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Inferno · Cantos 13–17
The Wood and the Sand
An escape room on Cantos 13–17 of Inferno by Dante
A wood of twisted trees that speak when they are broken, then a plain of burning sand under a slow rain of fire, and at its edge a monster rising out of the dark. Seven locks test what you know of Cantos 13–17 of Inferno.
Students solve seven self-checking locks and earn a word from each. At the last lock they put two of those words together to answer the final clue.
Play the free taster (2 of 7 locks)Members: full room
The taster runs in the browser, with nothing to install. Members share a private class link that opens all seven locks.
What's inside
- 7 self-checking locks: a crossword, scrambled names, a secret message, who's who, make the pairs, odd one out and a final lock
- Characters in this room: Dante, Virgil, Pier delle Vigne, Capaneus, Brunetto Latini, Geryon
- Grades 9–12; works with any edition
- No logins and nothing to install; progress is saved in the browser
- Takes about one lesson
For teachers
Each room covers one section, and every answer comes from it, so it checks reading as well as recall. The seven locks:
- Crossword — ten names, places and key words from the section.
- Scrambled names — unscramble seven names or words, with a clue for each.
- Secret message — decode a shift-three cipher and answer the riddle it asks.
- Who's who — match eight characters to what they do.
- Make the pairs — complete four pairs from a set of cards.
- Odd one out — six rows on characters, places and events: find the one that does not belong.
- The last lock — choose two of the words earned in locks 1–6 to answer the final clue.
Most students take 30 to 45 minutes. They can work alone or in pairs on any device with a browser, or you can project the room and solve it together. Every answer checks itself, and progress is saved in the browser, so a room can be split across two lessons.
