Blaspheming Against Jove Smack In The Middle Of A Christian Poem: Inferno, Canto XIV, Lines 43 - 78
Walking With Dante16 Kesä 2021

Blaspheming Against Jove Smack In The Middle Of A Christian Poem: Inferno, Canto XIV, Lines 43 - 78

Finally, a blasphemer. A monk who wrote a heretical treatise? A priest who tainted orthodoxy? A run-of-the-mill atheist?

Nope. A classical figure out of Statius' poem THE THEBIAD: Capaneus.

Wait, can a mythical figure who wanted to take down a mythical god commit blasphemy in a Christian context?

For Dante he can!

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this center passage of Canto XIV of INFERNO. We're among those who have committed (or have tried to commit) violence against God. But the passage turns on a figure out of mythology. What sort game is Dante playing? Or what game are we supposed to play with him?

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:12] My English translation of this passage.

[03:20] Dante the pilgrim tweaks Virgil, his guide. Rivalry? Or is something more thematic at play in this passage?

[06:13] It's Capaneus on the sands! A giant. Our first. From myth. Which is a giant problem, to say the least, in a canto devoted to that most Christian sin, blasphemy.

[08:41] An exploration of Capaneus' position toward the torments of hell--which reminds us a little of Farinata's. But Capaneus' speech is nothing like Farinata's!

[12:12] Why is Virgil irritated by Capaneus? An intriguing question. And a bit about the poetics here. The rhyming words match those in other passages with enraged figures. What's going on?

[17:35] Why and how is Capaneus an exemplar (or exemplum) of blasphemy?

[24:07] There's a bit of heresy running under this passage on blasphemy, under this entire canto. Can you provoke God to any action? Can you make the unmoved mover move? In the Middle Ages, the answer is slowly becoming "yes"--which causes all sorts of philosophical problems.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(511)

Seeing Is (Almost) Believing: PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 28 - 48

Seeing Is (Almost) Believing: PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 28 - 48

Beatrice begins to take apart the two questions (or doubts) that she has intuited the pilgrim Dante is holding in silence.She first takes on the one with more "poison" in this passage, in which she re...

4 Loka 28min

Paralyzed by Free Will: PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 1 - 27

Paralyzed by Free Will: PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 1 - 27

Piccarda may have vanished but questions remain. The pilgrim Dante is caught between them, unable to voice them.Beatrice to the rescue! She voices what he cannot say . . . or perhaps what he is afraid...

30 Syys 28min

The Expanding Community of Women in the Moon: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 109 - 130

The Expanding Community of Women in the Moon: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 109 - 130

Piccarda Donati doesn’t stop her monologue with the cryptic line about her life after the convent. She turns to another figure in the lunar landscape: Constance I of Sicily, the Holy Roman Empress and...

23 Syys 23min

The Violent yet Elliptical End to Piccarda Donati's Story: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 88 - 108

The Violent yet Elliptical End to Piccarda Donati's Story: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 88 - 108

Piccarda Donati finally answers the question about who she is. She's given her name but not much else about her. In twelve lines (or four tercets) she brings her personal story to its violent yet elli...

20 Syys 27min

Piccarda Donati's Apotheosis of the Will: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 58 - 87

Piccarda Donati's Apotheosis of the Will: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 58 - 87

Piccarda has confessed to her more humble place in the heavens. Our pilgrim Dante then wants to know if she wants more.Her answer leads her to an apotheosis of the will. Everything in the universe is ...

16 Syys 30min

The First Soul in Paradise, Piccarda Donati: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 34 - 57

The First Soul in Paradise, Piccarda Donati: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 34 - 57

At long last, the first soul--or "shade"--steps forward in Paradise. She's Piccarda Donati, a figure we've already encountered once (maybe even twice) in COMEDY.Dante flatters her to speak and she beg...

13 Syys 29min

Catching Feelings in the Sensual Sphere of the Moon: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 1 - 33

Catching Feelings in the Sensual Sphere of the Moon: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 1 - 33

Dante is about to meet the first souls in Paradise, emerging from the liquid light of the moon.The poetry is lush and sensuous. The metaphors are complex and compounded. And Beatrice is a bit chilly, ...

9 Syys 28min

The Souls of the Universe: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 127 - 148

The Souls of the Universe: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 127 - 148

Beatrice concludes her explanation for moon spots by veering away from them specifically to talk about the nature of the universe.Blessed movers turn the spheres. Or perhaps inhabit them. Or are bound...

6 Syys 27min