Dante’s Divine Comedy Canto 1-8
UPDATED ACTUAL Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
What three beasts threaten Dante at the beginning of the Divine Comedy? - CORRECT
ANSWER - Leopard (fraud), Lion (violence), and she-wolf (lust, greed, lack of self-
control)
The beasts represent major categories of human sin
Who has the greatest impact on Dante? - CORRECT ANSWER - Virgil, he guides Dante
through Purgatory to Paradise. He is a hero to Dante because he represents human reason and the
best a person can be
Who will lead Dante after Virgil? - CORRECT ANSWER - Beatrice
Who also traveled through Hell? - CORRECT ANSWER - Aeneas and St. Paul
How has Dante arrived in the Forest? What events in his life could the forest represent? -
CORRECT ANSWER - He gradually declined more and more into it which led him to the
forest. This represents his gradual decline into sin.
What renews Dante's hope after a horrible night in the dark wood? What does this symbolize? -
CORRECT ANSWER - The sun rises which represents Date finding God
Why is Virgil unable to lead Dante to paradise? - CORRECT ANSWER - He was a pagan
and couldn't be Christian because he died before Jesus was alive.
Who has sent Virgil to aid Dante, and why? - CORRECT ANSWER - Beatrice sends Virgil
to guide Dante
, Harrowing of Hell - CORRECT ANSWER - Jesus descends into Hell to free Adam and
Eve along with good people before his birth, including Moses and King David
Summarize the inscription above the Gate of Hell: - CORRECT ANSWER - "Abandon all
hope, all you who enter"
Who are the first souls Dante encounters in Hell? What is their punishment? - CORRECT
ANSWER - He sees the souls of the undecided, those who didn't choose to live a sinful or
good life. They are punished to follow a blank banner while being stung by wasps and hornets
for eternity
What is Charon's role in Canto three? How does he react to Dante? - CORRECT
ANSWER - He ferries Dante across the River Acheron. He protests Dante's presence and
doesn't want to ferry him.
What souls are found in the vestibule of Hell? - CORRECT ANSWER - The neutral souls
and angels that didn't fight with God or Lucifer
Basically anyone who refused to make a choice, the opportunists who chose neither godo nor
evil. Dante says that not making a choice is a choice itself
How does Dante react to the punishments at the beginning of the book? - CORRECT
ANSWER - He doesn't agree with them, even though they were determined by God and
are therefore just
How does Virgil (not Dante) react to the entrance to Limbo? What does Dante first notice? -
CORRECT ANSWER - Virgil feels hopeless because this was his circle of hell. Dante
notices the constant sighing and gets uncomfortable. Dante misinterprets Virgil's reaction as fear
(it was pity)
What are the souls in Limbo? - CORRECT ANSWER - They are pagans who lived good
virtuous lives. People like Virgil who just weren't alive at the time of Jesus and could not be
saved. There are also unbaptized infants and the Jewish patriarchs
UPDATED ACTUAL Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
What three beasts threaten Dante at the beginning of the Divine Comedy? - CORRECT
ANSWER - Leopard (fraud), Lion (violence), and she-wolf (lust, greed, lack of self-
control)
The beasts represent major categories of human sin
Who has the greatest impact on Dante? - CORRECT ANSWER - Virgil, he guides Dante
through Purgatory to Paradise. He is a hero to Dante because he represents human reason and the
best a person can be
Who will lead Dante after Virgil? - CORRECT ANSWER - Beatrice
Who also traveled through Hell? - CORRECT ANSWER - Aeneas and St. Paul
How has Dante arrived in the Forest? What events in his life could the forest represent? -
CORRECT ANSWER - He gradually declined more and more into it which led him to the
forest. This represents his gradual decline into sin.
What renews Dante's hope after a horrible night in the dark wood? What does this symbolize? -
CORRECT ANSWER - The sun rises which represents Date finding God
Why is Virgil unable to lead Dante to paradise? - CORRECT ANSWER - He was a pagan
and couldn't be Christian because he died before Jesus was alive.
Who has sent Virgil to aid Dante, and why? - CORRECT ANSWER - Beatrice sends Virgil
to guide Dante
, Harrowing of Hell - CORRECT ANSWER - Jesus descends into Hell to free Adam and
Eve along with good people before his birth, including Moses and King David
Summarize the inscription above the Gate of Hell: - CORRECT ANSWER - "Abandon all
hope, all you who enter"
Who are the first souls Dante encounters in Hell? What is their punishment? - CORRECT
ANSWER - He sees the souls of the undecided, those who didn't choose to live a sinful or
good life. They are punished to follow a blank banner while being stung by wasps and hornets
for eternity
What is Charon's role in Canto three? How does he react to Dante? - CORRECT
ANSWER - He ferries Dante across the River Acheron. He protests Dante's presence and
doesn't want to ferry him.
What souls are found in the vestibule of Hell? - CORRECT ANSWER - The neutral souls
and angels that didn't fight with God or Lucifer
Basically anyone who refused to make a choice, the opportunists who chose neither godo nor
evil. Dante says that not making a choice is a choice itself
How does Dante react to the punishments at the beginning of the book? - CORRECT
ANSWER - He doesn't agree with them, even though they were determined by God and
are therefore just
How does Virgil (not Dante) react to the entrance to Limbo? What does Dante first notice? -
CORRECT ANSWER - Virgil feels hopeless because this was his circle of hell. Dante
notices the constant sighing and gets uncomfortable. Dante misinterprets Virgil's reaction as fear
(it was pity)
What are the souls in Limbo? - CORRECT ANSWER - They are pagans who lived good
virtuous lives. People like Virgil who just weren't alive at the time of Jesus and could not be
saved. There are also unbaptized infants and the Jewish patriarchs
