Abstract: Treats the "coloration" of the landscapes of the Inferno. Chiappelli notes how the color which best characterizes the atmosphere of hell __ the color purple-black (from the expression aere perso in canto V) __ reflects the complete hopelessness of the damned. Other colors which the poet uses to portray various states of mind are vermilion __ the color of blood __ and biacca or white lead. Dante uses different colors to "tint" the conversations of the damned in such a way as to underscore the mendacity underlying their words.
Abstract from the American Dante Bibliography 1990
Reproduced by courtesy of the Dante Society of America