The Divine Comedy is Dante's epic poem divided into three parts that describe his journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven. It is composed of 100 cantos written in terza rima rhyme scheme. Virgil guides Dante through hell and purgatory, while Beatrice guides him through heaven. The poem uses allegory to represent religious ideas and symbolism. It begins in medias res to introduce the setting and conflict through flashbacks.

1. Background Notes on Inferno
Canto – Italian word for “song”. The Divine Comedy is divided into
3 cantitas of 33 cantos each (plus one introductory canto = 100
total).
Stanza – a poetic “paragraph”. The division of lines in poetry.
Virgil – Roman poet – lived during Caesar’s time – the father of
drama. Virgil guides Dante through hell in the Inferno. Dante
acknowledges that Virgil is his mentor, or hero.
Terza Rima – a rhyming poetic form that consists of an interlocking
3-line rhyme scheme: A-B-A, B-C-B, C-D-C, D-E-D.
Poems or sections of poems written in terza rima end with
either a single line or couplet repeating the rhyme of the middle
line of the final tercet (3-line stanza). The two possible endings
for the rhyme scheme example above are D-E-D E or D-E-D EE.

2. The Divine Comedy
Widely considered the central epic poem of
Italian literature, Dante’s Divine Comedy is
seen as one of the greatest works of world
literature.
The Divine Comedy is composed of over 14,000
lines that are divided into three canticas —
Inferno (Hell) Purgatorio (Purgatory), and
Paradiso (Paradise) — each consisting of 33
cantos. The number 3 is prominent in the work,
represented here by the length of each cantica.

3. The poem is written in the first person, and
tells of Dante's journey through the three
realms of the dead, lasting during the Easter
Triduum in the spring of 1300. The Roman
poet Virgil guides him through Hell and
Purgatory; Beatrice, Dante's ideal woman,
guides him through Heaven.

4. Themes of Inferno
Dante Alighieri, claims that before achieving
moral redemption, an individual must take a
hard look at evil both in the world and in
himself. Only by confronting inner evil can
people achieve self-knowledge, which is the
first step toward redemption.
Dante also says that people should not be
expected to make their journey alone; they
need a guide to help them. (for him, Virgil
and Beatrice)

5. Literary Techniques in Inferno
Symbol – a concrete object that represents an idea or
emotion.
Ex: 3 = Christian symbol: Father, son, holy spirit (God is 3
people)
Allegory – symbolic representation throughout an entire
literary work (the whole thing is a symbol) – everything can
be read on 2 levels – literal and figurative.

6. The poem begins in the middle …
in medias res – Latin literary and artistic
technique where the narrative starts in the
middle of the story instead of from its
beginning.
The characters, setting, and conflict are often
introduced through a series of flashbacks or
through characters relating past events to
each other.
Probably originating from an oral tradition, the
technique is a convention of epic poetry.

7. Pre-reading for Dante’s Inferno
1. Consider the saying, “You reap what you sow.” Discuss
what it means to your group.
2. Does a person get what he/she deserves?
3. Do you believe in the afterlife?
4. Assuming there really is a Heaven and a Hell, what kind
of people end up in each?
5. In Hell, what kind of punishments do you envision for:
• A thief
• A liar
• A cheater
• A traitor
• A murderer