6. Inferno XII, XIII, XV, XVI

Dante in Translation (ITAL 310)
This lecture focuses on the middle zone of Inferno, the area of violence (Inferno XII-XVI). Introductory remarks are made on the concentration of hybrid creatures in this area of Hell and followed by a close reading of cantos XIII and XV. The pilgrim's encounter with Pier delle Vigne (Inferno XIII) is placed in literary context (Aeneid III). The questioning of authority staged in this scene resurfaces in the circle of sodomy (Inferno XV), where the pilgrim's encounter with his teacher, Brunetto Latini, is read as a critique of the humanistic values he embodied.
00:00 - Chapter 1. Canto XII-XI: The Middle Ground and Its Presiding Figures
05:22 - Chapter 2. Canto XIII: The Suicides
20:49 - Chapter 3. Pier delle Vigne
33:41 - Chapter 4. Canto XV: Brunetto Latini; Dante's Understanding of Sodomy
57:07 - Chapter 5. Canto XI: The Figure of Geryon
01:03:05 - Chapter 6. Question and Answer
Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu/courses
This course was recorded in Fall 2008.