The Man

1. Sometime (around May to June) in 1265, Dante Alighieri was born, and later died in
1321.
2. Dante was born in and lived mostly in Florence, Italy.
3. Beatrice, a girl Dante fell in love with, has been in some of his writings as a heroine.
4. Gemma Donati was Dante's wife, who did not affect his writing because he was in love
with another woman.
5. Although he is most known as a writer and a poet, Dante also had jobs involving politics.
6. Dante and his family were with the Guelphs, who supported papacy, opposing the
Ghibellini, who were loyal to Rome and the emperor.
7. On 1302, the government of Florence condemned Dante, forcing him to flee and live
elsewhere to avoid punishment.
8. Dante influenced many writers, one being John Milton, who is the author of Paradise
Lost. His poem is set up the same way as Dante's, and has quotes from Dante.

The Divine Comedy

9. The Divine Comedy is a poem broken down to three parts, Inferno, Purgatorio, and
Paradiso.
10. This series of poems was originally called The Comedy of Dante Alighieri.
11. Admirers gave it the name The Divine Comedy to draw attention and reflect on how
well they found it.
12. These poems are classified as epic poetry.
13. The point of creating these poems were to show its readers the consequences of sinning
and urge them to live a life without sin.
14. Many writers influenced Dante and his work, and he included many real people in his
poems.
15. Inferno was published in 1314.
16. The poem was originally written in Italian.
17. The form of this poem is in Terza Rima, which have three line stanzas, with the first and
third line rhyming, middle rhyming with the next first and third lines.
18. Dante losses his way while going through life, meets the poet Virgil, and together they
travel through Hell and witness sinners and their punishments.
19. The date of the story is 1300
20. In the poem, Dante is the simplified version of the author himself, Virgil is a symbol for
human reason, and Beatrice is a symbol for spiritual love.

Characters

1. Acheron- "river of woe" one of the five rivers running through the underworld in Greek
mythology
2. Styx- another river from Greek mythology, acting as the border between earth and the
underworld
3. Charon- in Greek mythology, he is a man who brings souls on his boat from Acheron to Hell.
4. Virgil- Virgil was a Latin poet, considered to be among the greatest, who lived during B.C.
5. Minos- He is the king of Crete in Greek Mythology, who takes the form and a beast and decides
where the sinner's souls go to be punished in Hell.
6. Francesca and Paolo de Rimini- They are two lovers sent to the second circle of Hell for their
love affair.
7. Pope Boniface VIII- He was a corrupt pope living from 1294-1303. He attempted to increase the
political power of the Church.
8. Filippo Argenti- He was a Black Guelph found in the fifth circle of Hell. He is also a political
enemy of Dante, being on the opposing side.
9. Ulysses- In Iliad and Odyssey he was the main hero, but in Inferno he is found in the Eighth circle
of Hell with those who committed spiritual theft.
10. Archbishop Ruggeri- betrayed Ugolino and let him starve to death, he is found in the ninth circle
of Hell along with Ugolino.
11. Count Ugolino- Found in the realm of political traitors, in the ninth circle of Hell.
12. Fra Albergio- One of the sinners found in the ninth circle of Hell, who had sins so great that their
soul remains in Hell but their body lives on possessed by demons.
13. Branca d' Oria- Found in the ninth circle of Hell along with Fra Albergio.
14. Judas Iscariot- One of the three great sinners located in Lucifer's mouth, who betrayed Christ.
15. Brutus- Another one of the great sinners found in Lucifer's mouth, he along with Cassius
murdered Julius Caesar.
16. Cassius- The last great sinners in Lucifer's mouth, who murdered Julius Caesar along with Brutus.

Vocabulary
1. Allegory- a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning,
typically a moral or political one
2. Persona- the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others
3. Contrapasso- It is the one law of nature that applies to hell, stating that for every
sinner's crime there must be an equal and fitting punishment
4. Avarice- extreme greed for wealth or material gain.
5. Heretic- a person believing in or practicing religious heresy
6. Pinnacle- a high, pointed piece of rock
7. Pagan- a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions
8. Treason- the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill the
sovereign or overthrow the government
9. Hoard- a stock or store of money or valued objects, typically one that is secret or
carefully guarded

10. Bolgia- In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, part of the Divine Comedy, Malebolge is the eighth
circle of Hell. Roughly translated from Italian, Malebolge means "evil ditches".
11. Malbranche- The Malebranche are the demons in the Inferno of Dante's Divine Comedy
who guard Bolgia Five of the Eighth Circle