Inferno 6
Study Guide Questions for Canto Six
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Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)
Indulgence, Prophecy
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
What did Dante see wherever he set his gaze?
What was the principle form of punishment in the third ring of Hell?
What would Cerberus do to the souls he laid hold of?
How did Virgil manage to get Dante and himself past Cerberus?
What did the shade who spoke to Dante hope he would know?
According to Ciacco, what kind of political upheaval would come upon their hometown?
What did Dante learn about the men whom he inquired after by name?
What request did Ciacco make of Dante?
According to Virgil when would be the next time Ciacco would awake?
What did Dante ask Virgil about concerning the future of the condemned souls?
Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)
What did Dante mean by saying, “My mind had shut its door?”
Why would Cerberus be here in this part of Hell?
What is meant by the phrase, “you were made before I was unmade?”
For what sin should we infer Ciacco was condemned to the third ring/circle of Hell?
Why is the kind of punishment that is taking place in the third ring fitting to the sins committed by those placed there?
What role does Ciacco’s prophecy/prediction play in the story? Why is Dante putting these words in this character’s mouth?
The list of men given by Dante is comprised of members from both the Guelph and Ghibelline political factions. What might we infer about these factions from what Ciacco says about these men?
Why would Ciacco want Dante to “remember” him and speak of him to others?
What is Virgil implying will be the case concerning the torments of Hell after the judgment when “each man…shall reassume his flesh and form?”
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)
Define the term “gluttony.” What are some different ways the sin of gluttony can present itself? How serious is the sin of gluttony? Why might people be more tempted to turn a blind eye to this particular sin than some others?
Do you think it is appropriate to make use of pagan mythology when describing elements of, or characters in, Hell? Why or why not?
Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)
Read Judges 3:12-30 and relate it to our present reading. In what ways was Eglon’s sin similar to our present reading in Canto Six, and how was it disastrous to him?
What does Proverbs 23:20-21 teach us? How can we take action to obey these principles?