Pre-reading for Dante

1
Pre-reading for Dantes Inferno

• Consider the saying, You reap what you sow.
  Discuss what it means to your group.
• Does a person get what he/she deserves?
• Do you believe in the afterlife?
• Assuming there really is a Heaven and a Hell,
  what kind of people end up in each?
• In Hell, what kind of punishments do you envision
  for
• A thief
• A liar
• A cheater
• A traitor
• A murderer

2
Background Notes on Inferno

• Canto Italian word for song. The Divine
  Comedy is divided into 3 cantitas of 33 cantos
  each (plus one introductory canto 100 total).
• Stanza a poetic paragraph. The division of
  lines in poetry.
• Virgil Roman poet lived during Caesars time
  the father of drama. Virgil guides Dante
  through hell in the Inferno. Dante acknowledges
  that Virgil is his mentor, or hero.
• 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.

3
The Divine Comedy

• Widely considered the central epic poem of
  Italian literature, Dantes Divine Comedy is seen
  as one of the greatest works of world literature.

The Divine Comedy is composed of over 14,000
lines that are divided into three canticas
Inferno (Hell) Purgatorio (Purgatory), and
Paradiso (Paradise) each consisting of 33
cantos. The number 3 is prominent in the work,
represented here by the length of each cantica.
                            
4

• The poem is written in the first person, and
  tells of Dante's journey through the three realms
  of the dead, lasting during the Easter Triduum in
  the spring of 1300. The Roman poet Virgil guides
  him through Hell and Purgatory Beatrice, Dante's
  ideal woman, guides him through Heaven.

5
Themes of Inferno

• Dante Alighieri, claims that before achieving
  moral redemption, an individual 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.
• Dante also says that people should not be
  expected to make their journey alone they need a
  guide to help them. (for him, Virgil and
  Beatrice)

6
Literary Techniques in Inferno

• Symbol a concrete object that represents an
  idea or emotion.
• Ex 3 Christian symbol Father, son, holy
  spirit (God is 3 people)
• Allegory symbolic representation throughout an
  entire literary work (the whole thing is a
  symbol) everything can be read on 2 levels
  literal and figurative.

7
The poem begins in the middle

• in medias res Latin literary and artistic
  technique where the narrative starts in the
  middle of the story instead of from its
  beginning.
• The characters, setting, and conflict are often
  introduced through a series of flashbacks or
  through characters relating past events to each
  other.
• Probably originating from an oral tradition, the
  technique is a convention of epic poetry.

8
Essential Quotes

• Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here
• written over the entrance to Hell (establishes
  tone)

9
Written over the door of The Daily Show with Jon
Stewart. Also establishes tone! Great allusion!
10
To get back up to the shining world from thereMy
guide and I went into that hidden tunnel. .
.Where we came forth, and once more saw the
stars.
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vyoJwHqOjbOc