Gossip, Ambivalence, And The Strangeness of Virgil's Presence: Inferno, Canto XV, Lines 100 - 124

We come to the end of Inferno, Canto XV. We go out in the strangest ways. First, the pilgrim, Dante, wants a little bedroom gossip. Who are the other homosexuals down here with you, Brunetto?

Brunetto Latini is cagey and forthcoming, all at once, about the way he's been throughout this canto. He offers three names. He turns excessively vulgar. And he reveals his hidden agenda: don't forget the books I wrote! He is undoubtedly one of the most complicated figures in INFERNO.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we slow-walk through Dante's masterwork, COMEDY. We've come to the end of a strange canto in INFERNO. It's chock full of ambivalence and irony. And maybe more than we first imagined. Because there's Virgil, standing to the side all along. They've been blathering on about how a writer wins fame. And about the old, uncorrupted, Roman blood. Meanwhile, Exhibit A is standing right there with them.

Here are the segments for this podcast episode:

[00:51] My English translation of INFERNO, Canto XV, lines 100 - 124. If you'd like to read along, you can find this translation on my website, markscarbrough.com, under the header "Walking With Dante."

[03:05] The pilgrim's prurient question: Who else is with you, Ser Brunetto? (Notice that flouish of politeness, "Ser," just when the pilgrim wants to know the dirty details.)

[08:56] Smoke is rising from the sands. Brunetto can't stick around. Why?

[10:38] Brunetto reveals his hidden agenda: Don't forget my book!

[13:11] Virgil. He's been there all along. They've been talking about fame and pure Roman blood. Shouldn't they have asked Exhibit A, walking along with them?

[17:25] Brunetto wins his race! Or does he?