Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)

Gustave Doré, Portrait of Dante Alighieri

The Divine Comedy

Study Questions

Canto XVII

Why do you think Dante locates the usurers where he does?
What is the significance of the sudden apparition of Geryon? What does Geryon represent? Why is it significant that, while Virgil negotiates with Geryon, Dante speaks to the usurers? Why is Geryon's face said to be "innocent of every guile, benign and just in feature and expression"? How about his body? What is the significance of the designs on his skin?
Is it significant that the circle of the usurers is located on the edge of the precipice which falls into the pit of fraud and malice? What does this suggest about usury? How does this fit in with Aristotle's and Aquinas's understanding of usury?
Why is usury said to be a form of violence against art?
What is the punishment of the usurers in hell?
Why are the usurers seated, and why are their faces unrecognizable?
What is the meaning of the leather purses that hang from their necks? What is the meaning of the designs imprinted on the purses? What do they represent? Why do the usurers look intently at their purses?
What is the meaning of Dante's downward ride on Geryon's back?

Canto XIX

What is the punishment of the simoniacs? What is the significance of the position of their bodies? How about the fire on their feet?
Who does Dante find in this circle of hell?
How does Dante's understanding of simony relate to that of Aquinas?
Who is the "Sweet Lady" whom Nicholas III accuses Boniface of having betrayed?
Why does Nicholas speak of "his whelps" and of himself as the "son of the She-Bear"?