virgil was chosen because he would be familiar to the reader, and we will be expected to know his story.