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Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno, Dante, hell, Renaissance, purgatory, heaven
109
English
10th Grade
09/21/2010

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Term
What is Dante's (the author of Inferno) full name?
Definition
Dante Aligiheri
Term
Where did Dante originally live? That is, what famous city was his hometown?
Definition
Florence
Term
When was Dante born?
Definition
1265 AD
Term
Although he actually wrote it later, what year does Dante claim the story in the Inferno took place?
Definition
1300 AD
Term
How do we know the Inferno was supposed to have taken place in 1300 AD?
Definition
He says it took place at the halfway point of his life...so 1265 + 35 (a man is supposed to 70 years) = 1300 AD.
Term
What is a "canto?"
Definition
A "canto" is something like a chapter. It is poetry term.
Term
How many cantos are there in the Inferno?
Definition
34...there are 33 regular cantos and an additonal canto that serves as the intro.
Term
The Inferno is just a third of Dante's longer poem. What is the whole poem called?
Definition
The Divine Comedy
Term
How many total cantos are there in the Divine Comedy?
Definition
100
Term
What are the three divisions (or books) that make up the Divine Comedy?
Definition
Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio
Term
What does Dante mean by the word "inferno?"
Definition
He means "hell."
Term
What does Dante mean by the word "purgatorio?"
Definition
He means "purgatory" which is a place in Catholic theology where sinners are purged of sin before entering heaven.
Term
Dante was one of the principal characters that helped usher in what great literary and historical movement?
Definition
The Renaissance
Term
What was the great battle cry of the Renaissance?
Definition
"Ad fontes!"
Term
What does "ad fontes" mean?
Definition
It means "back to the sources" or "back to the "fount" and refers to the Greek/Latin texts of the Classical Period.
Term
What is the name of Dante's first biographer?
Definition
Boccaccio
Term
What two things make Dante's Divine Comedy unique?
Definition
(1) It was written in Italian rather than Latin, (2) and he makes himself the central character in the poem.
Term
Why is the Divine Comedy considered to be a comedy?
Definition
It is called a comedy because it has a happy ending as opposed to a tragedy which has an unhappy ending.
Term
Name the two artists most famous for illustrating Dante's Divine Comedy.
Definition
Gustav Dore & Dante Rossetti
Term
Where was Dante when his political party lost control of Florence?
Definition
He was a diplomatic trip to Rome.
Term
What happened as result of Dante's political party falling out of power?
Definition
Dante wound up being exiled and was never able to return to Florence.
Term
What sentence was passed on Dante while he was in exile?
Definition
He was condemned to be burned at the stake alive in abstentia.
Term
Who was the "love" and inspiration of Dante's life?
Definition
Beatrice
Term
How old was Beatrice when she died?
Definition
25
Term
In which work does Dante first mention Beatrice?
Definition
The New Life
Term
What does the Roman poet Virgil represent in the Inferno?
Definition
He represents human wisdom or reason.
Term
Dante was not just a poet but also served in the military early in his life. In what part of the army did he serve?
Definition
Cavalry
Term
Where does Canto 1 of the Inferno take place?
Definition
It takes place in a dark, rough wood.
Term
Where is Dante traveling in Canto 1?
Definition
He is traveling up a steep path to the "blissful summit" of a mountain (heaven).
Term
What blocks Dante's path in Canto 1?
Definition
His path is blocked by three, terrifying beasts.
Term
What kind of beasts block his path in Canto 1?
Definition
His path is blocked by a leopard, lion, and she-wolf.
Term
What do the three beasts in Canto 1 represent ?
Definition
The leopard represents lust' the lion represents violence, and the she-wolf represents fraud or treachery.
Term
What kind of literary piece has symbols that represent or suggest other concepts or ideas?
Definition
allegory
Term
What is the "word" that indicates different tyes of literature? For example, what is a person referring to when they mention prose, or  poetry, epic poetry, or drama.
Definition
They are referring to its genre.
Term
Why does Dante paint himself to be so frightened and sensitive at the beginning of the Inferno?
Definition
Probably because he wants to show his character development as he grows to understand the "justness" of hell.
Term
Who does Dante meet as he comes back down the slope in Canto 1?
Definition
He meets the Roman poet Virgil?
Term
What does Virgil tell Dante in Canto 1 that he has been sent to do for him?
Definition
He tells him he has been sent to lead him to heaven by a different path.
Term
In what time period (under what Roman emperors) does Virgil say he lived?
Definition
He says he lived under the reign of both Julius and Augustus.
Term
Why does Dante have such regard for Virgil even in Canto 1?
Definition
He loves Virgil because he says he learned his style of writing from reading Virgil.
Term
Why does Dante introduce Virgil as a person who has seemingly not spoken for a long time?
Definition
He does so because Virgil has been dead for 1300 years...but now speaks again.
Term
Where do Virgil and Dante travel in Canto 2?
Definition
They don't move. They simply stand and talk about how Virgil came to Dante.
Term
What question does Dante ask Virgil right of in Canto 2?
Definition
Dante asks Virgil if he thinks he (Dante) is up to the trip to hell.
Term
In Canto 2, Dante says he is not like two other people who have either been to hell or had visions of the afterlife. What 2 characters does Dante mention?
Definition
Aeneas and the Apostle Paul
Term
Virgil tells Dante someone sent him to guide Dante on his trip. Who was it?
Definition
The mega-babe herself, Beatrice.
Term
In Canto 2, Virgil relates that Betrice told him that two other women in heaven encouraged her to help Dante. Who were they?
Definition
They were Mary (the mother of Jesus) and Lucia.
Term
If three women in heaven feel sympathy for Dante why is Beatrice the one that actually descends to ask Virgil to help Dante?
Definition
She is the one who helps because she already knows and loves Dante.
Term
What is Dante's response to Virgil's explanation of how he came to help in Canto 2?
Definition
He says he is ready for the journey and ready for Virgil to lead on.
Term
What is the first thing Dante sees in Canto 3?
Definition
He sees the inscription over the entrance into hell.
Term
What famous line is contained in the inscription in Canto 3?
Definition
Abandon all hope you who enter here.
Term
What does the inscription in Canto 3 say is the reason hell was created?
Definition
It was created to satisfy divine justice.
Term
What is the first group Dante and Virgil run across after passing through the entrance into hell?
Definition
It is a group made up of people that both heaven and hell refuse to accept.
Term
What was the sin of the group Dante meets in the foyer of hell...the group rejected by both heaven and hell?
Definition
Their sin was self-absorption. They did not care about anything but themselves. They were not evil enough for hell and not good enough for heaven.
Term
What group does Dante see in Canto 3 chasing after a banner?
Definition
It is the group of newly arrived dead in hell rushing toward the river below.
Term
What is the name of the river in Canto 3 of Inferno?
Definition
The Acheron
Term
What are the other three rivers in hell in Dante's Inferno?
Definition
Styx, Phlegethon, and Cocytus
Term
What is the ferryman's name that takes the dead over the River Acheron?
Definition
Charon
Term
What does Charon say to Dante?
Definition
He tells him he may not pass by the path he is trying to take. He says it is reserved for the dead.
Term
To what image does Dante compare the damned falling into Charon's boat?
Definition
He compares them to falling autumn leaves.
Term
Why do the sinners Dante see in Canto 3 blaspheme?
Definition
They blaspheme because in hell no one can repent.
Term
What happens to Dante at the end of Canto 3?
Definition
He passes out when an earthquake occurs.
Term
Why does Dante have his character pass out at the end of Canto 3?
Definition
He wants to move the action along without spending any more time in the scene.
Term
What is the first circle in hell after the River Acheron called?
Definition
It is called Limbo.
Term
Who dwells in Limbo?
Definition
Virtuous pagans and believers who were unbaptized.
Term
Are the inhabitants of Limbo tortured?
Definition
No, their only punishment is that they can never go to heaven...so they sigh a lot.
Term
According to Virgil who (what group of people) actually got to leave Limbo for heaven?
Definition
Virgil says the Old Testament saints left Limbo for heaven.
Term
Who led the OT saints from Limbo to heaven?
Definition

A Man of Power  

(Jesus Christ)

Term
Why is Christ referred to as a Man of Power rather than as Jesus?
Definition
His name is not allowed to be spoken in hell.
Term
Why is being remembered and honored on earth important to those in Limbo?
Definition
It determines where people wind up in Limbo. The more honored a person is on earth the higher their status in Limbo.
Term
Name the other four poets that make up Virgil's group in Limbo.
Definition
Homer, Horace, Lucian, and Ovid
Term
What honor does the group of poets extend to Dante?
Definition
They let him join their group.
Term
Why is Dante's including himself in the group with the famous poets a bit arrogant?
Definition
It is arrogant because it means he considers himself one of the six greatest poets of all time.
Term
Who is the character Saladin that Dante sees sitting by himself in Canto 4?
Definition
Saladin is a famous MUslim conqueror.
Term
Who is the "master of the men of knowledge" Dante refers to in Canto 4?
Definition
Aristotle
Term
Who are the people around the castle in Canto 4?
Definition
The people around the castle are a group of very famous, virtuous pagans.
Term
Who is the creepy bloke at the beginning of Canto 5 that assigns sinners to their appropriate level of hell?
Definition
Minos
Term
What is the sin of the group of people that Dante meets in level 2 of hell?
Definition
Their sin is the sin of lust.
Term
How is the punishment of being blown around in hell by the wind representative of the sin of those Dante meets in level 2 of hell?
Definition
The winds blows them around without regard to where they are going just like their lusts did.
Term
What is the extended simile (epic simile) used in Canto 5?
Definition
It is an extended simile involving birds being pushed around by the wind.
Term
What famous characters does Dante see being pushed around by the wind in Canto 5?
Definition
Cleopatra, Helen, Achilles, and Paris
Term
Who are the Paolo and Francesca mentioned in Canto 5?
Definition
They are a young couple who comitted adultery and were then murdered by a jealous husband.
Term
What story were Francesca and Paolo reading that caused them to be swept away by their lusts?
Definition
They were reading the story of Lancelot and Guinivere.
Term
What happens at the end of Canto 5?
Definition
Dante faints again.
Term
Define "alliteration."
Definition
Alliteration is the repetition of an initial consonant in a line of poetry or prose.
Term
Define "assonance."
Definition
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within a phrase or line to create internal rhyming.
Term
Define "imagery."
Definition
Imagery is descriptive figurative language which creates word pictures for the reader implementing the five senses.
Term
Define "rhyme."
Definition
Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the end of words. It can also occur at the end of lines.
Term
Define "internal rhyme."
Definition
Internal rhyme occurs when rhyming words appear in the same line.
Term
Define "allegory."
Definition
Allegory is a literary technique where almost every element in a story is symbolic of something else.
Term
Define "genre."
Definition
A genre is a category or type of literature. There are three major genres: poetry, drama, and prose.
Term
Define "simile"
Definition
A simile is a literary device in which two unlike ideas are compared using "like" or "as."
Term
Define "metaphor."
Definition
A literary device in which unlike objects are directly compared.
Term
Define "personification."
Definition
A type of figurative language in which human characteristics are given to inhuman objects.
Term
In C.S. Lewis' the Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe the "stone table" is an allegorical symbol for what?
Definition
It is an allegorical symbol for the stone tablets of the Law of God.
Term
In C.S. Lewis' the Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe  "Aslan" is an allegorical symbol for what?
Definition
He is an allegorical symbol for the Lion of Judah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Term
Who is the character Emily Grierson in William Faulkner's story A Rose for Emily.
Definition
She is a snobbish, southern spinster living in virtual poverty after the death of father.
Term
What is Emily Grierson's conflict with the town she lives in?
Definition
They want her to pay her taxes and she refuses.
Term
What did the town council of Jefferson do after Emily's house began to stink?
Definition
The snuck over to her house late at night and sprinkled lime around it.
Term
Who was Homer Barron?
Definition
He was a Yankee construction chief who dated and apparently jilted Emily Grierson while his crew worked in Jefferson.
Term
What reason did Emily give the druggist when she wanted to buy poison?
Definition
She wouldn't tell him why. He assumed it was for rats.
Term
What did they find in Miss Emily's house after she died?
Definition
They found what was left of Homer Barron in her bed.
Term
What does the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's story the Cask of Amontillado hope to accomplish?
Definition
He hopes to get revenge on someone named Fortunato.
Term
What weakness does Fortunato have that the narrator of the Cask of Amontillado hopes to take advantage of? 
Definition
Fortunato thinks he is an expert in wine.
Term
What does Montresor tell Fortunato he has just purchased?
Definition
He tells him he has just purchased what he thinks is a barrel of Amontillado wine.
Term
What does Montresor intend to do to Fortunato in The Cask of Amontillado?
Definition
He plans to lure him down into an underground cavern and kill him.
Term
What kind of costume is Fortunato wearing when Montresor runs across him at the carnival?
Definition
He is wearing the costume of a fool...fairly ironic.
Term
What does in pace requiescat mean?
Definition
Rest in Peace
Term
What is it about his neighbor that makes the narrator of the Tell-Tale Heart by Poe want to kill him?
Definition
He can't stand the man's filmy blue eye.
Term
What does the narrator of the Tell-Tale heart do every night prior to killing his neighbor?
Definition
He sneaks into his room very quietly and shines a light on him to see if his blue eye is open.
Term
What finally gives the killer in the Tell-Tale Heart away?
Definition
His conscience gets to him and he thinks he hears the old man's heart beating loudly, so he confesses.
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