Inferno, by Dante Alighiere

NOTE:  This is the first of a three-part series related to Dante's Inferno.  This month my Library Book Group is discussing Inferno plus miscellaneous biographies of Dante.  For June we are reading The Dante Club, by Matthew Pearl and for July Inferno, by Dan Brown.  The following is a summary of the circles of Hell, a brief timeline of Dante's life and discussion questions.

Circles of Hell	People trapped there/Sins Committed
Ante-Inferno	Those who could not decide between good and evil
First - Limbo	Those who did not know Christ Examples: virtuous pagans, Virgil, great writers and poets of antiquity, unbaptised infants
Second	Lust
Third	Gluttony
Fourth	Greed/Extravagance and waste
Fifth	River Styx Those who were uncontrollably angry and sullen
Sixth	Heretics – those who reject religious beliefs
Seventh	First Ring – violent toward others Second Ring – violent toward themselves (suicide) Third Ring – violent toward God (blasphemers), violent toward nature and toward animals
Eighth	First Pocket – Panderers and seducers Second Pocket – Flatterers Third Pocket – Those who make a profit by selling sacred objects Fourth Pocket – Astrologists and Diviners Fifth Pocket – Those who accepted bribes Sixth Pocket – Hypocrites Seventh Pocket – Thieves Eighth Pocket – Spiritual Thieves (false counselors) Ninth Pocket – Sowers of scandal and division Tenth Pocket – Liars
Ninth	Betrayers First Ring – Betrayed their family Second Ring – Betrayed their country Third Ring – Betrayed their friends Fourth Ring – Betrayed their benefactors Lucifer – three headed giant eating history’s three greatest sinners Judas – betrayed Christ Cassius – betrayed Julius Caesar Brutus – betrayed Julius Caesar
Characters
Dante – Poet and character in poem Virgil – Dante’s guide through Hell Beatrice – Loved by Dante, died young and is believed to be in heaven.  Beatrice asks an angel to get Virgil to guide Dante.  May symbolize pure, spiritual love Minos – first judge of dead souls – has long tail and number of wraps of tail determines in which circle of hell the sinner belongs Charon – steers ferryboat

 A Biography of Dante Alighiere, by Denton Jaques Snider

General Timeline
Apprenticeship Florence, Italy 1265 – 1302	Early schooling : 26 – 27 years Apprentice in medical guild for physicians and apothecaries Identifies himself as a poet Also a soldier, served under Captain Corso Donati Break with Donati at end of this period, lead two different political parties, become enemies Beatrice marries in 1286 and dies in 1290 New Life published 1291-1292 Marries Gemma Donati – marriage arranged by Captain Donati Children: Pietro (lawyer), Jacopo (cleric), Beatrice (nun), Antonia
	Earlier Spiritual Estrangement: 8 – 9 years, 1291/2 – 1300 Estranged from Beatrice, from religion and intellectually
	Love’s Return: about 3 years Returns to his love of Beatrice – she becomes his spiritual guide
Journey down to other side 6 – 7 years	Dante aligned with White Guelfs who opposed papal influence over Florence, lost to Black Guelfs Banished from Florence in 1302 Writes Inferno
Remainder of life 10 – 12 years	Writes Purgatory and Paradise Aligns with Henry VII – Emperor – attempts to conquer Italy 1313 – 1316/7: retreated to monastery in Ravenna Influenced by Summa Theologica, by St. Thomas Aquinas (Christian theology) 1315 – sentenced to death along with two sons, all three were in Ravenna until Dante’s death in 1321

Notes – courtesy of David Bruce, Divine Comedy discussion guide, meyerenglishwiki.wikispaces.com
1. One theme in the work is that good is more powerful than evil.
2. The Inferno is for unrepentant sinners.  Repentant sinners are in Purgatory and Paradise.
3. There are three types of moral failure in the Inferno:
*Incontinence – not able to control yourself
*Violence – against self, God and others
*Fraud – the willful misrepresentation to harm someone else
**Complex Fraud – against someone who trusts you
**Simple Fraud – against people in general
4. Three women look after Dante on his journey:
*Mary, mother of Christ
*Saint Lucia – 3^rd century martyr
*Beatrice


For discussion:
1. The circles of Hell get smaller as they descend.  Why do you think Dante designed it this way?
2. How does the punishment in each circle fit each sin?
3. The most famous line from the Divine Comedy is in Inferno, canto 3, line 9: “Abandon every hope, ye who enter here.”  Of all of the 100 cantos, why is this most famous?
4. Can you read the Divine Comedy without understanding the religious theme?   OR – how did your personal religious beliefs influence your reading and understanding? 
5. C.S. Lewis stated that there are three categories of activities: things we have to do, things we ought to do, and things we want to do.  As long as the third does not conflict with the first two, we are okay.  How does this fit in with the sins in Inferno?
6. Do you agree with Dante’s hierarchy of sins?  Any you would switch around?  Any you want to add?
7. What are some modern interpretations of these sins?
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