Inferno, Canto 24

The Text of Canto 24 (Open PDF)

Summary

After an arduous climb from the bottom of Bowge Six, the Poets gain the arch of the seventh bridge. They hear voices from below, but it is too dark to see anything, so they cross to the far side and go down. The Seventh Bowge is filed with monstrous reptiles, among whom are the shades of Thieves. A Thief is stung by a serpent, reduced to ashes, and then restored to his former shape. He reveals himself to be Vanni Pucci of Pistoia, tells his story, and predicts the overthrow of the Florinetine Whites.

The Prepatory Lecture

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Questions for Reflection

• How does Virgil impel Dante to keep moving by making an appeal to fame (46-54)? Is this proper motivation or is this too much like the advice given by Brunetto Latini?
• What relationship does Virgil draw between body and mind in lines 45-54?
• After the parody of the crucifixion in the previous canto, how do we see a parody of the resurrection in this canto?
• How do the thieves manifest their shame at being seen by Dante? Is Dante simply a voyeur of their suffering? Or does their shame evoke a biblical narrative?

Canto 24 © Jan Hearn

The Images

The Thieves. Two cantos are devoted to the Thieves, the full nature of whose punishment is not fully developed till we get to Canto xxv. The old commentators point out the likeness between the subtle serpent and the creeping thief; in this canto we can already see how, as in life the thief stole other men's goods, so here he is himself robbed of his very semblance. One must always remember that to the mind of the Middle Ages, a man's lawful property was an extension of his personality - an exterior body, as it were, and, like that body, a sacred trust to be used and not abused, either by himself or by others. This accounts for the severe view which Dante takes of offences against property.

Mark Vernon's Lecture