Cannibalism And Polyphony: INFERNO, Canto XXXII, Lines 124 - 139

Dante the pilgrim and silent Virgil lead us to the most disgusting scene in all of INFERNO as one sinner munches on the skull and brains of another.

This scene is the setup at the end of INFERNO, Canto XXXII for the last great sinner of hell, a figure no one ever forgets.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look at some of the kinks in this opening passage and start a discussion of the nature of Dante's art: polyphony.

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

[01:10] My English translation of the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXXII, lines 124 - 139. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:07] The double simile in the passage as a function of the doubling throughout the last circle of INFERNO.

[06:03] More about Thebes and a possible turn to Statius as a primary source.

[09:34] A passing reference to St. Paul's letter to the Galatian church (Galatians 5:15).

[11:03] The problems in Dante's pact with this sinner and the promise of payback.

[12:17] The last line of Canto XXXII: an interpretive crux for 700 years.

[15:25] The last line of Canto XXXII: an expression of the canto’s overall structure.

[17:45] Dante as a polyphonic poet.