Dante, Inferno
Dante’s Dark Wood
Dante begins midway through mortal life, lost in a rough forest whose remembered darkness renews his fear. He cannot clearly explain how he entered it, describing a dullness that accompanied his departure from the true path. A mountain lit by the sun offers temporary hope, but the attempted ascent does not provide his escape. The wood establishes the condition from which the guided journey must begin.
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In the sources
The encounter
LiteraryDante begins midway through mortal life, lost in a rough forest whose remembered darkness renews his fear. He cannot clearly explain how he entered it, describing a dullness that accompanied his departure from the true path.
Further detail
LiteraryA mountain lit by the sun offers temporary hope, but the attempted ascent does not provide his escape. The wood establishes the condition from which the guided journey must begin.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the exact supplied Thompson & Thomas edition of H. F. Cary’s translation. Figures, places and events belong to Dante’s literary vision; their assigned roles are distinguished from historical biography, other classical traditions and independently established descriptions of an afterlife.
Original passages
Source 1
Dante's Inferno
gloomy wood, astray Gone from the path direct : and e'en to tell, It were no easy task, how savage wild That forest, how robust andOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Dante’s Inferno, Cary translation; active reader leaf 8
Passage read against the exact edition’s extracted canto text; whitespace normalised and original-leaf mapping checked. Plate art separately visually inspected.
- Edition
- IMJ-0082-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0082-E001-P0008
- Original scan leaf
- 15
- Recorded leaf number
- 15
- Current Reader position
- 8
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Dante's Inferno
My weary frame After short pause re-comforted, again I journey'd on over that lonely steep, The hinder foot still firmer. Scarce the ascent Began, when, loOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Dante’s Inferno, Cary translation; active reader leaf 9
Passage read against the exact edition’s extracted canto text; whitespace normalised and original-leaf mapping checked. Plate art separately visually inspected.
- Edition
- IMJ-0082-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0082-E001-P0009
- Original scan leaf
- 16
- Recorded leaf number
- 16
- Current Reader position
- 9
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
