Dante’s The Banquet & Letter to Can Grande Della Scala Prepared by: Dr. Kay Picart Assistant Professor of English & Humanities

Quiz on Dante’s Banquet & Letter...

Question 1 (8 pts.) Enumerate the four ways in which writings can be interpreted. Describe/explain each and give an example for each.

Question 2 (2 points) What does the term “polysemous” mean?

Question 3 (4 pts.) Analyze the following verse in terms of the four levels of interpretation: “When Israel came out of Egypt, & the house of Jacob from a people of strange speech, Judea became his sanctification, Israel his power.”

Question 4 (2 pts.) Why are the allegorical, the moral and the anagogic all subcategories of “allegory”?

Question 5 (12 pts.) How does Dante differentiate between tragedy and comedy (in terms of plot, genealogy and mode of speech/language)?

Question 6 (3 points—1 bonus) Why does Dante choose the title “Divine Comedy”?

The End