Canto XXXIII

Antenora, continued: Ugolino’s account of his death-denunciation of Pisa-Ptolomea: traitors to guests: Brother Alberigo-denunciation of Genoa

By: Abby Hani

Summary: In the previous canto, at the end, Dante sees a sinner biting at another sinners head. The sinner states that on Earth he was Count Ugolino. The man whose head he chewed on was Archbishop Ruggieri. They both lived in Pisa, and the archbishop, who was also a traitor, put Ugolino and his sons in prison. He never gave them food. When the sons died, Ugolino ate the flesh of their corpses. Dante and Virgil then go on to the Third Ring, Ptolomea, which consists of the ones who betrayed their guests. They lie on their backs in the frozen lake, with their faces sticking out of the ice. Once they enter the Third Ring they see Fra Alberigo and Branca d’Oria. What’s different about these souls is that they have not died yet on Earth. Their sins were so bad that their souls entered Hell before they did. On Earth devils watch over their living bodies. After leaving this ring, Virgil and Dante get up to the Fourth Ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell. This is the very bottom of the pit and the last circle of Hell.

Sins/Sinners:

v  Traitors: specifically those who betrayed their guests.

Punishment/Contrapasso:

v  They lie in the lake on their backs with their faces sticking out of the ice forcing people to step on them.

v  This is contrapasso because the sinners walked away from their guests (betrayel) so their eternal punishment is for people to walk away from them when in need of help.

Character List:

1.      Count Ugolino: Count Ugolino della Gherardesca found himself in Antenora because he betrayed Pisa and her political leadership.

2.      Fra Alberigo: one of the Guelph family members of Faenza. He was a Jovial Friar, a religious order established with the goal of making peace but soon knowned for decadence and corruption.

Higher Order ?’s:

1.      What do you think the point is of sending a sinners soul to Hell before their actual bodies arrive?

2.      What do you think is in the Fourth Ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell?

Multiple Choice ?’s:

1.      What circle are Virgil and Dante in now?

A.      8^th

B.      9^th

C.      10^th

D.     12^th

2.      Who are the sinners in the 9^th circle?

A.      Traitors

B.      Stealers

C.      Beggers

D.     Baggers

3.      Who chews on Archbishops head?

A.      God

B.      Satan

C.      Ugolino

D.     Abby

4.      Where did the count live?

A.      France

B.      Limbo

C.      Florence

D.     Pisa

5.      Did the archbishop live there too?

A.      Yes

B.      No

6.      What are the sinners lying in, in this circle?

A.      Poop

B.      A frozen lake

C.      A pile of dirt

D.     A pool

7.      What is the Third Ring called?

A.      Ptolomea

B.      Gibberish

C.      Moose

D.     Antenora

8.      What is one of the soul’s names whose body is still on earth?

A.      Fra Alberigo

B.      Branca d’Oria

C.      Both A and B

D.     Tom Gavin

9.      How many rings are there in the ninth circle?

A.      3

B.      2

C.      4

D.     1

10.  Dante and Virgil are coming to the bottom of the pit?

A.      True

B.      False

                    

Works Cited:

http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/circle9.html#ugolino

http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/inferno/section12.rhtml