ILLUSTRATIONS OF GUSTAVE DORE 0. ILLUSTRATIONS OF GUSTAVE DORE - Story Preface 1. ANCIENT ORIGINS 2. A PLACE CALLED PURGATORY 3. DANTE ALIGHIERI 4. PURGATORY ILLUSTRATED 5. ILLUSTRATIONS OF GUSTAVE DORE 6. DANTE COLLECTION at NOTRE DAME 7. PURGATORY and the PROTESTANT REFORMATION 8. PURGATORY in the MODERN WORLD Making their way through the various parts of the Inferno, Dante and Virgil come to the "Ninth Circle of Hell." There they see a gigantic figure trapped in ice. It is Satan. Seeing the Devil trapped in ice, unable to move, was not something Dante had expected. We can track what happens in the story, which we find in Canto 34 (Of Dante’s Divine Comedy). Gustave Dore created this engraving to be included in a version of the Divine Comedy which was published in 1890. Click on the image for a full-page view. Gustave Doré, a respected French artist so prolific that hundreds of books contain his illustrations, had a special passion for Dante. By the time he finished his drawings for The Divine Comedy, he had created 136 plates. Although he illustrated the entire work, Doré seemed to favor the Inferno. Drawn hundreds of years ago, his pictures still resonate: At the beginning of his journey, Dante is alone. (The Dark Wood of Error - Canto I, 1-2) Virgil - who will guide Dante for part of the trip - soon appears, and the two companions start off together. (Canto I, 132) Because Dante's first objective is to recognize sin, he must initially descend to the Inferno. For the unsuspecting, the gate of hell looks innocuous. (Canto III, 9) Phlegyas, a ferryman on the Styx (river of the underworld), gives Dante and Virgil passage. (Canto VIII, 27-29) Dante sees the flaming red towers of Dis, capital of Hell. (Canto VIII, 110-111) Those who have harmed their neighbors—and have been violent against them—must atone for their past sins. Those guilty of Avarice must also pay. (Canto VII, 65-67) In the Ninth Circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil see Satan trapped in ice. (Canto XXXIV) Devils, with pitchforks, assail Virgil. (Canto XXI) As they continue their travels, Dante and Virgil see firsthand (Canto XXIX, 79-81) that the Inferno is a gross, terrible place (Canto XXXII, 97-98). Since Dante's Divine Comedy has been in print since the 14th century, it follows that many rare copies exist. Notre Dame University has one of the best collections of those priceless books. Let's take a look at some of the copies. See Alignments to State and Common Core standards for this story online at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/AcademicAlignment/ILLUSTRATIONS-OF-GUSTAVE-DORE-Purgatory-and-Da nte-s-Divine-Comedy See Learning Tasks for this story online at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/AcademicActivities/ILLUSTRATIONS-OF-GUSTAVE-DORE-Purgatory-and-Da nte-s-Divine-Comedy Media Stream Respected Work of Gustave Dore Image online, courtesy Project Gutenberg website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Respected-Work-of-Gustave-Dore Satan Frozen in Ice - Dante's Inferno Making their way through the various parts of the Inferno, Dante and Virgil come to the "Ninth Circle of Hell." There they see a gigantic figure trapped in ice. It is Satan. Seeing the Devil trapped in ice, unable to move, was not something Dante had expected. We track what happens in the story, which we find in Canto 34 (using, here, the Henry Cary translation): "THE banners of Hell's Monarch do come forth Towards us; therefore look," so spake my guide, "If thou discern him." As, when breathes a cloud Heavy and dense, or when the shades of night Fall on our hemisphere, seems view'd from far A windmill, which the blast stirs briskly round, Such was the fabric then methought I saw, To shield me from the wind, forthwith I drew Behind my guide: no covert else was there. Now came I (and with fear I bid my strain Record the marvel) where the souls were all Whelm'd underneath, transparent, as through glass Pellucid the frail stem. Some prone were laid, Others stood upright, this upon the soles, That on his head, a third with face to feet Arch'd like a bow. When to the point we came, Whereat my guide was pleas'd that I should see The creature eminent in beauty once, He from before me stepp'd and made me pause. "Lo!" he exclaim'd, "lo Dis! and lo the place, Where thou hast need to arm thy heart with strength." How frozen and how faint I then became, Ask me not, reader! for I write it not, Since words would fail to tell thee of my state. I was not dead nor living. Think thyself If quick conception work in thee at all, How I did feel. That emperor, who sways The realm of sorrow, at mid breast from th' ice Stood forth; and I in stature am more like A giant, than the giants are in his arms. Mark now how great that whole must be, which suits With such a part. If he were beautiful As he is hideous now, and yet did dare To scowl upon his Maker, well from him May all our mis'ry flow. Gustave Dore’s engraving, shown here, illustrates lines 20 and 21: "Lo!" he exclaim'd, "lo Dis! and lo the place, Where thou hast need to arm thy heart with strength." Using a translation more understandable to modern English readers, let’s see how John Ciardi renders this same passage: “On march the banners of the King of Hell,” My Master said. “Toward us. Look straight Ahead: Can you make him out at the core of the frozen Shell?” Like a whirling windmill seen afar at twilight, or when a mist has risen from the ground- just such an engine rose upon my sight stirring up such a wild and bitter wind I cowered for shelter at my Master’s back, there being no other windbreak I could find. I stood now where the souls of the last class (with fear my verses tell it) were covered wholly; they shone below the ice like straws in glass. Some lie stretched out; others are fixed in place upright, some on their heads, some on their soles; another, like a bow, bends foot to face. When we had gone so far across the ice that it pleased my Guide to show me the foul creature which once had worn the grace of Paradise, he made me stop, and, stepping aside, he said: “Now see the face of Dis! This is the place Where you must arm your soul against all Dread.” 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 life’s 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! If he was once as beautiful as now he is hideous, and still turned on his Maker, well may he be the source of every woe! The words from this passage, which fit the Dore drawing, are: “Now see the face of Dis! This is the place Where you must arm your soul against all Dread." In other words, Dante and Virgil are now viewing the face of the Ninth Circle ... that is ... Satan. Click on the image for a better view. Gustave Dore created this engraving to be included in a version of the "Divine Comedy" which was published in 1890. It is from “Dante Alighieri's Inferno from the Original by Dante Alighieri and Illustrated with the Designs of Gustave Doré” (New York: Cassell Publishing Company, 1890). Public Domain View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Satan-Frozen-in-Ice-Dante-s-Inferno The Dore Bible Illustrations Image online, courtesy the amazon.com website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/The-Dore-Bible-Illustrations Dore's Illustrations for "Paradise Lost" Image online, courtesy the amazon.com website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Dore-s-Illustrations-for-Paradise-Lost- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Dore Illustrations Image online, courtesy the amazon.com website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/The-Rime-of-the-Ancient-Mariner-Dore-Illustrations Dante's Purgatory and Paradise - Illustrated by Dore Image online, courtesy the amazon.com website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Dante-s-Purgatory-and-Paradise-Illustrated-by-Dore Dante in the Dark Wood Gustave Dore created this engraving, circa 1897, to be included in a version of the "Divine Comedy" which was published in 1890. It is from “Dante Alighieri's Inferno from the Original by Dante Alighieri and Illustrated with the Designs of Gustave Doré” (New York: Cassell Publishing Company, 1890). Public Domain View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Dante-in-the-Dark-Wood Virgil and Dante Start Off Together in the Inferno Soon after the opening lines of Dante’s Inferno, the narrator (Dante) is joined by someone who can lead him on his journey. It’s Virgil, and Dante will follow him closely.