1. Dante Alighieri
The Inferno

2. The Divine Comedy
If you are struggling to find humor in your reading of the Inferno, don’t worry. The whole work is regarded as a comedy in the sense that it ends happily with Dante ascending to Heaven.

3. Terza Rima
Dante introduced this three-line stanza probably to suggest the Holy Trinity
A-B-A, B-C-B, C-D-C, D-E-D etc.
Iambic feet are generally preferred in English
Iambic trimeter u/ u/ u/
Iambic tetrameter u/ u/ u/ u/
Iambic pentameter u/ u/ u/ u/ u/

4. Tuscan
Dante’s use of the common vernacular – the language of the people – is hugely influential in the Tuscan dialect being accepted as a unified Italian language
Chaucer had much the same effect in Britain with his use of Middle English versus French

5. What the Hell!
The visit to the underworld seems to say that, in the pattern of Christ, ascent first requires descent, a deeper understanding of the possibilities of degradation and of demeaned actuality before consciousness can be converted to conviction.

6. The hell you say! The purpose of Hell is to explain the causes of
Dante’s inability to
ascend the mountain.
He must recognize
the values responsible for his first missteps. Hell is the place of disaffection, where many false commitments must be unlearned

7. The Three Beasts

8. Three Beasts
The Leopard, Lion, and the She-Wolf all function as allegorical representations of Dante’s sins. He must journey through Hell before he can ascend to Heaven
She-Wolf: sins of excessive animal appetite
BAD
Lion: sins of bestial violence
WORSE
Leopard: sins of fraud
WORST

9. Apocalyptic Scripture
Dante sees himself as a prophet similar to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel
The Inferno is a journey of religious faith and salvation and a biting commentary on Italian politics
As you read, consider this: Where in Dante’s Hell do we belong and how would the poet envision us if we were there?

10. Seven Deadly Sins (In descending order)
Lust
Gluttony
Avarice
Acedia
Wrath
Envy
Pride

11. Structure in the Inferno
Description of area
Demon threatens/ Virgil protects
Description of sin
Interaction with sinners
Transition to next area
Order can vary, but this comprises most of what happens in each circle

12. Description of Area
Dante’s descriptions are always vivid. We hear, feel, see, smell, touch the foulness of the place

13. The Threat of the Demons
Many of the demons that the travelers encounter are half-human, half beast, creatures borrowed from Virgil, who borrowed them from classical Greek sources

14. Find and Note the Description of the Following Characters in the Inferno
Virgil – Dante’s symbol for HUMAN REASON
_ “Glory and light of poets my true master and first author immortal sage.”
Describe who the character is.
Find appropriate passages from the poem to describe the character.

15. You Find Them Charon Minos Dido Paulo and Francesca Cerberus Minotaur
Centaurs
Harpies
Old Man of Crete

16. Charon

17. Minos

18. Dido

19. Paulo and Francesca

20. Cerberus

21. Minotaur

22. Centaur

23. Harpy

24. Old Man of Crete

25. The Wood of the Suicides

26. Geryon

27. Construct a Map of Hell
Start at the center of Hell where Dante and Virgil climb over Lucifer to appear in the “other hemisphere.’
Who is there and why? Satan is sealed in ice and beating his wings. He has three faces, and in the mouth of each are Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius. Each is there for betraying his master

28. Lucifer

29. Lucifer What do you notice about the image of Lucifer?
What is the significance of Lucifer, the arch-demon, weeping?
The image of Lucifer is static and remote. Why does Dante not talk to him?

30. Read How to Read Dante pp. ix - xvii
Prepare a page of notes/observations for a graded class discussion tomorrow.
I will guide the discussion, but the onus will be on you to make intelligent observations regarding the work
Try to focus on the allegorical meaning of the work. The introductory essay should help you with that