Dante's State of Mind

             Throughout the Inferno, Dante's state of mind changes drastically from when he first enters hell up to canto V. As he experiences more and more torture and suffering throughout hell, his perspective and attitude is transformed.
             When Dante enters the Dark Woods, he is overwhelmed with many emotions that are evident in his description of his journey through the woods. He is quite terrified and he is confused, however he is being given no answers. When he first enters the woods, he utters,"How shall I say/what wood that was! I never saw so drear,/so rank, so arduous a wilderness!/Its very memory gives a shape to fear" (Dante 4). He expresses his fear in the passage, he describes it as giving shape to fear, which is a very strong way of wording it. His state of mind at the very beginning remains terrified as he enters the gates of Hell.
             Dante's state of mind begins to change a little when he enters in the Vestibule, as he witnesses the tortures of hell. When he sees the people in Vestibule chasing the banner, he automatically begins to feel pity for those who are suffering. When he enters into circle 1, he sees those who have no hope of ever getting out of hell. He feels bad for these people, and wants to help them, but knows that he cannot. He says,"I thought how many worthy souls there were/suspended in that Limbo, and a weight/closed on my heart for what the noblest suffer" (28). Here he explains how he thought that all these souls were worthy of heaven, but they would never see it. He feels great pity for these people, and his state of mind is very sympathetic. After witnessing the lovers story in Circle 2, he is so overwhelmed with pity and confusion that he passes out. This exhibits his extreme feelings for these people in heaven, and he could no longer handle all the emotions.
             His last intense emotion shown is what he seems to feel in circle V. He witnesses the wrathful people in this circle, how they are eternally fighting each other and living in a swamp. He sees one man named Filippo Argenti and he becomes very angry with him when Filippo tries to stop him from continuing on. Dante exclaims,"May you weep and wail to all eternity/for I know you, you hell-dog, filthy as you are" (61). For the first time in hell, Dante addresses a spirit in a negative, scornful way. He shows intense anger here, and his state of mind has transformed greatly in this moment. Instead of feeling pity for the souls, it appears that he instead feel as though they deserve their punishment.
              Dante has many changes in state of mind thus far in the story, and it will be interesting to see how his time in hell further affects his character as the story goes on.