Dante

1
Dantes Inferno
2
The Inferno

• Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)
• Italian poet, philosopher, and politician
• Most famous for the epic poem The Divine Comedy
• Most famous portion of The Divine Comedy is The
  Inferno
• He belonged to a group that supported the pope
  against secular rulers
• Later came to oppose the political and
  territorial ambitions of the new pope, Boniface
  VIII.
• While away in Florence in 1302, Dante was
  condemned by his political enemies and banished
  from the city.

3
The Inferno

• The Divine Comedy
• Epic poem written to help comprehend his
  banishment from Florence by placing it into a
  larger context mans banishment from God.
• Poem is an imaginary journey through three
  regions of the Christian afterlife
• Inferno hell - sinners are punished forever
• Purgatory a burning mountain sinners are
  cleansed in preparation for entering Paradise
• Paradise blessed souls live with God

4
The Inferno

• Dante wrote 3 books Inferno, Purgatory, and
  Paradise each with 33 sections or cantos.
• Dantes Guides
• Virgil Roman poet, who many suspect was chosen
  by Dante because he was the Roman Homer and
  Dante wanted to be compared to something great.
• Virgil-wrote the Aeneid, a 12 book story about
  the foundation of Rome. It was written in
  dactylic hexameter in Latin. It told the tales of
  Aeneas and his trial and tribulations in getting
  to Rome
• Beatrice symbol of purity

5
The Inferno

• Literary Elements
• Symbolism based on the number 3, inspired by the
  Holy Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- united
  as one God.
• Allegory a literary work with two levels of
  meaning literal and symbolic.
• Imagery use of language that appeals to the five
  senses and creates mental images for the reader.

6
The Inferno

• Literary Elements
• Terza Rima a three line stanza form in poetry.
  The rhymes are made on the last word of each line
  in the following manner
• The first and third lines of the first stanza
  rhyme, then the second line of the first stanza
  and the first and third line of the second stanza
  rhyme, and so on with the middle line of any
  stanza rhyming with the first and third line of
  the following stanza.

7
Canto I

• What sense does the narcotic state give to
  Dantes tale?

8
Canto I

• Identify the character of the leopard introduced
  here.

9
Canto I

• What abstract ideas is might Dante be
  representing through the leopard?

10
Canto I

• What three animals does Dante face?
• How is his reaction more realistic than heroic?

11
Canto I

• How do Dantes reactions function allegorically?

12
Canto I

• Why does Dante seem so frightened of the
  She-Wolf?

13
Canto I

• What does Virgil mean by false and lying gods.
• Why does this statement point to a significant
  difference between Virgil and Dante?

14
Canto I

• Gluttony
• Based on Virgils comments, does the She-Wolf
  symbolize Dantes social, political, religious,
  or moral concerns?

15
Canto I

• What does Dante mean by souls in fire yet
  content in fire?

16
Canto I

• What assistance does Virgil offer Dante?

17
Canto I

• At the end of Canto I, Dante lays out the
  structure of his entire poem. In what ways does
  this help the reader grasp the allegory?