Canto V

Summary Dante and Virgil enter the second circle of Hell and meet Minos, the guardian and judge of this circle. The second circle is a big storm/whirlwind where the lustful are thrown around forever. Virgil and Dante watch the storm before deciding to speak to a couple: Paolo and Francesca. Paolo and Francesca were having an affair. Francesca had been politically married to Giovanni Malatesta. Once Giovanni found out that his wife was cheating on him, he killed Francesca and Paolo. Giovanni suffers in the first level of the last circle. Dante feels pity for the couple.

Literary Analysis: Characterization Dante wants the reader to be able to relate and understand the text better by building off a common character than creating a new one Uses diction to better enrich Dantes role in the text

Direct and Indirect Characterization Indirect characterization is when an author suggests what a character is like by showing what the character says and does, what a character says about him or her, or how characters behave toward him or her. Indirect characterization is used when Dante faints when he sees Francesca and Paolo. Dante’s actions help characterize him by showing that he is caring and sensitive. Direct characterization is when a writer tells a reader what a character is like. Direct characterization is used in Canto V when the author introduces and directly describes Minos.

Line Analysis and Questions Analyze this line and answer the question: “There the Minos sits, grinning, grotesque, and *hale. He examines each lost soul as it arrives and delivers his verdict with his coiling tail. That is to say, when the ill-fated soul appears before him to confesses all, and that grim sorter of the dark and foul decides which place in Hell shall be its end, then wraps his twitching tail about himself one coil for each degree it must descend.” (Prentice Hall 676). Why would Minos be characterized with the adjective hale, and why is it an important characterization? *hale-adj. healthy

More Line Analysis and Questions Analyze this line and answer the question: “On a day for dalliance we read the rhyme of Lancelot, how love mastered him. We were alone with innocence and dim time” (Prentice Hall 681). Why in your opinion do you think that Lancelot was being controlled by his love, and what role did it play in causing him to reach this level of hell?

Even More Line Analysis and Questions Analyze this line and answer the question: “Then turning to those spirits once again, I said: “Francesca, what you suffer here melts me to tears of pity and of pain’” (Prentice Hall 680). Why do you think Dante feels pity and pain towards Francesca, and how does this show him as a character?