Honors English Inferno Quiz

satire

the ridicule of some vice or imperfection, an attack on someone or something by making it look ridiculous or worthy of scorn

How does satire differ from comedy?

Satire is directed at a particular target, while comedy is not directed

Devices of satire

-parody: imitation of a work of literature, art, music for amusement or instruction
-sarcasm:(verbal irony)saying one thing, but suggesting another
-irony: when something occurs the opposite of what is expected
-overstatement(hyperbole): literary exaggeration
-understatement: playing down the significance of something with your language

Why did dante get kicked out of his hometown?

He put people he knew in the book

canto

Italian word for "song".

How is the Divine Comedy divided?

It is a trilogy of Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso-each with 33 cantos + intro to the inferno. This makes a total of 100, a perfect number.

Stanza

a poetic "paragraph". The division of lines in poetry.

Virgil

-A Roman Poet who lived during Caesar's time
-father of drama
-guides dante through hell in the inferno
-dante acknowledges that Virgil is his mentor or hero

Why is the number 3 significant to Christians?

The holy trinity and triduum

Terza rima

a rhyming poetic form that consists of an interlocking 3-line rhyme scheme: A-B-A, B-C-B, C-D-C, D-E-D. Poems or sections of poems written in terza rima end with either a single line or couplet repeating the rhyme of the middle line of the final tercet (3-line stanza). The two possible endings for the rhyme scheme example above are D-E-D-E or D-E-D-EE

What language in Dante's inferno written in?

Italian (more perfect than English)

What is considered the central epic poem of Italian literature?

Dante's Divine Comedy- it is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature.

How many lines are in Dante's Divine Comedy?

14,000 that divide into 3

What was it written in?

1st person so it uses I

What is Dante's journey?

through the 3 realms of the dead lasting during the Easter Triduum in the Spring of 1300. Virgil guides him through hell and purgatory and Beatrice, Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven

What does Dante Alighieri claim about moral redemption?

He claims that before achieving moral redemption, one must take a hard look at evil both in the world and in himself. Only by confronting inner evil can people achieve self-knowledge, which is the first step toward redemption

What does Dante say people should not do?

He says people should not be expected to make their journey alone, they need a guide to help them (for him he had Virgil and Beatrice)

Symbol

a concrete object that represents an idea or emotion

Allegory

symbolic representation through an entire work, can be literal or figurative

In medias res

Latin literary and artistic technique where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of from its beginning

How are the characters, setting and conflict introduced?

They are introduced through a series of flashbacks or through characters relating past events to each other

What does in medias res originate from?

oral tradition, this technique is a convention of epic poetry

How would you describe the narrator and his spiritual state at the beginning of "The Inferno." To help do this, where is he -- how do you interpret the natural setting in the first 30 or so lines? The "dark wood," the "hill," and the path, the rays of light?

The narrator is in a dark place because he has made some bad choices that led him to the dark woods that symbolize his straying from the straight path. The hill full of light symbolizes hope for his spiritual future.

How old is Dante when he realizes he has strayed from the true path?

35

In what season does the Inferno open?

Easter, Spring

Name the three animals blocking Dante's path?

Leopard of Malice and Fraud, Lion of Violence and Ambition and She-Wolf of incontinence

Who arrives to help Dante find his way?

Virgil

Why doesn't Virgil offer to help the narrator the minute the two meet? What is Virgil waiting for?

Though he was sent to help Dante, he is waiting for Dante to ask for his help.

What is the hill called that Dante wants to climb?

The Mount of Joy-climbing to Heaven

Who are the first souls in torment?

The opportunists who took no sides and took advantage of others to further their own success

What is their sin? They were neither for good nor evil, but only for ________________.

themselves

Describe their punishment.

As they sinned, so are they punished. They took no sides, therefore they are given no place. As they pursued the ever shifting illusion of their own advantage, changing their courses with every changing wind, so they pursue eternally an elusive, ever shifting banner. As their sin was a darkness, so they move in darkness. As their own guilty conscience pursued them, so they are pursued by swarms of wasps and hornets. And as their actions were a moral filth, so they run eternally through the filth of worms and maggots which they themselves feed.

Abandon all _____________ Ye who _________________ ___________________.

hope. ye who enter here

Who is Charon?

Ferryman of the underworld

Why is the punishment -- blindness, cacophony, etc. -- appropriate to those who refused to take a moral stand as Christians?

They were blind (left in the dark) and deaf to the truth on earth and didn't stand for Christian beliefs.

How is the punishment of such souls another instance of God's "poetic justice" rather than a strict, dull "eye-for-an-eye" kind of punishment? In other words, how is God an "artist" of sorts -- not merely a strict judge -- in handing out the punishments that he does?

You get the punishment you deserve and it is more of a creative torment that correlates with your sin rather than a generic and strict punishment.

How is the punishment of the lustful another instance of God's "poetic justice" rather than just a strict, dull "eye-for-an-eye" kind of punishment?

Just as they were swept away by their passions, they drift around with no meaning for eternity; punishments are creative and have a meaning instead of being punished on the same level as murderers.

What spins within the great whirlwind?

The souls of the Carnal (lusty people on starlings)

Name the nine souls Dante specifically mentions being in Circle 2.

Semiramis, Dido, Cleopatra, Helen, Achilles, Paris, Tristan, Paolo, Francesca

What is the definition of "lamentation"?

the passionate expression of grief or sorrow; weeping.

The sinners of Circle 2 betrayed ________________ to their _________________

reason to their appetites

When he meets the lovers Paolo and Francesca, the narrator is obviously filled with compassion for them. Why do you suppose that's the case? Also, is being compassionate the same thing as taking their side? Why or why not?

Even though Paolo and Francesca committed adultery and therefore had to be put in the circle of the lustful, their love story is so moving that the readers conceive them as the innocent victims of a dreadful/unjust fate. Compassion is not the same as taking their side because even if you feel sorry for someone, you don't necessary agree with the wrong they committed.

What is the narrator interested in learning from Paolo and Francesca (particularly)? When Francesca tells their story towards the canto's end, why does she keep it brief rather than expanding on it to satisfy the narrator's interest?

He wanted to know what led them to their lustful deed and why Franchesca was so attracted to Paolo that she committed the sin against God. It is painful for her to recount.

What type of treachery is punished in this round? Treachery against M__________________

Masters

Who is in the middle mouth of Satan? J________________

Judas Iscariot

What two souls are in the other two mouths of Satan? B________________ & C__________________

Brutus and Cassius

What kind of animal's wings do Satan's wings resemble? B____________ Wings

bat

How is Satan immobilized?

He is frozen in polluted ice in the middle of where all the rivers of guilt flow

Ironically, Satan's perpetual flapping of wings in an attempt to escape only does what to him?

he is frozen more in place

.How does Dante's presentation of Satan render the archfiend absurd? Why is it necessary to do that, rather than make him seem grand and awe-inspiring?

The Devil has 3 heads, bat wings and disgusting discolored faces. This representation of the Devil shows Dante's opinion that hell is not a place you should desire to end up. If the Devil were grand and awe-spiring, people might not make an effort to get to Heaven during their time on Earth.

What is the significance of the change in perspective that Virgil and Dante go through when they traverse Satan's body and find that the way down has become the way up? How might this perspectival change amount to a comment on the necessary path to salvation?

The significance of the change in perspective shows how Dante's thoughts and mind has changed after seeing Hell and what happens to those who do bad. Climbing down Satan represents going into hell for following sin and the change in gravity, causing them to climb upward, represents that if you do not sin then you can go into heaven. The hero (Dante) has now successfully gone through hell and come out alive after a long journey.