Giants
What does Dante first mistake the Giants for when he sees them from afar?
What are Towers
What is an example of personification in this Canto
What is Nature
How does Virgil treat the giants? How is his treatment of Antaeus different?
Virgil has no respect for the giants. He has little respect for Antaeus because he did not sin against his God.
What else can the giants symbolize?
Challenge
Is Nimrod actually a giant?
Yes
This giant is known for his immense strength and helps Dante and Virgil descend into the lower level
What is Antaeus
What is Dante comparing in this quote, “As, when the mist is lifting, little by little we discern things hidden in the air made thick by fog so, when my eyes saw through the heavy dark and I got nearer to the brink, error left me and fear came in place” (31. 34-39).
What is Dante's fear to mist lifting
What does Dante first see when entering the Circle?
Mist and/or towers?
How can we compare Dante's world in Florentine to ours today?
- Political Rivalries
- Political Corruption
- Influencers
What two circles does this place lay between?
What is the 8th and 9th circles of Hell?
Which giant is associated with the construction of the tower of Babel?
What is Nimrod
What story does Dante allude to when talking about Nimrod’s Horn?
What is the story of
- Chason de Roland
-Roland and his pride
- Roland
Who does Dante ask Virgil to see immediately after seeing Ephialtes?
Who is Briareus
Dante describes the giants as “towering” figures in Canto 31. What does this imagery suggest about their role in the larger picture of Dante’s Inferno?
The "towering” figures highlights the magnitude of their pride and rebellion, serving as a visual metaphor for their attempt to challenge Gods and the punishment they face for their sins
What is Dante scared of?
Antaeus carrying them down to the 9th circle
What specific act of rebellion is mainly associated with the Giant's punishment?
The giants rebelled/ fought against Gods
Describe the comparison of Nature and Fortune
Fortune handles the success and failure of individuals, nature makes a deliberate choice to avoid creating beings that would disrupt the harmony
What will Dante do to repay Antaeus for bringing them to the 9th circle of Hell?
Spreading his name throughout the living world- one through writing his name in The Inferno.
What is Antaeus’ fatal flaw?
*Hint: It’s something to do when he is not touching the ground.
When he is in the air, he becomes weak.
What is the contrapasso for at least one of the giants in this Canto?
Antaeus- more his actions
Nimrod- cannot speak
Ephialtes- chained
Why is Antaeus considered more of a guard rather than a prisoner, and what did he commit in his past life to end up in Hell?
He never waged war with a God, but he used to challenge passerbys, kill them, and collect their skulls to make a temple for Poseidon, his father
What do you think, “I wished that I had gone another road” (31.141) means?
Any convincing answer works!
What form of judgement is Dante starting to obtain throughout this Canto?
What is a theological form of judgment?
What is one similarity between Dante’s world and our world today?
What is political corruption?
What is the same repercussions?
What is the same rivalries?
Where is Antaeus located in this Canto?
What is “a full five ells above the pit” (31.114)
Fun fact: Ells were an old way of measuring things. It is 45 inches!