Dante's Divine Comedy

Canto XVI – Third Cornice – The Wrathful

• 1. Note the synesthesia in lines 6-7. Have you ever experienced such a feeling? Possibly you have, but what common effect of thick smoke is not mentioned by Dante in lines 1-7?

Surprisingly, nowhere in the canto does the poet mention anything approaching difficulty in breathing.

According to lines 16-21, how often do the penitents here sing the Agnus Dei?

Repeatedly, since line 20 uses the word “ever.”

• 2. How does Mark the Lombard know that Dante is alive?

He seems to be aware that Dante—with his solid body—is “cleaving our smoke and speaking of us as/one who still parts his time by calendar.”

What philosophical question does Dante ask the Lombard in lines 58-62?

The pilgrim wants to know why the world is devoid of virtue. “What is the cause of all this sin?” He identifies two explanations commonly offered by people in the world: astrological influence and fortune.

He identifies two explanations commonly offered by people in the world: astrological influence and fortune.

How does the Lombard answer Dante’s positing of astrological influence (lines 67-72)?

He says that if the stars caused sin in the world, then no individual could be held accountable for his misdeeds.

What is the limit of the stars’ influence on people’s lives (lines 73-76)?

Though the stars do have some influence on our desires, they do not determine our choices. Human reason enables us to resist and direct such influences.

What makes the right choice possible (lines 79-80)?

Although human beings exist under God’s providence, God has endowed them with freedom of choice.

Ultimately, what is Mark’s answer to the question of why is sin pervasive (lines 82-90)?

The cause of sin lies within each individual. He goes on to say, “the simple soul/comes forth just like a baby girl/Who cries and laughs and doesn’t know a thing/save that, moved by her Maker, by her joy, she willingly returns to all that makes her sing.”

• 3. Mark goes on to identify another part of the problem as the malfunctioning of the two authorities: the Empire and the Papacy (lines 106—111). What has gone wrong?

The world was once governed by two distinct authorities, Church and State. The Church, however, has improperly intruded into temporal governance, usurping authority that properly belongs to the State. However, the Church has wrongly infringed into the temporal management of the world by usurping the authority of the State. In short, “[the Church] has assumed temporal power that the State should have maintained. In short, the corrupt Papacy has weakened the Empire, combining “sheep hook and sword.”

What is the sense of lines 121-126?

The three men identified by Mark as rare examples of virtue in northern Italy are Corrado da Palazzo, Gherardo da Camino, and Guido da Castello.

It is noteworthy that Mark, often associated with Ghibelline sympathies, nonetheless praises men commonly linked with the Guelph cause.

Instead of serving a moral exemplar to society, the Church has usurped imperial authority to itself. Ecclesiastical authorities have neglected the responsibility Christ laid upon the Church: spiritual guidance of society, not temporal rule.

How would you characterize the tone of line 141?

It reflects the brusqueness of his personality, a trait that may help explain his susceptibility to the sin of wrath.

He tells Dante where the angel of the exit is and leaves.