Canto Guide 26

                                                                       Canto 26

Summary

As Dante recognized the thieves as Florentines, he then started praising Florence. Virgil then lead him to the eighth pouch where they found flickering lights in the dark valley where they were heading. Virgil tells Dante that the flames contained the sinners. Dante then sees two souls in one flame. Virgil introduced them as Ulysses and Diomedes. They both committed the same sin during the Trojan War. Dante decides to speak with one of them, but Virgil warns him and Dante went and talked to him. Ulysses told Dante that he sailed to the western edge of the Mediterranean, and then Hercules marked warnings so they would not go any further. They decided to keep going and then their ship sank.

Characters

Ulysses- warrior that was in the Trojan War

Diomedes- warrior that was in the Trojan War

Sinner and Punishment

The sinners were Ulysses and Diomedes. Their punishment was to be stuck in a flame and to feel pain.

Contropasso

By ignoring the warnings and trespassing people can be sent to jail. In this canto Ulysses trespassed and broke the law. He was then sent to the flames which confined him like a jail.

High Order Thinking Questions

1)    Why do you think Dante wants to speak with one of the warriors in the flame?

2)    Why do you think Ulysses and his crew ignored the warning that Hercules gave them?

1o Questions

1)    What attitude did Dante have when he praised Florence?

a)    Sorry

b)    Sarcastic

c)    Angry

2)    What did Virgil and Dante see in the eighth pouch?

a)    A gate

b)    Lake with spirits

c)    Flickering lights

3)    Who are the two people Dante saw in the flame?

a)    Himself and Virgil

b)    Beatrice and Virgil

c)    Ulysses and Diomedes

4)    Who states the following: “Within these fires are the spirits, each is swathered in that which burns him inwardly.”

a)    Virgil

b)    Ulysses

c)    Dante

5)    Where was Ulysses sailing to?

a)    Spain

b)    Western Mediterranean

c)    Eastern Mediterranean

6)    True or False: Virgil didn’t want Dante to speak with the souls.

7)    True or False: Hercules marked warnings so they won’t sail any further.

8)    True or False: Ulysses dies because his ship sank.

9)    Who states the following: “ My companions I made so sharp for the voyage, with this little oration, that after it I could hardly have held them back.

a)    Ulysses

b)    Diomedes

c)    Virgil

10) Who states the following: “ Let me speak, for I have conceived what you wish; for perhaps they would shun, because they were Greeks, your words.”

a)    Dante

b)    Ulysses

c)    Diomedes