Dante's Inferno Canto 22 Questions and Answers
by Dante Alighieri

Study Questions
1. What is the legend of the dolphins mentioned in Canto XXII?

2. What is the reaction of the shades to Barbiger?

3. What is the name of the shade who does not submerge himself?

4. How do Dante and Virgil manage to get rid of their escort?

5. How do the demons punish Gian Polo when they find him out of the pitch?

6. What does Gian Polo promise to bring back from the pit?

7. Gian Polo is from which kingdom?

8. To which animals does Dante compare those in the pitch?

9. From which country does Gian Polo come?

10. What signal do the shades use to tell the others that the coast is clear?

Answers
1. The legend mentioned in Canto XXII is that of dolphins’ warning those at sea of storms.

2. The shades are frightened of Barbiger.

3. The shade who does not submerge himself promptly is Gian Polo.

4. Dante and Virgil manage to get rid of their escort when the demons begin to fight among themselves.

5. The demons pull him up on a hook and rip off parts of his body.

6. Gian Polo promises to bring others back from the pit with him.

7. Gian Polo is from the kingdom of Navarre.

8. Dante compares the people in the pit to dolphins and frogs.

9. Gian Polo is from Spain.

10. The shades whistle when the coast is clear.