Questions about Dante's Inferno, Cantos 17-34, for June 27th

Interpretive Questions

Why do Dante and Virgil descend to Lower Hell on Geryon's back?

Does Dante uniformly show pity ("pietà") towards the denizens of hell?

Why is Lucifer portrayed as a weeping demon frozen in the center of the Earth? Why are the betrayers of Julius Caesar (Brutus and Cassius) portrayed as being as wicked as the betrayer of Jesus Christ (Judas Iscariot)?

Why must Virgil and Dante ascend through the other side of the earth at the end?

Evaluative Questions

Has Dante constructed a just hierarchy of sins?

How well does Dante juggle his roles as pilgrim, judge, narrator, and poet?

What are Dante's views on Jews and Muslims (cf. cantos IV, XXIII, XXVIII)

Speculative Questions

Who was Dante's intended audience? How was the poem disseminated? Why has the poem become so wildly popular?

Who other than Virgil might have been a good guide to hell?

For Textual Analysis

V. Canto XXVI, pages 220 to 223 : the Fate of Ulysses, beginning "So when the flame had reached us, and my guide ... " to the end of the Canto.

VI. Canto XXXIII, pages 255 to 260, Tale of Ugolino and Ruggieri.

JFK and Dante

In Canto III of "Inferno," Dante and Virgil visit the Vestibule of Hell, an antechamber for indecisive souls. According to Dante, this place is reserved for "those sad souls who lived a life but lived it with no blame and no praise."

President John F. Kennedy is reported to have admired Dante's line about "the coward who made the great refusal," which scholars believe refers to Pontius Pilate. The Vestibule is reserved for those who could not make up their minds. Dante imputes a strong element of willfulness (the "great refusal") to this condition of moral indecision. He says,

Heaven, to keep its beauty, cast them out,
but even Hell itself would not receive them,
for fear the damned might glory over them.

In other words, sometimes a decisive sinner will outshine a namby-pamby fence-sitter, and Dante won't let this happen in his moral universe.

Illustration: Fresco by Domenico di Michelino in the nave of Florence's cathedral (1465). Though banished from Florence on political grounds in his lifetime, Dante definitely made it back big time later on. Note that with his right hand he gestures to the parade of sinners, and holds his poem in the left for the world to see.

Questions about "The Inferno," by Dante for May 23d

Gentle Readers: Dante's "Inferno" is the most ambitious project we've undertaken, which is why I decided to break it up into two parts. The cross section of Hell portrayed on page 124 is quite helpful. It shows you where the different categories of sinners and the various landmarks of Dante's hell are situated. On the 23d we'll work our way through some of these questions. Bring a favorite passage to share.

An excellent online resource about the Commedia is http://www.worldofdante.org. You can find extensive notes on the historical, religious, and literary background of the poem.
--Tom

Interpretive Questions

Why does Dante need Virgil as his guide?

What sin did Dante commit in the "dark wood" (p. 113) that necessitated his "pilgrimage"?

How does Beatrice's speech (p. 120 to 122) affect Dante?

Why are the rings of hell circular?

What differentiates Upper Hell from Lower Hell?

What do they do in the city of Dis? (Cantos VIII and IX)

Why are the Epicurean heretics placed lower in hell than the arch heretics (Canto X)

Why are suicides portrayed as trees? Why are they able to speak only when their limbs are broken and bleeding? (Canto XIII)

Why is Lucifer portrayed as a weeping demon frozen in the center of the Earth?

Why must Virgil and Dante ascend through the other side of the earth at the end of the story?

Evaluative Questions

What was Dante's intended audience?

What are Dante's views on Jews and Muslims (cf. cantos IV, XXIII, XXVIII)

Has Dante constructed a reasonable hierarchy of sins?

How well does Dante juggle his roles as pilgrim, judge, narrator, and poet?



For Textual Analysis

I. Canto V, pages 138 to 41 : tale of Francesca and Paolo, beginning, "After I heard my teacher call the names .. " to the end of the canto.

II. Canto XI, pages 165 to 170 : The Punishments of Hell

III. Canto XV, pages 183 to 186 : The Pilgrim and Ser Brunetto.

IV. Canto XXV, pages 214 to 217 : A Thief's Metamorphosis

V. Canto XXVI, pages 220 to 223 : the Fate of Ulysses, beginning "So when the flame had reached us, and my guide ... " to the end of the Canto.

VI. Canto XXXIII, pages 255 to 260, Tale of Ugolino and Ruggieri.