Dante’s Inferno contains many terrifying scenes. One of which is when Dante and his traveling companion, Virgil, encounter the Grafters in Hell…
A devil carrying a soul of the damned in his claws runs toward Dante and Virgil. They watch in horror as the devil throws the sinner into a river of boiling tar… This is the circle of the grafters, those corrupt politicians who abused their authority in office. Florentine politics are evident in this canto where the fraudulent leaders who exiled Dante the poet from his home reside. These souls are condemned to live eternally in boiling tar with the devils constantly prodding them under with pitchforks (Dante compares it to chefs pushing down the meat in a stew).
Virgil has Dante hide behind a rock while he talks to the leader of the devils explaining that they are to pass through Hell on God’s command. The bridge to the next level is broken, and the devils agree to lead Dante and Virgil to a good bridge to cross. After coming out of hiding, Dante is terrified and wary, while Virgil is confident in the devil’s word. As it turns out, Dante’s fears are justified. Dante then moves further down into Hell…
Guided by the demons, Dante and Virgil witness a grotesque comedy of horrors in the circle of the grafters. They see the souls of the grafters squatting on the shores of the burning river of tar, however when the demons approach, the damned must dive underneath the tar to escape torture by the devils. In one terrifying scene, a soul who was too slow to escape was held in the claws of a demon, about to be ripped apart. Just as he did on earth, this soul uses his ability to lie and deceive in order to escape from the devils. He promises the devils that if they hide out of sight, he will issue a secret signal to the other damned to come to the surface of the tar (thinking they are safe) so the devils can grab them all.
The demons fall for the ruse, and as soon as they are out of sight, the soul of the damned dives back under the burning tar and escapes. Dante compares this to frogs diving under water to escape predators. Two of the demons fly down after the soul but they are too late, they end up in the boiling tar themselves, only to be extricated without their prey, covered in tar. While all this is happening, Dante and Virgil escape from the ever increasing wrath of the devils. This is a canto that combines the terror of Hell with an almost slapstick comedy of the bumbling demons.
Dante and Virgil then slide down a rocky slope and witness a somber scene…