Inferno Canto 7


VIDEO VERSION

AUDIO VERSION



OVERVIEW

Heather Easterling is a Professor of English and Women and Gender’s Studies at Gonzaga University. She teaches courses in Renaissance drama, the works of Shakespeare, and poetry.

Questions for Reflection

  • Why would Dante the poet start this canto with Pluto inscrutable gibberish?
  • Why do you think the circle of the avaricious (greedy) has the most sinners in it? How might this be connected to the she-wolf of canto 1.94-102?
  • Why would Dante include two sins—hoarding and squandering—in this ring? How are they both forms of the sin of greed? Why does Dante the poet deny us as readers knowledge of their individual identities?
  • Notice the inclusion of Lady Fortuna in line 62-96. Who is she and how does she govern human lives and experiences? What should our relationship as humans be to her rule? How does she contrast with Pluto?
  • What are the two different forms of wrath that Dante introduces in lines 109-126 and what do they reveal about the nature of unholy anger?

DETAILS

  • Dr. Heather Easterling
  • Gonzaga in Florence
  • Run Time 10:31