Canto Thirty Two and Thirty Three: Ugolino and Ruggieri

Ugolino feasting upon his enemy’s head in cantos 32-33 shows contrapasso for both involved. The man whose head is being eaten, Ruggieri, left Ugolino and his family to starve to death in a tower and ironically is now being eaten by the person he allowed to die through hunger. Ugolino’s place in Hell was earned through his alleged crimes against his political party and city, and his placing above Ruggieri is a small gift of revenge. However, it seems that his real torment is the tarnishing of his earthly reputation as he attempts to bargain with an unsympathetic Dante to restore his name. This scene shows contrapasso both in the role reversal of the two men and in the nature of Ugolino’s method of revenge.