Going through Hell

Going through Hell offers readers an accessible and thoughtful tour of the Inferno, retelling the events of the 34 cantos in engaging, modern language. Accompanying commentary explores the drama and imagery in each canto, stimulating further thought and suggesting how Dante’s text can connect to our everyday lives.

Going through Hell offers readers an accessible and thoughtful tour of the Inferno, retelling the events of the 34 cantos in engaging, modern language. Accompanying commentary explores the drama and imagery in each canto, stimulating further thought and suggesting how Dante’s text can connect to our everyday lives.

Moving away from the literal story of the Inferno (which describes the condition of damned souls after death), Going through Hell considers the poem’s description of what happens when we act self-centredly in the present. Such behaviour inhibits unified community, which is Dante’s ideal for human life.

Going through Hell thus offers readers a mirror through which to observe ourselves and our world more clearly; the commentary serves as a dependable guide, helping us see into this mirror with insight and delight. Ultimately, Abrahamson presents a model of how deep engagement with great literature can be a fulfilling, joyful experience—with transformative potential for our lives and society.

Canto 1: Lost in a Dark Wood
Virgil

Canto 2: Second Chance
Virgin Mary, Saint Lucy, Beatrice

Canto 3: Vestibule
Pusillanimous souls; Charon and River Acheron

Canto 4: Limbo
Virtuous Pagans

Canto 5: Circle of Lust
Paolo and Francesca

Canto 6: Circle of Gluttony
Cerberus; Ciacco

Canto 7: Circle of Avarice; Circle of Wrath
Hoarders and Spendthrifts; Dame Fortune;
Angry souls in the Stygian Marsh

Canto 8: Circle of Wrath; Gates of Dis
Filippo Argenti; Fallen Angels

Canto 9: Gates of Dis; Circle of Heresy
Furies; Messenger from Heaven

Canto 10: Circle of Heresy
Farinata; Cavalcante

Canto 11: Resting Place before Going Deeper

Canto 12: Circle of Violence – Violent against Others
in the River Phlegethon
Chiron; Nessus

Canto 13: Circle of Violence – Violence against Self
Harpies; Suicides and Profligates; Pier delle Vigne

Canto 14: Circle of Violence – Violence against God
Capaneus; Old Man of Crete

Canto 15: Circle of Violence – Violence against Nature
Brunetto Latini

Canto 16: Circle of Violence – Violence against Nature
Three virtuous Florentines

Canto 17: Circle of Violence – Violence against Art;
Descent to Fraud
Usurers; Geryon

Canto 18: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 1, Seducers
and Pimps; Ditch 2, Flatterers
Venedico Caccianemico; Jason; Alessio Interminei; Thaïs

Canto 19: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 3, Simony
Pope Nicholas III

Canto 20: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 4, Sorcerers
Amphiaraus; Tiresias; Manto

Canto 21: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 5, Barrators
Malacoda and pack of demons

Canto 22: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 5, Barrators
Ciampolo

Canto 23: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 6, Hypocrites
Two Jovial Friars; Caiaphas

Canto 24: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 7, Thieves
Vanni Fucci

Canto 25: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 7, Thieves
Cacus; Agnello, Buoso, Puccio, Cianfa

Canto 26: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 8, Abusers
of Boundaries
Ulysses

Canto 27: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 8, Abusers
of Boundaries
Montefeltro

Canto 28: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 9, Sowers of Discord
Mohammed; Curio; Mosca; Bertran de Born

Canto 29: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 10, Falsifiers
Griffolino; Capocchio

Canto 30: Circle of Fraud – Ditch 10, Falsifiers
Myrrha; Gianni Schichi; Sinon; Maestro Adamo

Canto 31: Descent to the Bottom
Nimrod; Ephialtes; Antaeus

Canto 32: Circle of Treachery – Betrayers of Kin,
of Nation
Alberti brothers; Camicione; Bocca

Canto 33: Circle of Treachery – Betrayers of Guests
Ugolino; Fra Alberigo

Canto 34: Circle of Treachery – Betrayers of Lords
Satan; Cassius, Brutus, Judas

Editions of Inferno

• By (author) Robert-Louis Abrahamson