VOCABULARY

Dante Alighieri-Definition: An Italian poet who lived from 1265 to 1321, considered one of the greatest poets of the Middle Ages.
Context: The Inferno is the first book in Dante Alighieri's famous trilogy The Divine Comedy; the other two books are Purgatorio and Paradiso.

Inferno-Definition: Literally, intense heat; also used to refer to a place with the characteristics of hell.
Context: Since the publication of The Inferno in about 1308, the word "inferno" has become synonymous with the concept of hell.

Moral redemption-Definition: The capacity to transcend one's own limitations and reach a new level of self-knowledge.
Context: According to Dante, the road to moral redemption can be reached only after confronting evil in the world and in one's self.

Nine circles of hell-Definition: The designation of different kinds of sins beginning with sins of weakness, moving down to sins of malice, followed by sins of fraud and disloyalty, and finally descending to sins of betrayal and pride.
Context: The image of Satan frozen in ice in the last of Dante's nine circles of hell is a powerful symbol of pure evil.

Virgil-Definition: A poet who lived in ancient Rome between 70 and 19 B.C., considered one of the great poets of world literature.
Context: Dante may have selected Virgil as his guide through hell because Virgil was a great literary and moral role model.

http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/dantesinferno/ (WORK CITE)