Dante's scheme of punishment is one of the marvels of the imaginative mind; at times, however, it involves a rather complex and difficult idea for the modern reader.
Each sinner is subjected to a punishment that is synonymous with his or her sin — or else the antithesis of that sin. For example, the Misers and the Spendthrifts are in Circle IV. Their sins were that they worshipped money so much that they hoarded it, or the opposite, had so little regard for money that they spent it wildly. Nothing is so antagonistic to a miser as a spendthrift. Thus, their punishment is to bombard each other continually with huge stones expressing the antagonism between excessive hoarding and excessive squandering.
Another example is the Adulterous Lovers. In this world, they were buffeted about by their passions; in Hell, they are buffeted about by the winds of passion, as they eternally clasp each other. Those who deliberately committed adultery are in a much lower circle. The punishment of the Thieves is simple. Their hands, which they used to steal, are cut off, and their bodies are entwined with snakes or serpents, as were encountered in Eden.
