Question

Read this excerpt from Canto XII of Dante's Inferno, in which Virgil describes sinners who are punished for their violence:

"But fasten your eyes below down to the plain
Where we approach a river of blood boiling
Those who harm their neighbors by violence."
Which sentence best explains Dante's intended use of symbolism in this passage?
A. The figurative language makes abstract ideas, like harm, more concrete.
B. The river of boiling blood represents the blood that the sinners spilled in life.
C. The sinners who are guilty of violence are immersed in a river of boiling blood.
D. The river represents armies marching toward a common cause: warfare.

Answer 1

C. The sinners who are guilty of violence are immersed in a river of boiling blood.

Answer 2

Answer: B. The river of boiling blood represents the blood that the sinners spilled in life.

Step-by-step explanation: Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense, generally, making it much deeper and more significant. In the given excerpt from Canto XII of Dante's Inferno, he uses symbolism in the line "Where we approach a river of blood boiling" the river of boiling blood represents the blood that the sinners spilled in life (the blood of the neighbors harmed by violence).