Dante and Virgil in Limbo (Gustav Dore)
Tonight will be fun. In our Liberal Studies class we will descend into Dante's 'Inferno'. While we cannot possibly understand all of the Medieval societal framework to which Dante is persistently alluding, nevertheless, there is much to like. The images flash in front of us constantly, and very much like a modern screen-play; and who cannot appreciate the villains and monsters? I often think that it would be cool to use the template of Dante's Inferno in a modern rewrite. Some things should be preserved: pilgrim and guide, circles set upon one another representing a downward spiral of bad to worse moral behaviour, and of course the monsters. However, Dante lets off easily the murderers and pedophiles, while we might look more generously towards suicides than did Dante. Personally, I would place some characters today like Dick Cheney and the CEO's of some particularly iniquitous multi-national corporations and heads of state in the lowest pit of all. Yes, it is time this brilliant 700 year old work was revised.
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