Kellie Krim
Dante’s Inferno Canto IV
Summary:
Dante woke up and found himself at the first circle which
was Limbo with Virgil. Dante and Virgil headed to the entrance of the Limbo.
Dante asked Virgil if he was afraid because he had lost color in his face. Virgil
replied that he had not lost the coloring because he felt sorry for the people
who suffer in Limbo. Then Virgil led the way in Limbo while Dante followed.
While they were in there Dante heard sighing of unbaptized children. Before
they moved on Virgil wanted to explain to Dante why they are here. He stated
“they did not sin, and if they have merits, it is not enough, because they did
not receive baptism”. Virgil told him that people who lived before Christ were
saved if they “adored” God. If they did not live before Christ then they did
not adore God and was sent to Limbo. Dante then saw four shadows coming toward
them. They were the poets Dante looked up to; Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan. They
greeted Dante and he was honored by them to join their group. They came across
a noble castle (castle of wisdom) it was surrounded by a stream. When he went
in he saw many people he was familiar with such as Electra daughter of Atlas,
Hector and Aeneas, and Caesar. Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan disappeared and
so it was just him and Virgil again. They made their way out of the castle and
came across to a dark place.
Character Analysis:
v Homer- supreme poet (led them to the
castle)
v Horace-satirist (led them to the
castle)
v Ovid-poet that Dante looks up too (led
them to the castle)
v Lucan-poet that Dante looks up too
(led them to the castle)
High Order Thinking Question:
1)
Do you think
as a human being it is fair to have the belief that regardless of what you
accomplish or how good or caring a person you are and have done nothing wrong
(Ex: Baby) to wind up in eternal Limbo simply because you weren’t baptized into
Christianity.
Questions
1)
When Dante
enters Limbo what does he hear?
a)
Crying
b)
Sighing
c)
Both a and b
2)
Who states
the following, “The suffering of the peoples who are here below, paints on my
face that pity which you perceive as fear. Let us go, for the long way urges
us.”
a)
Dante
b)
Lucan
c)
Virgil
3)
Why were the
souls sent to Limbo
a)
They were
born before Christ
b)
They prayed
to God
c)
They were
born after Christ
4)
Who were the
four people that were heading towards Dante and Virgil?
a)
Homer,
Caesar, Beatrice, and Ovid
b)
Homer, Ovid,
Horace, And Lucan
c)
Lucan,
Aeneas, Ovid, and Beatrice
5)
True or
False: Dante became the sixth member of Virgils group.
6)
What did
Dante come across to?
a)
Castle
b)
River
c)
Gate to the
next circle
7)
What does it
symbolize?
a)
Death
b)
Both a and c
c)
Wisdom
8)
What was the place
surrounded by?
a)
Meadow
b)
Souls
c)
River
9)
Who was one
of the people Dante recognized
a)
Electra
b)
Hector
c)
Caesar
d)
All the above
10)
Who
disappears at the end of the chapter?
a)
Souls
b)
The poets
c)
Virgil
