But all together they drew to that grim shore Where all must come who lose the

fear of God. Weeping and cursing they come for evermore, and demon Charon with eyes like burning coals herds them in, and with a whistling oar flails on the stragglers to his wake of souls. (Page 1027 line 105) I think this is vividly descriptive in several ways, for one you are imagining the never-ending line of sinners coming to their horrifying eternal fate in Hell. I can imagine them cursing and weeping, because they are finding out God is real, and his wrath is equally real. The description of Charon is terrifying, especially his eyes. This is emotionally evocative because you can almost empathize with human beings being herded into Hell across a ferry boat with a coal eyed demon whipping them across, and you know that is only the beginning of Hell, so what is yet to come? This is important to the spiritual journey because Dante is realizing how terrifying Hell is and the reality of the souls of sinners condemned there. As humans we are usually inclined to empathize with people and at this point of his journey Dante still had compassion for the sinners. This photo is a good representation of Charon, his eyes almost seem to be glowing as described in the passage. He cuts a terrifying figure and you can tell the people are terrified. He is treating them in a manner that implies he has nothing but wrath for them, he is stepping on a man and in the process of beating the others which you can see from their positions they are terrified. I also think its visually striking how the man who is being stepped on, his legs are holding another man under the water.

http://bit.ly/SuIMG5

Aeneas with the Sybil & Charon, 1700-05, Giuseppe Maria Crespi

Lo Spagnolo, 1665-1747) Art History Museum, Vienna

Do not ask, Reader, how my blood ran cold and my voice choked up with fear. I cannot write it: this is a terror that cannot be told. I did not die, and yet I lost lifes breath: imagine for yourself what I became, deprived at once of both my life and death. The Emperor of the Universe of Pain jutted his upper chest above the ice; and I am closer in size to the great mountain the Titans make around the central pit, than they to his arms. Now starting from this part, imagine the whole that corresponds to it! (Page 1139 lines 25, 30)

The way Dante describes his emotional state when witnessing Satan for the first time is both vividly descriptive and emotionally evocative. The way his terror is described paints a picture in my mind and I can imagine how mind altering and terrifying seeing him could be. Also, Dante leaves it open for interpretation by saying to imagine for ourselves what he became. This helps the readers visualize and emotionally respond because it causes us to put ourselves in his position, and alternately realize our own fears and how we would react.

The photo I used depicts how Dante would have seen Satan, his giant wings keeping the lake frozen. You can see bodies in different positions frozen in the ice. I also think it is pretty terrifying that upon entrance to the bottom of Hell, you are face to face with Satan, and his face evokes a feeling of terror. The picture looks as though he is waiting for Dantes arrival and I can

imagine how Dante would have felt as he had died, but still lived. The overall image is particularly gruesome.

http://bit.ly/MHWUA Gustave Dore, created between 1861 and 1868, illustration of Divine Comedy, Inferno, by Dante Alighieri. Caption: Lucifer, King of Hell