Snakebit: Inferno, Canto XXIV, Lines 97 - 120
Walking With Dante3 Huhti 2022

Snakebit: Inferno, Canto XXIV, Lines 97 - 120

Our pilgrim, Dante, and his guide, Virgil, have come down to a place where they can see into the darkness of the seventh of the malebolge, the evil pouches that make up the eighth circle of fraud in hell.

And what a sight they see! A pit of writhing snakes, one sinner bitten, then incinerated and reconstituted, right before their eyes.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we slow-walk through Dante's masterwork COMEDY. Hell is about to get wild. The poet, too!

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

[01:32] My English translation of the passage: Inferno, Canto XXIV, lines 97 - 120. If you'd like to read along, you can find this translation on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:56] A little pep talk for reading on in Dante's COMEDY.

[05:50] The first snake bite: right between the shoulder blades of an unknown sinner.

[10:29] The soul burns up--and Dante the poet burns up texts in a conflagration of literary allusions.

[15:31] What's with the "o" and the "i" bit? Four possible interpretations. (And there are of course probably many more.)

[21:12] The phoenix as a symbol of the resurrection--but here?

[25:03] A final metaphor to explain the sinner's incineration and rebirth: demonic possession or a medical condition?

[29:37] The poet steps out from behind the curtain to speak--and only complicates matters further.

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Incarnated in the Moon: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 19 - 45

Incarnated in the Moon: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 19 - 45

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19 Elo 28min

Go Home: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 1 - 18

Go Home: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 1 - 18

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Of Natural Instincts and Their Natural Ends: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 115 - 142

Of Natural Instincts and Their Natural Ends: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 115 - 142

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12 Elo 23min

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Sailing Across the Great Sea of "To Be": PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 94 - 114

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9 Elo 25min

Returning Home Through the Music of the Spheres: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 61 - 93

Returning Home Through the Music of the Spheres: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 61 - 93

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5 Elo 37min

Staring at the Sun: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 37 - 60

Staring at the Sun: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 37 - 60

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2 Elo 36min

A Polyvocal Passage With All Its Dissonances: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 13 - 36

A Polyvocal Passage With All Its Dissonances: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 13 - 36

Our poet moves from his scholastic and even (medieval) scientific opening of PARADISO into his invocation . . . to Apollo?This passage has often embarrassed Dante scholars who feel the need to excuse ...

29 Heinä 41min

Welcome to a Renegotiated Poem: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 1 - 12

Welcome to a Renegotiated Poem: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 1 - 12

From its opening lines, it's clear that PARADISO is not like what has come before in COMEDY. Dante seems to be renegotiating the terms of his poem, establishing a new voice, a new model, and a new met...

26 Heinä 37min