High Virgil, Low Demons, And The Poor Pilgrim Dante: Inferno, Canto XXI, Lines 64 - 102
We've seen seen one demon running along the bank. Now here comes a pack of them! They boil out at Virgil who is ready for them with lofty rhetoric and misplaced trust. And even a little contempt for t...
19 Jan 202225min
Working Together To Make A Mess: Inferno, Canto XXI, Lines 46 - 63
The demon has thrown this sinner into the pitch, headed off to collect more in Lucca, and caused the whole horde of demons under the bridge to start their low-comedy, high-violence act.Join me, Mark S...
16 Jan 202226min
Virgil To The Rescue, A Demon On The Run: Inferno, Canto XXI, Lines 22 - 45
Dante the poet has gotten caught up in his own simile, which is long, complicated, and unwieldy, enough so that it brings the plot to a standstill.But Virgil to the rescue! The classical poet gets us ...
12 Jan 202222min
Metaphors, Tautologies, And Pitch: Inferno, Canto XXI, Lines 1 - 21
WALKING WITH DANTE has been on a holiday hiatus. Now we're back at it, descending to Canto XXI of INFERNO, to the next malebolge, the fifth evil pouch among the sins of fraud.The opening of Canto XXI ...
9 Jan 202228min
Breaking Every Text, Even Your Own: Inferno, Canto XX, Lines 100 - 130
We come to the end of the fourth evil pouch, the fourth of the malebolge, in the eighth circle of Inferno, the circle of fraud. And we go out with a bang!Dante disses Virgil (who has already dissed Da...
22 Des 202122min
Virgil And His Fraudulent Poem The Aeneid: Inferno, Canto XX, Lines 52 - 99
Virgil--and/or Dante, our poet--has already rewritten Ovid, Statius, and Lucan's poems. Now in a bit of insane daring, Virgil takes on this own poem, THE AENEID. He retells the story of the founding o...
19 Des 202129min
For A Guy So Hard On Dante, Virgil Sure Doesn't Know His Classical Sources: Inferno, Canto XX, Lines 25 - 51
Our pilgrim Dante is crying at the distorted forms coming along in the fourth evil pouch (one of the malebolge) of the eighth circle of INFERNO. Or maybe he's crying because he knows the future: Class...
15 Des 202124min
Poets, The Biggest Fraudsters Of All: Inferno, Canto XX, Lines 1 - 24
Canto XX of INFERNO is one that many skip. it's just too hard or too discursive or too long-winded. But others spend careers on. After Canto I, Canto XX stirs some of the most in-depth commentary of a...
12 Des 202126min
