Intro to Lit and Comp
Web Quest Spring 2013
Dante’s Inferno
Webquest
Each pair/student should submit a single, completed web quest. The final submission
should be either typed or clearly hand written on a separate sheet of paper. The answers
to your web quest should be in complete sentences. These answers should reflect the
depth of your research. Each task will have instructions and/or websites assigned. Use
my webpage (found under Medieval Literature Resources) to locate the task, instructions,
and websites to visit.
TASK 1- Dante Alighieri: A Poetic Descent into Hell
Use the following websites and/or notes from my lecture to locate information
concerning Dante’s life and works. Look under TASK 1 on my website for the links.
The Man:
1. Give the dates of Dante’s life.
2. Where did Dante call his home?
3. Who was the great love of Dante’s life and the inspiration for many of his poetic
heroines?
4. Who was Dante’s wife? Did she have an influence on his literature?
5. What tragedy befell Dante in the year 1302? What powerful historical figure is
involved?
The Divine Comedy:
1. How long is the Divine Comedy?
2. What was the original title of the work?
3. What genre of poetry is this masterpiece?
4. What is the purpose of the Inferno and its companion pieces?
5. When was the Inferno published?
6. In what language was the poem published?
7. What verse form was the poem written in? Define this form.
8. What is the fictional date that the Inferno begins?
TASK 2 - Do I know you, fair shade?
Identify SEVEN of the following figures and locales from mythology, literature and
history. Use Google as a search engine to find out information. Descriptions should be
AT LEAST 2-3 sentences in length and include who the individual is and what role
he/she/it plays in Dante’s work. You already have one from the list that can be
completed without research based on your reading of Canto V. TURN OVER FOR LIST
1. Acheron
2. Styx
3. Charon
4. Virgil
5. Minos
6. Francesca and Paolo de Rimini
7. Pope Boniface VIII
8. Filippo Argenti
9. Ulysses/Odysseus
10. Archbishop Ruggeri
11. Count Ugolino
12. Fra Albergio
13. Branca d’ Oria
14. Judas Iscariot
15. Brutus
16. Cassius
TASK 3 – Canto Reading
With your partner, choose one canto to read from the website supplied in my webpage.
Read the translated version, and in a brief writing (7-10 sentences), summarize the Canto.
Be sure you include all relevant information from the Canto.
TASK 4 – Circle of Hell Exploration
With your partner, choose TWO of the circles of hell to explore on the website provided
on my webpage. In a brief writing 7-10 sentences for each circle, summarize the main
points of that circle of Hell.
TASK 5 – Representations of Dante in art and culture
With your partner, look at the websites listed to answer the following questions:
1. Choose a piece of artistic representation from Dali and Blake. Compare/Contrast
the art in two-three sentences. How well does the art represent Dante’s purpose?
2. How accurate is the animated film and video game to the original poem?
3. Why is it so common to use works like Dante in different forms of media?
4. According to NPR, what is a major difference between the classic poem and the
popular video game?
5. Why might Dante approve of the video game according to the video game
developer Jonathan Knight.