Examples Of Crux In Dantes Inferno

One of the most interesting literary techniques an author or poet could include in his or her literary work is the use of cruxes. A crux is a crossroad which consists of a difficult or ambiguous passage in a literary text that can determine a certain direction of the literary work as a whole, depending on the reader’s interpretation of such passage. Within Dante’s The Inferno there are a variety of instances in which he provides an example of a crossroad. The Inferno contains the journey through hell that Dante the pilgrim undertakes, guided by the poet Virgil, in order to eventually reach heaven. One example of a significant crux in the poem is the instance in which Dante (the pilgrim) and Virgil explicitly demonstrate the act of being wrathful

while passing through the fifth circle in hell, where those who were wrathful during their lives reside and are punished for their sin (Canto VIII, Lines 37-63). The direction of the interpretation that I believe is appropriate is that Dante and Virgil are not justified in the wrath that they display, but rather are guilty of committing the exact sin that is being punished there in the fifth circle.
This instance is an example of a crux because the reader must decide whether Virgil and Dante are justified in the wrath that they display, that is, they can interpret the instance as either being understandable or sinful.

Dante and Virgil come across Filippo Argenti, a Guelph from Florence, and upon discovering his identity, they immediately treat him with great disdain and wish misery and harm upon him. Filippo is thought to be an enemy of Dante’s because he is from the opposing side in Florence and because his brother stole Dante’s possessions after he was exiled from the land. What this passage then poses is the question of whether Dante and Virgil are exhibiting righteous indignation or whether their wrath is unjustified. In other words, is it possible for anger to be legitimate or is it always wrong? Depending on how this instance is interpreted, the reader can either believes that they are justified in their vengeance or are committing the same sin they should be avoiding within the fifth circle of hell. Some may believe that their anger can be justified because of what Filippo did and who he was, since he was definitely not a very just man while living. They may come to the conclusion that Dante and Virgil did no wrong while harming Filippo and throwing him from the boat to be mauled because they had a reason for doing

so.
Though anger can sometimes be justified and eventually result is some form of justice, the wrath that Dante and Virgil displayed gravitated towards the end result of vengeance. They appear to take pleasure in Filippo’s suffering, as Virgil even praises Dante after he speaks of Filippo with a passionate hatred, saying “Indignant soul, /blessed is she that bore you in her womb!”(VIII, 44-45). Virgil himself recognizes the resentment in Dante and celebrates the manner in which he displays it, all while being oblivious to the fact that they are guilty of such sin. In addition, Dante explicitly wishes for misery upon Filippo and when he sees it he even exclaims: “Soon I watched him get so torn to pieces/ by the muddy crew, I still give praise/ and thanks to God for it” (VIII, 58-60). Dante and Virgil don’t appear to be content with the fact that Filippo is already being punished for his sin, evident by the contrapasso displayed, where justice is shown. Rather, they wish for further suffering and treat him with a passionate disdain, and that is where the fine line between justice and vengeance is crossed. The fact that they received pleasure from the entire occurrence is what makes it sin and it is not mere justice because they were actually wishing harm on Filippo. Anger can be progressive if it leads to resolving of a conflict, but not if it merely leads to revenge. Had they been content with the punishment that Filippo was experiencing, then maybe their wrath would have been justified, but because they wished for more harm and found pleasure in it, it became unjustified.