Language plays an important role in Dante’s Inferno[1],
for it will be the means to assess not only Nimrod, but also Dante’s own
transgression, seeing, as his journey through Hell also concerns the perverse
use of language in his writings. The placement of Nimrod in the ninth circle of
hell as a giant is a testament to the implications of using a perverse language
to test the limits of man in pursuing the divinity of God. The Nimrod of hell,
shares the name of the biblical Nimrod who erected the Tower of Babel, and instigated
the schisms of language and caused confusion of man’s desire in reaching God. For
Dante, writing the Inferno is to be
able to recall and retell the events he witnessed, through language. The
comparison I aim to make in this essay is that of Dante to Nimrod, seeing as
they have both employed language to evoke the grace of God, whether that is by
retelling a journey through Hell, or by physically trying to reach God through
a tower. Fraud through language is the sin that links both of these characters.
Its use in hell is to show how language is nothing more than a tool for
humanity to reach God—through speech—and should it be manipulated is to be
sinful of God’s gift. Language allows man to communicate with one another, and it
is the means by which the word and teachings of God are able to spread. However,
Dante is aiming to do the exact same thing, by writing an account of hell that
is not real, and unconsciously imposing his own interpretations of the
teachings of God into his work. The implication of his linguistic work is that
it is a blasphemous account that legitimizes Dante’s portrayal, and that it contradicts
the use of language and the perception of God.
To analyze Nimrod is to analyze Dante. When Dante and
Virgil arrive, they find themselves in the level of fraud, which divides itself
into four pouches. In this level, they encounter the giant Nimrod who says to
them, “Raphèl maí amèche zabí almi.”[2] When
Dante hears this, he has no way to understand what exactly Nimrod has just said,
or who exactly the giant is. Virgil tells him that Nimrod’s placement of hell
is due to “his wicked thought”[3] in
the employment of the single language, which alludes to the biblical Nimrod and
the schisms of language. As the biblical myth goes, Nimrod built a tall tower,
which infuriated God, and he punished the citizens (and Nimrod) by doing away
with the single language, depriving them to continue on working on the tower,
since they could not understand each other. Dante (the author) portrays this
myth, by making Nimrod a giant[4],
symbolizing pride (in his wicked thought) and the tower itself. The idea behind
Nimrod’s portrayal is due to the ironic punishment of contrapasso, which aims to create punishments that befit the sin. Nimrod’s
sin is the manipulation of the single language to push forward, to his
citizens, the building of the tower. Virgil tells Dante,
He is his own
accuser;
for this Nimrod,
through whose wicked thought
one single
language cannot serve the world.
Leave him alone—let’s
not waste time in talk;
for every
language is to him the same
as his to others—no one knows his tongue.[5]
Nimrod’s punishment is
to continue with the perverse language he used, but now no one is able to fall
prey to his words, seeing, as they are useless in that they do not “serve the
world.” His language is specific to him alone, and contrary to how language
should be used. Being God’s language, it should not be used for personal gains,
but to enrich humanity and the understanding of God. For his transgression,
Nimrod is ostracized by being deprived the ability to communicate with his fellow
man. Dante, the pilgrim and the author, use language to benefit themselves, in
the eyes of those that did them wrong. By writing a false account of his
journey through Hell, he is also giving the perception that his account, is
somehow ordained by God. The difference in how language is used for Dante, as
compared to Nimrod, is that he relies on writing. By writing an account that
traces his journey through hell, the sins and punishments of individuals, is to
falsely imply that somehow he (Dante) has the authority to judge man and his transgressions—that
is in itself, fraud against God.
The
beginning of Canto I began with Dante evoking the issue of trying to “speak”
and “recall” of what he has encountered throughout his journey.[6]
These two actions rely on the formation of language, through speech, which he
is able to muster through evoking the muses at the beginning and end of the Inferno, to keep the art of language from
diverging, and being able to write his work.[7]
Getting the information incorrect is a fear for Dante, and the reason this is,
is that his writings will not only touch him, but those who happen to come
across his work. His work is fictional, but because it relies so heavily on the
religious scriptures, it may be interpreted as being divinely. Dante (the author),
has incorporated himself through this fear that is found when tongues and
content are of concern (meaning, in the legitimacy of the Inferno). The role of the author is critically important in
understanding why the work may be taken as being fraud against God. As stated
before, Dante (the author) has no real evidence of the Inferno being the true depiction of hell, but even so, just by
writing this account, is to put himself in the role that God will ultimately
take at the end of judgment.
As
stated in Canto I, Dante (not only the pilgrim, but also the author) has
strayed himself from the “path that does not stray,”[8] by
writing The Divine Comedy. The path
can be interpreted, as being the path of language, for man only needs the word
and teachings of God to fulfill his journey and ensure salvation. By
manipulating the notion of God’s language, and writing this reflective account,
he has diverted his journey towards salvation. His fraudulent use of language
haunts him prior to encountering Nimrod, when he says,
So I pierced
through the dense and darkened fog;
as I drew always
nearer to the shore,
my error fled
from me, my terror grew. [9]
The phrase stands out
because of his choice of words: “my error fled from me, my terror grew,” which
implies a fear that he has not had since entering Hell, but it can be analyzed
that his fleeing error, is his continuation of this work through the talent of
language. His fear in the function of language and use in hell is that it may
not be legitimate, and is being used to portray Dante (the character and the
author) on par with God.
[1] Dante, Alighieri, and Allen
Mandelbaum. The Divine Comedy of Dante
Alighieri, Inferno: A Verse Translation. New York, NY: Bantam, 2004. Print.
[2] Inferno, XXXI, 67.
[3] Inferno, XXXI, 76-78.
[4] Inferno, XXXI, 46-69.
[5] Inferno, XXXI, 76-81.
[6] Inferno, I, 4-7.
[7] Inferno, II, 7-9; Inferno, XXXII,
1-17.
[8] Inferno, I, 1-3.
[9] Inferno, XXXI, 37-39.
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