The Wood of the Suicides

      In Round Two, Dante and Virgil find themselves in the Wood of the Suicides. It is here that those who have committed violent acts upon themselves are punished for their sins.The poets are surrounded by dark, ominous trees, gnarled and twisted every way imaginable, "Its foliage was not verdant, but nearly black. The unhealthy branches, gnarled and warped and tangled, bore poison thorns instead of fruit." Each tree was a soul of a sinner, trapped within its bark for all of eternity.
      Feeding on the foliage of the trees are creatures known as Harpies. Dante describes them as foul beasts who mercilessly feed on the souls, "Their wings are wide, their feet clawed, their huge bellies covered with feathers, their necks and faces human." Every time the Harpies feed, cries of lamentation ring through the forest for all souls to hear. Their appetite never ceases, inflicting constant pain on the sinners.
      The punishment of this group of sinners is symbolic of how self destruction was their only form of expression in life, and now is what causes them pain and lamentation in Hell. These screams make Danye curious about the source of the sinners' pain, "If you break off a twig, what you will learn will drive what you are thinking from your head." Dante experiments, "Puzzled, I raised my hand a bit and slowly broke off a branchlet from an enormous thorn: and the great trunk of it cried: Why do you break me?" Dante realizes the type of pain that is being inflicted upon these souls. Even breaking off the smallest twig causes the sinners merciless pain.
      This round has a more depressing feel as opposed to fearful like the other rounds. The dark woods and constant cries of mercy from the souls makes Dante feel for these sinners, but is not in fear as he has been before. The trees inspire a different emotion within Dante that we had yet to witness.