Why is Dante moved to tears after Francesca's description of love (5.100-7) and why does he finally fall "as a dead body falls" after her personal account of her intimate relationship with Paolo (5.127-38)?
When Dante asked to speak to two souls, clinging together, as they were blown around, the souls floated over to him, and one of them spoke. Francesaca told Dantes how she had fallen in love while reading about Lancelot with her lover..... she told him about the great power of love, and the deaths she and her lover suffered for it. Francesca's story deeply affected Dante, who recognized her...... while the other soul wept (Paolo), Dante fainted out of pity.
