Written Word Archives

Mommy’s Inferno, from Scary Mommy

May 12, 2022 By Professor Elizabeth Coggeshall

“In his poem Inferno, Dante travels through nine separate circles of human suffering on his journey towards spiritual salvation. Now I’m no major Italian poet, nor am I on a quest to save my soul, allegorically or spiritually. In fact, I haven’t even read Inferno, which is part of the epic poem the Divine Comedy, since the first time I trudged through (parts of) it in college, but I am a Mommy of three little kids. I have learned that motherhood is both divine and, often, a comedy….and yes, there is suffering. Hoo-boy is there suffering. I think, had Dante been a Mommy, his Nine Circles of Hell may have looked a bit different…but no less dreadful.

[. . .]

“Dante had to figuratively travel through hell and back before enjoying the peace that came at the end of his journey. I guess that’s the point of Mommy’s Inferno….that the inescapable moments of suffering we endure as mommies makes us stronger, better equipped to handle the challenges that come next, and more ready to enjoy the light of the good days that always follow the darkest nights of motherhood.

“So don’t ‘Abandon all hope, ye who enter’ motherhood; for, though the hours and days of motherhood be long, the years are short…or so I hear.” –Sarah Harris, “Mommy’s Inferno,” Scary Mommy (published May 21, 2010; updated December 2, 2020)

Read the nine circles of Scary Mommy’s Inferno here.

Kimiya Memarzadeh, “Academia’s Inferno” (April 4, 2016)

May 5, 2022 By Professor Elizabeth Coggeshall

“In high school I read a book called Inferno by Dante Alighieri. [. . .] I want to take you through the nine circles of suffering every graduate student experiences on their journey to defending their thesis. I’m sure there are far more than nine forms of struggle that graduate students go through, but for the purpose of the analogy, we will stick with nine.

[. . .]

“Defeat is another circle that graduate students become quite familiar with. It happens so often that around the two-year mark of grad school, most of us seem to get desensitized to it. We learn to separate our self-worth from the worth of our work, and to focus on doing the best we can without letting defeat get in the way of our confidence. We build a thicker skin, and if nothing else, this circle of suffering will prepare us for a lifetime of rejected grants and harsh criticism from pesky ‘Reviewer Three.’

“This brings us to the last and probably most dangerous circle – doubt. Part of being a scientist is being a skeptic. However, if you constantly doubt yourself, your progress, or your ideas, you will inevitably make your graduate school experience a painful one. Go confidently in the direction you pursue, and if you fail – well then you’re just back at circle one.” –Kimiya Memarzadeh, “Academia’s Inferno,” McGovern Medical School (April 4, 2016)

Nabil Boutros, Liberty (2013)

April 28, 2022 By Sephora Affa, FSU '24

“The words that Virgil speaks to Cato (De Monarchia II, V, 15) mark both the origin and the end of the quest undertaken by Dante, at the end of the quest undertaken by Dante, at the end of which he poses a clear antithesis between ‘servitude’ and ‘liberty’: ‘Thou from a slave hast brought me unto freedom’ (Paradiso, Canto XXXI, 85).

[. . .] In this process of discernment through which freedom is achieved, man is supported by will, i.e. ‘the power that wills’ (Purgatorio, Canto XXI, 105), and aided by reason, i.e. ‘the power that counsels’ (Purgatorio, Canto XVIII, 62).”

Retrieved from The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists by Simon Njami.

Learn more about the Cairo-born artist Nabil Boutros on the artist’s website.

Underworld by Symphony X

April 26, 2022 By Hannah Raisner, FSU '25

“No doubt Symphony X is one of the bands whose songwriting and lyrical capabilities very closely resemble Dante’s style,” writes Loudwire’s Katy Irizary. “They’re known for writing lengthy concept albums that often pay homage to Greek mythology, literature, and poetry. 2015’s ‘Underworld’ is all about ‘Inferno,’ taking the listener on the very same terrifying journey as Dante, only in their own words.” – Katy Irizary, Loudwire, August 15, 2018

Read the full Loudwire article here.

Sails of Charon by Scorpions

April 25, 2022 By Hannah Raisner, FSU '25

“In Dante’s poem, Charon escorts the author and his guide, Virgil, across the river to the realm of the damned. The Scorpions make reference to a “blind man” in this cut from 1977’s ‘Taken By Force.’ This is in reference to the lost souls who did not have a coin for Charon, so they must blindly wander the banks of Styx for hundreds of years.” – Katy Irizary, Loudwire, August 15, 2018

Read the full Loudwire article here.

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