From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the sparknotes inferno study guide has everything you need to ace quizzes. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. A summary of cantos xviiixx in dante alighieris inferno. The group passes through the castles gate and walks along a green meadow. They descend the wall into the seventh pouch, where teeming masses of serpents chase after. Here he encounters the ghost of virgil, the great roman poet, who has come to guide dante back to his path. Dante hears many cries of suffering but cannot see the souls that utter them. Why every person in the world should read dante s commedia professor bill cook duration. Consumer demand has been so strong that the guides have expanded to over 150 titles. See a complete list of the characters in inferno and indepth analyses of dante alighieri and virgil. In the poem, hell is depicted as nine concentric circles of torment located within the earth. Traveling through a dark wood, dante alighieri has lost his path and now wanders fearfully through the forest. The inferno tells the journey of dante through hell, guided by the ancient roman poet virgil.
They lead dante to a great castle with seven walls, wherein he sees the souls of other great figures. Written by harvard students for students, since its inception sparknotes has developed a loyal community of dedicated users and become a major education brand. A summary of cantos xxivxxvi in dante alighieris inferno. Summary the poets are approaching the great tower when two flames shoot from its top, and immediately, another flame. The soul is dantes florentine enemy, filippo argenti, one of the wrathful in the marsh. In dante alighieris inferno, the poet and pilgrim dante embarks on a spiritual journey. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. Summary at the opening of canto ix, dante, waiting outside of the gate to the city of dis, is afraid. Sparknotes motto is smarter, better, faster because. In the second ring of the seventh circle of hell, virgil and dante enter a strange wood filled with black and gnarled trees. Guided by the soul of the roman poet virgil, dante travels down through the nine circles of hell and witnesses the punishments eternally suffered by the souls of deceased sinners. The inferno follows the wanderings of the poet dante as he strays off the rightful and straight path of moral truth and gets lost in a dark wood.
Just as three wild animals threaten to attack him, dante is rescued by the ghost of virgil, a celebrated roman poet and also dantes idol. The divine comedy is a long italian narrative poem by dante alighieri, begun c. A summary of cantos iii in dante alighieris inferno. Dante, now accompanied by these five ancient poets, comes upon a great castle, surrounded by walls. For jorge luis borges the divine comedy was the best book literature has achieved. Written in the first person, the poem tells of dantes journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting from the night before good friday to. Heres where youll find analysis of the poem as a whole, from themes and symbols to key facts. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of inferno and what it means. A summary of cantos iiiiv in dante alighieris inferno. After five months, he and his crew came in view of a great mountain.