Astride a Centaur: Inferno, Canto XII, Lines 76 - 102

In INFERNO, the question of our pilgrim's corporeality continues to dog us (and perhaps the poet). Is the pilgrim in his body? Is this "merely" a dream sequence in which he's imagining he's in a body? How "real" is his journey?

Although these may seem modern problems, they in fact bother Dante-the-poet in COMEDY, forcing him to make decisions about his narrative that will eventually pay off. For if our pilgrim is corporeal, then his sense of isolation in the spiritual world can become more profound.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we slow-walk through this passage toward the end of INFERNO, Canto XII. We're in the seventh circle of hell, among the violent, and specifically among those who have been violent toward their neighbors and their neighbors' property.

The passage has conversations with Chiron, problems with Virgil's character, "extreme particularities" in its details, surreal landscapes, and knots in its interpretation--in other words, all that we can hope for from COMEDY.

Here are the segments of this episode:

[01:14] Here's my English translation of the passage from INFERNO: Canto XII, lines 76 - 102. If you want to see it, head out to my website, markscarbrough.com, and look under the header "Walking With Dante."

[02:51] A brief introduction to this passage from the seventh circle of hell.

[03:27] The problems of corporeality in COMEDY, particularly when it comes to these centaurs.

[12:13] Virgil stands at Chiron's chest, right where the bestial and human merge.

[14:26] What's up with Virgil's changed attitude toward these guardian figures?

[17:53] Virgil uses periphrasis to talk about Beatrice--but that brings up a whole 'nother problem in COMEDY.

[21:33] There's something else spoken of with periphrasis in this passage: Dante-the-poet's guilt.

[24:13] A reference to a passage in the Gospel of Matthew may underlie this passage--and if so, shows us that this entire bit from COMEDY might be a little tongue in cheek.

[27:33] Nessus, a "trusty escort"? More winking and nudging in this passage.