Dante's Bio
Literacy Background and Characters
Canto I/III
Canto V
Canto XXXIV
100
35
How old is Dante at the beginning of the poem?
100
Good Friday
On what Christian holy day does Inferno begin?
100
the angelic messager
Who opens the gates of Dis?
100
Dante cries and swoons with pity at Francesca’s tale.
How does Dante react to Francesca’s tale?
100
three
How many faces did Satan have in the ninth Circle of Hell?
200
He is the author of the Inferno, a Roman poet and the main character in the Inferno as travel through the Circles of Hell.
Who is Dante?
200
Beatrice, Saint Lucia, and Virgin Mary
Who are the three ladies who guided Dante on his three day journey through the Circles of Hell?
200
ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE
What words can be found above the Gate of Hell?
200
The punishment in the Second Circle is to drift in the wind and to continue to remember the sin; there is no peace or redemption.
What is the punishment in this Second Circle?
200
Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius
Who were the three people who betrayed others?
300
Boniface VIII
Which pope was Dante’s enemy?
300
Virgil
Guides Dante through the Inferno and Purgatory. He was a Roman poet who Dante idolized. He symbolizes the limitations of human reasoning without Faith. He cannot guide Dante to Paradise because of his reliance on reason and logic.
300
a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf
Which three beasts block Dante from the sunlit hill in Canto I?
300
Francesca and Paolo were murdered by Francesca’s husband Gianciotto da Verruchio when he found them.
How did Francesca die?
300
An angel who wanted to be as powerful as God. He did become as powerful as God and became Satan.
Who is Lucifer?
400
Rome
Which city did Dante believe to be more important than all others?
400
nine
How many Circle of Hell are there?
400
Charon
Who is the ferryman that takes the souls across this river?
400
Minos admits people to Hell. He listens to their confessions and then assigns a place in Hell to them.
What does Minos do?
400
The man who betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
What is the sin of Iscariot?
500
He was a strong Catholic, but he was against some of Catholic teachings.
Why was Dante criticized?
500
Beatrice
She is a symbol of love and faith. She send Virgil to help Dante find salvation and Paradise. A real person from Dante's life who he fell in love with when he was younger. She gave him his first glimpse of "spiritual perfection."
500
Dante is no die and is a human.
Why does the ferryman object to taking Dante in his boat?
500
The Inferno refers to the way, Gianciotto da Verruchio killed Paolo and Francesca and how they were killed without a chance to confess their sins and seek forgiveness.
What does it mean when Dante says that he is grieved by the way in which the murder of Francesca and Paolo came about?
500
By climbing up Satan's body.
How are Dante and Virgil able to climb out of the pit?