Transcript Student and School Staff Perception of Bullying and Sexual

Dante’s Inferno
The Inferno
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Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)
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Italian poet, philosopher, and politician
Most famous for the epic poem The Divine Comedy ,
which he wrote in Italian.
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.
The Inferno
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The Divine Comedy
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Epic poem written to help comprehend his
banishment from Florence by placing it into a
larger context: man’s banishment from God.
Poem is an imaginary journey through three
regions of the Christian afterlife:
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Inferno: hell - sinners are punished forever
Purgatory: a burning mountain – sinners are
cleansed in preparation for entering Paradise
Paradise: blessed souls live with God
The Inferno
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Dante wrote 3 books: Inferno, Purgatory, and
Paradise each with 33 sections or cantos.
Dante’s Guides:
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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.
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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
The Inferno
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Literary Elements
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Symbolism: based on the number 3, inspired
by the Holy Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spiritunited 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.
The Inferno
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Literary Elements
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Terza Rima: a three line stanza form in poetry.
The rhymes are made on the last word of each
line in the following manner:
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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.
Canto I
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What sense does the narcotic state give to
Dante’s tale?
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It makes it seem like a dream and gives it a
surreal quality.
Canto I
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Identify the character of the leopard
introduced here.
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The animal is a real threat but also represents an
abstract idea, like the story of the leopard who
changed his spots to fool the other animals.
Canto I
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What abstract ideas is might Dante be
representing through the leopard?
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The leopard represents danger, deceipt, and
fraud.
Canto I
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What three animals does Dante face?
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The spotted leopard, the lion and the She-wolf.
How is his reaction more realistic than
heroic?
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Dante shakes his head with dread and runs from
them. He acts frightened which is more realistic
than how a hero might act.
Canto I
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How do Dante’s reactions function
allegorically?
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On a larger scale, most people would act the
same way if faced with these threats.
Canto I
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Why does Dante seem so frightened of the
She-Wolf?
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He is convinced she will destroy his hopes for
reaching the “high summit” because she has
“devoured” many-meaning many have been
devoured by their greed.
Canto I
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What does Virgil mean by “false and lying
gods.”
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Virgil implies he was not a Christian in life, but a follower of
ancient Roman religion of multiple gods of mythology.
Why does this statement point to a
significant difference between Virgil and
Dante?
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He is lacking the highest insights Dante believed
Christianity offers as well as hope.
Canto I
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Gluttony: over-indulgence of food, drink, and
wealth items and failure of self-discipline
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Based on Virgil’s comments, does the She-Wolf
symbolize Dante’s social, political, religious, or
moral concerns?
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The She-Wolf symbolizes Dante’s political concernsperhaps his political ambition which can consume all
judgment.
Canto I
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What does Dante mean by “souls in fire yet
content in fire?”
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The souls are in pain but willing to submit to the
pain for some reason.
Canto I
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What assistance does Virgil offer Dante?
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Virgil offers to be Dante’s guide, to lead him
through the dangers of Hell and Purgatory to the
far reaches of Heaven.
Canto I
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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?
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Readers can visualize the journey to help them
recognize the allegorical elements along the
journey to see that after hell, Dante will pass
through Purgatory and then onto Paradise.
Canto III
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What types of every day journeys would
medieval people have to pass through gates?
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Cities had walls and one must go through gates to
get to the city. Gates, like doorways, often
symbolize transitions or beginnings in literature.
How does Dante’s use of a gate make his
allegory seem more real?
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It makes the allegory seem more ordinary and
possible.
Canto III
 What
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is the law of Dante’s Hell?
It is the law of symbolic retribution in
which the punishment fits the sin.
Canto III
 Why
do you think the imagery at this
point in the poem appeals almost
solely to the sense of hearing?
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It is dark in Hell and only the sense of
hearing would be emphasized because
Dante is surrounded by cries, wailing,
and voices in pain and anger.
Canto III
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What makes these people terribly
unhappy?
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They have no hope of ending their misery
through death.
What central image do lines 49-54 convey?
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It conveys the central image of circles.
Canto III
 How
does the endlessness of the
circles contribute to the larger themes
of Dante’s work?
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It contributes to the larger theme of life
as a journey that leads back to its
beginnings.
Canto III
 In
the vestibule of Hell, with whom
are the “nearly soulless” souls
mixed?
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The angels who refused to pick a side in
the battle between God and Satan, but
chose to serve their own interests are
there as well.
Canto III
 In
what ways has the mythology of
ancient Greece and Rome provided
Dante with source material for his
allegory?
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Mythology has given Dante characters,
places and concepts which readers will
recognize.
Canto III
 In
lines 80-93, what do the shores
and the river represent?
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The shores are life and Hell or eternal
punishment. The river is boundary
between these places.
Canto III
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What hope does Charon tell the dead souls
they must abandon?
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They must give up all hope of paradise.
Canto III
 In
lines 124-129, which senses do
the images in this passage appeal?
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The images appeal to hearing, sight, and
touch.
Canto III
 As
they descend the circles, how
would you imagine this motion might
feel?
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It would feel frightening, as if the ground
were dropping out, as on a roller coaster.
Canto V
 Direct
characterization vs. indirect
characterization:
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Direct: writer tells the reader what the
character is like. Indirect: writer suggests
what he is like by what he says or does,
what others say about him, or how others
respond to him.
Canto V
 Distinguishing
between the speaker
and the poet
Reader sees events through the
speaker’s eyes, Dante the poet.
 Dante the poet uses the character to
express his ideas.
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Canto V
 What
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function does Minos perform?
Minos assigns each damned soul its
specific torment.
Canto V
 Dante
uses three adjectives to
directly characterize Minos. Which
adjective do you find surprising?
Explain.
Grinning, grotesque, and hale (healthy)
 Hale-it is surpriseing as it contrasts with
grotesque (expected in Hell more than
healthy)
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Canto V
 Which
images does Dante the poet
use to convey the physical
experience of Dante the character?
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Images such as “choir of anguish,” sound
beyond sound,” and “a place stripped
bare of every light” all paint a picture of
what Dante the character is seeing,
hearing, experiences.
Canto V
lines 38-39, what does Dante’s
definition of carnal sin reveal about
his values?
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Dante defines it as sins that put the
appetites of the flesh beyond the control
of reason which reveals that Dante
believes reason is a better guide to life.
Canto V
 What
force whirls and batters the
souls of the damned?
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Uncontrolled desire whirls and batters
the souls of the damned.
Canto V
 What
does this placement of Minos at
the first few layers at the top of the
map suggest about the journey
ahead?
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Dante has a long way to go to reach the
bottom of Hell.
Canto V
 How
might meeting named people, of
whom readers have a familiar image,
differ from meeting unfamiliar or
unnamed characters?
 This seems more individualized
and more real than unfamiliar
characters.
Canto V
 How
do these allusions to historical
and legendary figures add to the
sense of reality?
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It makes it easier for the reader to relate
to the events and to better understand
the allegory.
Canto V
 How
does the poet’s use of the word
swept enrich his characterization of
Dante’s character?
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The use of the word suggests his
acknowledgment of the uncontrollability
of emotion. It sweeps one along. It helps
suggest Dante’s sympathy for those
damned by uncontrolled emotion.
Canto XXXIV
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This is the climax of the Inferno, and Dante
will come face to face with Satan, the
symbol of everything evil for Dante.
What is the source of the icy wind of
Cocytus?
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The beating of Satan’s wings as he tries to
escape creates the icy wind of Cocytus.
Canto XXXIV
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In what ways does Dante the character’s
direct address to the reader intensify both
the drama and the sense of reality of this
scene? Explain
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The direct address increases the drama. By
mimicking a conversation with the reader, the
direct address makes the scene seem more real.
Canto XXXIV
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Why is an allusion to the Titans an
appropriate detail in Satan’s
characterization? Explain.
 The
Titans were giants. Alluding to
huge creatures emphasizes
Satan’s enormity.
Canto XXXIV
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In what substance are the souls of the
damned trapped?
 The
souls of the damned are
trapped in ice.
Canto XXXIV
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The guiding principle of Dante’s Hell is that
a sinner’s punishment matches the sin.
How is the punishment of sinners in the
lowest part of Hell appropriate for the
wrongdoing?
 They betrayed their legitimate masters;
now they are tortured by their “master,”
Satan.
Canto XXXIV
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What spiritual and emotional change does
the poet express through a physical
description? Explain
 The
poet describes Dante’s change
from despair to hope through the
physical description of climbing
over Satan and out of Hell.
Canto XXXIV
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What torture do Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and
Cassius suffer?
 They
are forever chewed by the
mouths of the three-headed Satan.
Canto XXXIV
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How is this rhyme pattern similar to and
different from Dante’s use of terza rima?
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pattern is aba, cdc, efe, and so
on. Unlike terza rima, the middle
line of a tercet does not determine
the rhyme scheme of the next.
Canto XXXIV
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What “stairway” did Virgil take to climb out
of Hell?
 Virgil
climbs the “stairway” of
Satan’s body to get out of Hell.
Canto XXXIV
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The entire poem ends with a couplet, thus
betraying the repetition of the tercet
throughout. Why would Dante have used
this end of the canto with a different line
form?
 It
signals closure.