The Divine Comedy: Dante’s Inferno All hope abandon, ye who enter here…
background 14,000 lines 3 SECTIONS: Inferno Purgatory Paradise
background Virgil guides Dante through the 9 circles The circles are concentric, representing a gradual increase in wickedness Culminates at the center of the earth, where Satan is held in bondage
First Circle Sin: Unbaptized, pagans Punishment: Limbo & a desire for a better fate which cannot be received
Second Circle Sin: Lust Punishment: Blown about to & fro by a violent storm with no hope of rest
Third Circle Sin: Gluttony Punishment: Forced to lie in vile slush; snow, hail & dirty water; bite each other apart bit by bit
Fourth Circle Sin: Greed Punishment: Crush each other with heavy weights
Fifth Circle Sin: Wrath & Sloth Punishment: In the River Styx the wrathful fight each other on the surface & the slothful lie gurgling beneath the water
Sixth Circle Sin: Heretics Punishment: Constantly roasted in flaming tombs
Seventh Circle Sin: Violent criminals; includes suicide Punishment: Many different punishments (i.e. gnarly bush, drown in river of blood, etc)
Eighth Circle Sin: Flattery, hypocrisy, robbery, fortune-telling, scandal, embezzlement, etc. Punishment: Sit in human excrement, sit in boiling pitch, etc.
Ninth Circle Sin: Treason, traitors Punishment: Buried in ice up to neck; tears freeze into veil of ice Lucifer at center weeping icy tears of blood
Today’s assignment Dante’s Inferno was meant to be a critique of medieval society Remember that the punishment “fits” the crime… Today, you will create an INFERNO as it applies to high school life
Today’s assignment What are the most significant “high school sins” in terms of friendships, academic work, etc? What punishments would you assign to each sin? Remember to structure your inferno like Dante’s…