Dantes Inferno Cantos 1-6

what does the dark forest represent

sin

what are the 3 beasts

lion, leopard, shewolf

who is the mystery spirit guide

roman poet virgil

what does "went astray" represent

detour from righteous way to heaven (being lost)

leopard represents

lust (described as beautiful not scary)

lion represents

pride (described as enormous)

she-wolf represents

greed ( appears to be wasting away)

dantes first impression

scared

what do characters, places, and events represent

abstract ideas/morals

Dantes descent/journey into hell

mans descent into sin/corruption

invocation of the muse

poet asks muse/diety for help in composing the poem

muses means

generally goddesses with artistic disciplines

muse elevates a poets what

elevates poets status and create more serious tone

how does canto 2 begin

begins with dante invoking the muse goddess of art and poetry

who are the two men refrenced

apostle paul and aeneas, they both have visited afterlife & returned

what did virgil admit about the woman

woman (beatrice/dead lover) from heaven came down to help

what does virgil symbolize

symbolizes human reason

what does the writing that dante and virgil say

"Abondon all hope , you who enter here"

what can be heard in canto 3

cries & suffering can be heard

"souls" represent

not good or evil

souls in canto 3 did not...

make concious moral choice or believe in god

what were consequences of souls in canto 3

endlessly chasing blank banner and harassed by vermin (bugs)

what does the river of archeron mark

border of hell

"charon" represents

ferryman (described as old) who transports souls of the dead across river to hell

what happens when charon tells dante the stay away from the dead

refuses to help but was convinced by virgil

what happeneds when an earthquake comes

dante faints