Special thanks to Alice Astarita and Matteo Soranzo, Wisconsin Centre for the Humanities
FFW (5 min): What do you see?
Discussion Questions
1. According to what law is the punishment assigned to the damned?
2. How does this law work in Hell? Does it change in Purgatory?
3. Did Dante invent the contrapasso?
4. What do the damned fulfill in Hell?
The Contrapasso
“Christian justice operates throughout Dante’s afterlife ensuring that nothing in it is gratuitous
or arbitrary. Assigning every soul to its appropriate place is the rigorous law of contrapasso
(Inferno 28), a retributive principle whereby everyone must suffer in the afterlife according
to the sin he or she has committed on earth. This suffering is retributive and eternal in Hell,
whilst in Purgatory it is remedial and temporary. In Paradise, too, the situation of the blessed is
closely related to their earthly behavior: by appearing in different spheres, they are shown to
receive the quality and measure of reward appropriate to each of them. Thus, God’s justice is
done, and is seen to be done, in all three realms of the afterlife.
The contrapasso is not Dante’s invention. What distinguishes its appearance in the Commedia is
that it functions not merely as a form of divine revenge but rather as the fulfillment of a destiny
freely chosen by each soul during his or her life. Thus, in Dante’s afterlife, far from being
canceled, diminished or even altered, the historical identity of each soul is revealed in its very
essence and so is intensified. Each individual is fixed in the other world as he or she really was,
beneath all appearances, in this. In Hell the damned are forever petrified in the penitent
continue and fulfill the process of repentance they began on earth. In Paradise the blessed enjoy
the measure of happiness appropriate to the merits and capacity which characterized them
while living. Thus, in Dante’s hands, the contrapasso works simultaneously as an instrument of
justice and a powerful narrative device.”
Adopted from: Pertile, Lino. “Dante.” Cambridge History of Italian Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. pp.63-64
The Structure of Hell and the Punishment of Sinners
Learning Objective: To help students visualize the fictional world created by Dante’s text and the standard pattern of Dante’s encounters: entrance, observation, contact with damned souls.
FFW (5 min): Why is heresy (any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs) a sin? Do you think heresy is punished in Dante’s Hell in the ways you expect? WHY or why not?
1. What does the landscape look like? (Canto 7, Canto 8) What is the MAIN IDEA conveyed by this landscape / structure?
Consider Dante’s questions about the flames (Canto 8)
What do you think the flames signal? (Arrival of Phlegyas’ boat section)
2. Who is the “sea of all wisdom” in Canto 8?
3. Who drives the boat in Canto 8? Why is his shouting described as “useless”? Why is Phlegyas angry?
4. What does “bark” refer to? See The City of Dis (Canto 8)
5. What does Dante see from a distance in the city of Dis? (Canto 8)
6. To what part of Hell does the city of Dis lead? (Canto 8)
7. How does Dante qualify the city? Why? (Canto 8)
8. Who does Dante see on the gate? (Canto 8) WHY is this significant?
9. Who are standing up on the summit of the tower of Dis?
10. Why would it be dangerous for Dante to see the Gorgon Medusa? (Canto 9)
The sepulchers of the heretics
11. What is the plain full of? What are the tombs like? (Canto 9) WHY is this significant?
12. Who are the people buried within the tombs? (Canto 9)
13. Can the damned people in the sepulchers be seen? (Canto 10)
14. What is the name of the damned soul Dante encounters? Where is he from? (Canto 10)
15. What is the relationship between this damned soul and Dante’s ancestors? (Canto 10)
16. What is this damned soul afraid of? (Canto 10) What is the MAIN IDEA conveyed by this character? What do you think is Dante’s relationship with this soul? Who is Guido?
Homework: How do the damned souls see? Finish reading Canto 10 on your own.
FFW (5 min): Who were the Epicureans? How are their beliefs represented in the cantrapasso? Use the endnotes to the canto and other resources to develop your answer. Present your findings in a paragraph of 10 sentences minimum.
Reflection: main takeaways from today's lesson?
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