Question

The sarcophagi make all the ground uneven, So did they here, lying every whichway, Except that their condition was far worse. For there among the tombs were scattered flames That made them glow all over with more heat Than any craftsman requires for his iron. All of their open lids were lifted up, And from inside such harsh laments escaped As would come from the wretched and the injured. In what way does the setting express Dante's views about heretics in these lines? A. The desperate cries of the sinners represents Dante's lack of compassion for the heretics. B. The harshness of the punishment explains Dante's feelings of injustice toward heretics. C. The crowded graves of the heretics depict Dante's notion that heresy is the greatest sin. D. The chaos of the scene means Dante thinks of heretics' thoughts and behavior as illogical.

Answer 1

The chaos of the scene means Dante thinks of heretics' thoughts and behavior as illogical.

Answer 2

The correct answer and the way that the setting in the mentioned excerpt expresses Dante's views about heretics in those lines are D. The chaos of the scene means Dante thinks of heretic's thoughts and behaviour as illogical.

Dante employes a generic definition of heresy in his work: the denial of the soul's immortality. When the poem was written, there were still no separation between Catholic and Protestant churches, so heresy was mosstly the result of internal disagreement between clergy and scholars about the interpretation of theological principles. This arguments created division among communities upon who was a "true" believer and who was an heretic. This partisan arguments and division are reflecter in the chaotic scene described by Dante in the 6th Circle of Hell.