Wetland Representations in Fiction…
Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno sits alongside most other classical literature and poetry with regards to the depictions of wetlands. Several real-world wetlands are brought up throughout the course of the book, but I'm chiefly concerned with the wetlands present in Dante's depictions of Hell.
In crossing between Circles 5 and 6, Dante & Virgil must cross the Marsh of Styx, in which The Wrathful lunge and attack eachother in the foul waters while The Sullen breathe mud beneath that sunless swamp
‘Sullen were we in the air made sweet by the Sun;
In the glory of his shining our hearts poured
A bitter smoke. Sullen were we begun;
Sullen we lie forever in this ditch.’
This litany they gargle in their throats
As if they sang, but lacked the words and pitch.
Then circling on along that filthy wallow,
We picked our way between the bank and fen,
Keeping our eyes on those foul souls that swallow
The slime of Hell. And so at last we came
To foot of a Great Tower that has no name.
Thank you for listening…
Written by Rupert Knoll on .