The Inferno Analysis Questions, Cantos 1-3

Canto I

1. How has Dante arrived in the forest? What event(s) in his life could the forest
allegorically represent? (28)
Dante arrived in the forest by going astray from the straight road, however he does not
know how he went astray as he was “drugged and loose with sleep” when it happened.
The forest may allegorically represent him making difficult decisions such as banishing
his best friend and brother-in-law from Florence.

2. What renews Dante’s hope after a horrible night in the Dark Wood? What does
this symbolize?
Dante’s hope is renewed after seeing the sunlight of paradise shine over the mountain that
leads to Heaven. This symbolizes his faith in God as he is seeing paradise.

3. Discuss the literal and allegorical significance of the 3 beasts which block Dante’s
progress up the Mount of Joy? What does each foreshadow about the organization of
Hell? (29-31, intro notes, class-notes, end-notes, Jeremiah 5-6)

Jeremiah v, 5-6 from The King James Bible

5: I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have
known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their G-d: but these have
altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

6: Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings
shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth
out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and
their backslidings are increased.
The literal significance of the 3 beasts which block Dante’s progress up the mountain is
that he cannot progress up the mountain without going through Hell first. The allegorical
significnace of the three beasts is that Hell is divided in 3 different sections each with a
different category of sin. The lion foreshadows the sins done out of anger and wrath, the
wolf foreshadows the sins of indulgence and that Dante will encounter these sins first,
and the leopard foreshadows the sins of fraud.

4. What’s man’s lifespan, according to the Bible? How old is Dante in the story, and
what major political event has yet to happen? (28, end-notes, class notes)
According to the Bible a man’s lifespan is three-score and ten or seventy years. Dante is
thirty-five years old in the story, that means at this point he has yet to be banished from
Florence under threat of being burned alive.

5. How and why does Dante construct a “perfect Easter” to symbolically start his
 journey? (29, end-notes)
Dante constructs a “perfect Easter” to symbolically start his journey by having the Moon
be full and the Sun be in equinox. He does this to make the perfect start to his new
awakening of rebirth and reawakening.

6. Virgil is the famous poet who wrote The Aeneid, a Roman epic in the tradition
of The Odyssey, written around 40 B.C. Who were the “false and lying gods”
Dante refers to? (30)
The “fale and lying gods” that Dante refers to are the Pagan gods of anceint Rome;
Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, etc.
7. What’s Dante’s connection with Virgil? (30)
Dante’s connection with Virgil is that Dante has studied the works of Virgil as he is a
famous Imperial Roman poet and that Virgil was sent to guide Dante through Hell.
8. How far will Virgil lead Dante, and why specifically can’t he lead him farther?
(31, end-notes)
Virgil will lead Dante through Hell up to Peter’s gate, but no further than that. He can not
lead him any further as he is damned to Hell for being born before the establishment of
Christianity and it’s teachings so he cannot reach salvation.

Canto II

1. What literary technique does Dante use by invoking the Muses? Why does he
invoke them? (35)
The literary technique that Dante uses by invoking the Muses is an apostrophe. He
invokes them so that they may gi
2. Who has sent Virgil to aid Dante, and why? (36-37)
Beatrice sent Virgil to aid Dante, she did this as Dante is unable to reach the divine love
on his own.
3. How is Beatrice able to pass through Hell, to reach Virgil, unscathed by its fires? (37)
Beatrice is ablt to pass through Hell unscathed to reach Virgil as she was made by God’s
all-seeing mercy so that the fire does not affect her.
4. Allegorically, what does Lucia represent, and what is her role in the story? (38, end-notes)
Allegorically, Lucia represents the divine light of God, her role in the story is to
advocate Beatrice for Dante to start his journey.

Canto III

1. Why and how are some angels punished at the Vestibule (Entrance) to Hell? (44-45)
There are some angles being punished at the Vestbule to Hell as they do not serve God
nor the Devil, only themselves. They are being punished by chasing around a banner for
all eternity while they themselves are being chased by hornets and wasps.

2. In Dante’s Hell, all punishments are perfectly crafted to ironically fit the sin.
Explain how the self-centered opportunists are punished, and its irony. (43-44, intro)
The self-centered oppurtunists are punished by having no place in Hell but being chased
around in the darkness for all eternity, this is ironic as in life these sinners would change
their course for their own advantage while moving in the “darkness”.
3. Who is the coward Dante recognizes among the opportunists, and why is he there?
(43, end-notes)
The coward that Dante recognizes among the oppurtunists is Pope Celestine V. He was
there as his cowardice in fearing for his soul caused his to selfishly renounce Papacy and
appoint Boniface VIII, whom Dante saw as a symbol for all the evil and corruption within
the church.

4. Who or what is Charon, and why does “he” rage so at Dante and his company? (44-46)
Charon is the ferryman that transports souls into Hell. He becomes angry at Dante and his
company as Dante has a soul of grace so he is not destined for Hell but rather purgatory or
Hevean.
5. What happens to Dante at the end of this canto? Why does it happen? (47, end-note)
At the end of this canto Dante seems to pass out, this happens as he is having such an
emotional reaction to being in Hell and Virgil telling him that he was not destined for Hell.