Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Dante lived in Italy during the 13th and 14th centuries. What do you know about this period in Italian and European history? With which cultural, literary, or ideological movements do you associate this period?

Teaching Suggestion: Dante lived between 1265 and 1321, during the Medieval Period and at the very beginning of what some scholars call the “long” Renaissance. Make sure the class is familiar with the terminology and basic chronology of Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Discuss the cultural and ideological values of this period, including military valor and an emphasis on religion: The Crusades, in some ways, the defining events of the period, were still going on during Dante’s lifetime (though they were coming to an end). Since Dante’s work is so topical, it will be important to discuss the cultural and political climate of Dante’s native Florence, especially the wars between the factions of the Guelphs and Ghibellines.

• This very short video travel guide introduces some of the most famous sites of Florence, Dante’s native city.