Inferno, Canto 17 with Dr. Valeria Forte
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- Join us as we reflect on Canto 17 of Dante's Inferno with Dr. Valeria Forte of the University of Dallas.
100 Days of Dante is brought to you by Baylor University in collaboration with the Torrey Honors College at Biola University, University of Dallas, Templeton Honors College at Eastern University, the Gonzaga-in-Florence Program and Gonzaga University, and Whitworth University, with support from the M.J. Murdock Trust. To learn more about our project, and read with us, visit 100daysofdante...
When I saw Dante's reference to Arachne in this canto, and Esolen's observation that the spider web is still an appropriate metaphor for the complexity of fraud, I was reminded of the old lines, "Oh what a tangled web we weave,/When first we practice to deceive." (Sir Walter Scott).
This was so helpful. Thank you Dr. Forte! I had never thought to make the connection between Virgil leading Dante to biblical leaders like Moses who led the Israelites through the Red Sea and to the edge of the Promised Land.
She did make a very good point. Singleton often relates Dante's journey to the journey of the Israelites.
Fantastic!! I read this part on my own last night and I was eagerly waiting for a professor to fill in the blanks of my understanding for me. Absolute home run here!
I enjoyed your summary of this canto, Dr. Forte. Virgil's role here is becoming clearer for me thanks to your explanation, and some of the intricacies of fraud and Geryon's personification of that sin are clearer now that I've heard this explanation.
Such an insightful discussion of Canto 17. Very well done. It was a pleasure to listen to it.
As Dr. Forte was speaking, I thought of a possible inconsistency in Dante's writings. Throughout the poem, it is said that they notice how Dante has a body of substance, that he is not a mere shade. As he descends down to the ring of violence, we see that only he moves the stones, not Virgil. So Virgil's body lacks substance as do the other shades in hell. However, Virgil places himself between the tail and the pilgrim for protection. How can this be protection if Virgil lacks a body that is of substance?
Just a thought, I don't think I would have noticed this were it not for Dr. Forte's excellent discussion of the canto.
I agree! Perhaps Virgil is to offer "spiritual" protection more than physical? There are also places where Virgil seems to carry Dante, yet Dante cannot embrace spirits. As it has been said: consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds ... and Dante did not have a small mind! There is also, I suppose, poetic license which allows for plot discrepancies.
Good point but it must be spiritual danger. He was facing danger, too, when he was trying to get into the City of Dis. So he can be harmed but I think it must be spiritual otherwise he would never be in danger
@@patcamerino5456 Good point, perhaps I am being too picky in my reading. The "spiritual" aspect is a good way of looking at it.
I guess looking at it "spiritually" is another perspective. Sometimes I can be a bit too literal in my analysis.
@@williamgiovinazzo8523 it is a good point on your side though
Loved this video. Brava
Eye opening connections-thank you.
I enjoyed your observations and the insights you provided.
Canto 17: A denizen of Circle Eight (Fraud), rises up to meet Dante and Virgil. Geryon is another compounded creature with the head of a charming human, paws like an animal’s, and the body of a flying serpent or dragon, equipped with a venomous tail. Indeed, an innocent face is an asset for a guardian of sins of Fraud, a betrayal of trust! While Virgil negotiates with Geryon to carry them downwards, Dante is allowed to meet with several residents of the third group of Round Three of Circle Seven, those who have sinned against Art, i.e. those who have violently misused the gifts or graces of God concerning their own creations. Finance is an art-form created by men, using talents granted to them by God. However, this art-form may be violently misused. One example, cited previously, is usury, treating money as if it were living and able to be reproduced and grown through charging interest on a loan. Dante has a brief conversation with a group of men, acting like mangy dogs, huddled over themselves, and attired only with a purse bearing the crest of the banking house with which each had been associated and had misused. Long before Leonardo invented his glider, Dante pens a magnificent descent on a flying dragon from Circle Seven into the depths of Hell. (See Canto 11 for additional comments re usury.)