Dante the Pilgrim is a man who has, himself, been lost in a dark wood, and he is sympathetic to others who have strayed from the right path. When he finds himself lost in the dark wood, he is terribly frightened, and when Virgil arrives, Dante the Pilgrim is at first apprehensive, cautious, and frightened until he is reassured of Virgil's noble intentions.As they begin their journey, Dante shows all of the concern for the condemned that any humane, sympathetic person would show when confronted with the sufferings of the sinners. However, during his journey through Hell, Dante changes significantly as a pilgrim.When they approach the Circle of the Poets, Dante is invited to join them. Dante the Pilgrim is overwhelmed, as he should be, to be so honored and flattered by an invitation to join a group of the most outstanding and exalted poets of the world. …show more content…
Thus, Dante the Poet, being invited to join these great classical poets, sees himself as one of their number.And then as noted above, the reactions of both pilgrim and poet to the plight of Francesca present the same dichotomy of emotions — stern in judgment, but faint and swooning in emotional response.The responses change only slightly when Dante confronts the Gluttons in the next circle. Ciacco, known as "the pig" — a common term in many languages for a Glutton — recognizes Dante the Pilgrim. Dante tries to recognize him, and failing that, he tries to assuage the feelings of this fellow Florentine by telling him that perhaps his "suffering" has changed his appearance. When Dante hears his name, he then remembers Ciacco as a "happy-go-lucky" fellow who was very pleasant and well liked. Dante treats him kindly and tells him, "Ciacco, your distress weighs upon me so that it moves me to tears." Again, remember it was Dante the Poet who chose him to represent the