Dante's Inferno, Cantos Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen

Canto Thirteen:
1. "Behind them, eager as greyhounds off the leash, black bitches filled the woods". (lines 118-119). Dogs are symbols of skilled hunters, so that is why they are chasing the souls. Dogs also traditionally symbolize loyalty and faithfulness. These souls are being chased by dogs because they were disloyal and unfaithful during their lives.

Canto Fourteen:
1. "O vengeance of God, how much should you be feared by all of those who read what my eyes saw!" (lines 13-15). This is a little bit of religious propaganda. Dante is making it clear to God that he fears Him and is still religious. It is also interesting because Dante is breaking the fourth wall. He says that all of those who "read". By doing so, he's mentioning that he's writing a book, so he momentarily comes out of Dante the character and becomes Dante the author. It's an interesting mixture of the two because the character is speaking, and the character is the one witnessing the horrors of Hell, yet he acknowledges that these accounts will be written down for others to read.

Canto Fifteen:
1. "If any of this flock, O son, stops even for an instant, he must lie still a hundred years, not brushing off the fire that strikes him." (lines 33-36). This, again, shows that there is a little relief from the torture in hell. Yes, these people are constantly moving and being pelted by fire, but they have the ability to brush it off. Yet, if they take advantage of the mercy and are still for even the smallest moment, they get tortured even more. This suggests that the people running the show in Hell are fair, and it's an even further suggestion that anybody who is in Hell is getting no more or less than they deserve.