Archetypal Symbols

         In the Inferno, in circle 7, the souls are being punished for violent crimes, specifically in round 3, they are forever lying in a desert with burning sand and fiery rain.

         A desert is an archetypal symbol of hopelessness, death, and spiritual acridity. The literal representation of this is shown because the souls in round 3 are literally dead. Also, the hopelessness of a desert is represented in this round because the souls have no hope of ever getting out of the fire. The sin of being violent towards nature, art, and God are also sins that directly go against God or His creations. The spiritual acridity is represented here because since they were bitter towards God, they must burn away in the desert.
         Another important symbol in the round is the rain of fire that pours down on the souls. "And over all that sand on which they lay/ or crouched or roamed, great flakes of flame fell slowly/ as snow falls in the Alps on a windless day" (111). In this passage, it is clear that the flame falls much like rain. Rain is typically an archetypal symbol for something natural, and rain that is made of fire is not natural. This shows Dante's use of irony here because he is using something so natural such as rain, however adding fire to symbolize the sin and how it is very unnatural to be violent towards these things. Water is also a symbol for life, and since the opposite is fire, this is representing death in the rain of fire. The fire in the falling rain of fire represents God's wrath against the sinners, because of their defiance towards him in life, so they will receive his wrath in death.
         The Rill is a blood red river that runs through the desert, and provides a way through without having to touch the burning sand. The archetypal symbol of red represents blood, anger, and disorder. Virgil tells Dante that all the waters that they encounter in hell are all linked, forming one off the other. The red river is obviously a symbol of the anger in hell, but also the disorder and chaos that is shown by the sinners. "We walked in silence then till we reached a rill/ that gushes from the wood; it ran so red/ the memory sends a shutter through me still" (113). This passage shows the extreme redness of the rim. Dante's diction here shows the intensity of emotions he feels from the redness, so much so that he is still frightened by the memory. Also, specifically in round 3 the Rill is the only clear way that they will be able to pass through the desert. This is ironic because it is the safe way to go, however red is usually seen as dangerous or a sign not to go forward. Dante uses this irony well in the Rim through the 3rd round.