INFERNO Terms ALLEGORY: A story whose literal plot deals entirely in symbols, instilling the story with a second level of meaning implied by, but broader than, the events of the narrative

Allegory in Inferno Part of Medieval literary tradition Everyman character undergoes trials and tribulations in his search to find the soul’s true path in life Dante’s connection: all people know some form of sin and thus wander lost in a dark wood; path to righteousness

TERCET – three line stanza INFERNO Terms TERCET – three line stanza “Midway in our life’s journey, I went astray from the straight road and woke to find myself alone in a dark wood. How shall I” (4)

INFERNO Terms INTERTEMPORALITY —the mingling of elements from different time periods. Dante’s characters can see beyond their time on Earth because in death they exist outside of time. Intertemporality is part of the medieval tradition; biblical characters, for example, were almost always represented in art as wearing medieval clothing.