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This test consists of 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In The Inferno, Dante clearly divides the sins which are punished into two groups, divided by a great wall. The division exists as a division in both intention and objective, and one group is clearly more appalling to God than the other. Discuss this division in a two-part essay:

Part 1) What sins are punished in the circles outside the City of Dis? What do these types of sins have in common? Discuss why these sins are less egregious than the ones that are punished inside the walls of Dis. To what extent does this entail a divine justice that understands, at least in part, the temptations of human nature?

Part 2) What do all the sins that exist inside the City of Dis and below have in common? How are they all unnatural in their intention and in the actions necessary to commit them? Is there any inherent pleasure to them? In discussing this, discuss how Dante's attitude toward the sinners around him changes.

Essay Topic 2

The subject of The Inferno is clearly a dire one, but the poem is not without its humorous components. Write an essay discussing the use of humor in Alighieri's work. What characters and situations in the poem provide comedy in the face of damnation? What is the nature of this humor? Is it morbid? Slapstick? Wordplay? What is the tonal function of these comedic passages? How do they relate to the more somber portions?

Essay Topic 3

The geography of Hell is oddly specific in Dante's poem. He gives a clear sense not only of the dimensions of the realm, but also the realm's place in the universe as a whole. Write an essay about the geography of Hell, in three parts:

Part 1) According to Virgil's explanation of Satan's fall and the forming of Hell, why is it a conical pit? What was the logic behind its construction after the plummet of the devil to earth? Discuss how this construction reflects a positive view of humanity and its relationship with sin and evil.

Part 2) Discuss the rivers of Hell. How many of them are there? Where do they all originate, and where are they all flowing? Why is the marsh at the bottom of Hell's pit frozen? Where does the freezing wind from its bottom originate?

Part 3) Discuss Hell's placement in the earth. How does it situate itself in the center of the earth? How is it situated in relation to the mountain of Purgatory? Discuss how this geographical location affects the route that Dante and Virgil take to leave Hell and head toward Purgatory. How do they have to resituate themselves as they descend?

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