Lust

     This past week we began our Dante's Inferno projects. I chose canto 5, which is lust.  In this canto, Dante and Virgil descend into the second circle of hell. The second circle is smaller than the first but has greater punishments. When Dante and Virgil get to the gate, the monster Minos warns Dante to not go inside, but they do anyways. Minos is the guard who assigns souls to their punishment/level in hell they will be going to. It's hurricane-like in there, with horrible winds and rains never failing to stop. Dante asks Virgil who some of the souls in there are, and learns that Helen (whom the Trojan War was fought for), Cleopatra, and a woman named Francesca are a couple of the ones identified. Dante feels sympathy for them, and asks them about their stories. Dante is overcome with pity, and he faints.
     I'm not exactly sure why I chose this specific canto, it just seemed to be far more interesting than hypocrisy (for example). I feel like being damned by love is a quite horrible reason to be damned. I don't really agree with Dante on sending all of these people to hell. I don't understand why they have to be damned for eternity for something as crazy and wild as love/lust. It makes me wonder what personal experience could Dante have had to make him go so sour on the issue. Overall, Dante's Inferno is proving to be a very interesting poem.