"'Once we were grim And sullen in the sweet air above, that took A further gladness from the play of the sun; Inside us, we bore acedia's dismal smoke. We have this black mire now to be sullen in.' This canticle they gargle from the craw, Unable to speak whole words."
With this passage I began to realize the logic and organization of the vast darkness of Hell that Dante has created. He has grouped all souls together who have committed the same sins. He has ordered the sins into levels of Hell through which he is traveling through. Finally, every punishment, every trial that these souls endure is a direct reflection of the sin that they committed while still alive. Dante has created a system where the "punishment fits the crime", or the souls suffer in ways that relate directly to their sin.
This passage which sparked my realization also caused me to marvel at the vast scope of the world Dante has created. Through the influences of great cultures such as the Ancient Greeks and the Romans, as well as the influences of the blackness of his time, Dante has created a world unlike any that the world of literature has ever seen. As I travel this world, living vicariously through Dante's main character, I am amazed at how much of it makes sense. Even though in today's society the punishments seem absurd, and the concept of eternity is rarely thought about, Dante's Hell is portrayed in a way that is in fact very realistic. It makes sense. This stems from the order and organization of his world, and how every soul's punishment reflects the sin that soul is here for.
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