Inferno, Canto 2 with Dr. Anthony Nussmeier
Vložit
- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
- Join us as Dr. Anthony Nussmeier reflects on Canto 2 of the Inferno.
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.com
The fiction of the Comedy is that it isn't fiction.
Folks, if you're a simpleton like me, you might want to slow down the "play speed" for this one or listen twice. Dr Anthony appears to be on autocue and packs a lot in rather concisely, rather like Pope Benedict XVI in his writings, where every sentence counts.
I wish I could speak Italian with an accent as good as his!
Thanks. It sounds much better when I slowed it down a notch. Autoplay/off, Settings .75
Thank you for the suggestion, this is a great help.
This was really good, but challenging to a new reader.
(1) When Dr. Nussmeier near the end discusses "infernal topography" (which the captions confusingly transcribe as "infernal typography) he mentions it being a terrain "mute of all light." Searching in the translations I have at hand (Pinsky for the Inferno, Ciardi for the complete work, and Longfellow for the complete work also) I found that it is Longfellow who translates the Italian this way, in Canto V to describe the topography. "Io venni in loco d'ogne luce muto ," is translated by Longfellow as, "I came into a place mute of all light." Pinsky translates this as, "I am where all light is mute," and Ciardi translates this as "I came to a place stripped bare of every light." I'm not certain what d'ogne means in Italian (all the other Italian words are fairly obvious in their meaning). So I don't know how that word impacts on the translation, but I find I much prefer the Longfellow version.
(2) When Dr. Nussmeier is discussing Dante he mentions Dante abandoning the amorous poetry of his youth and replacing it with "donna-angelo" (which I had to look up). This is viewing a female as "woman-angel" or "lady-angel" which I gather may be a de-sexualized or perhaps de-eroticized view of the female. This reminded me of the madonna-whore views of women.
(3) Fortunately I refreshed myself a bit on the Trojan War a few days ago which helped me understand other mentions Dr. Nussmeier made. This war started over what has been called "The Judgment of Paris" in which Paris, the son of the King of Troy, participated in judging a three woman beauty contest, in which he chose Venus as the winner. She rewarded him by aiding his going to Greece, where he succeeds in eloping with Helen, wife of the King. War starts then between Greece and Troy, over Helen, and drags on for years. Aeneas survives and leads his surviving people to Italy (actually Latium). He married and unified his Trojans with Latins, founding Lavinium. It is Virgil in his Aeneid who writes of all this. Out of Lavinium, Rome arose. Rome eventually became the papal seat. Thus, Dante links classical secular Virgil with holy sacred Rome, or perhaps conjoins them. Dr. Nussmeier. succinctly refers to all this.
I enjoyed Dr. Nussmeier’s presentation very much. I hope we’ll see him again in future cantos.
Dr. Anthony Nussmeier speaks excellent Italian, although he must slow his speech down a bit. Think of being a lyricist like Sinatra. I really have enjoyed the first two canto segments.
Very worthwhile. thank you for posting.
Excellent. Very well done. A vigorous and energetic take that I enjoyed very much.
Thankyou enjoyed this video a lot.
Thank you! Excellent and helpful mini lecture. Any thoughts on this section as an example of the "refusal of the call" stage of the Hero's Journey?
Abandon all hope ye who enter here.
Ha!
Excellent; very helpful. Interesting that Dante has chosen a pagan (Virgil) to be the guide. That Dante is described as lacking courage - an unfortunate trait for someone about to enter hell - is reminiscent of those called by God who all are always depicted as unworthy or lacking in important ways, Joseph is spoiled, David is too young and wreckless and Moses is a poor communicator.
I have to turn on the caption in order to understand what he's saying. The topic seemed to jump from one canto to another. Didn't understand canto 2 ar all.
It amazes me that nobody's points out that in that in the
" Inferno " there is very little fire. Actually the place is fairly cold. And the bottom of Inferno is a big eternal slab of ice.
Spoiler alert! We're only on Canto 2
@@Jordan22220
Dante was exiled to Venice and had a hard time there. ( la si vedrà come as Di sale lo scendere è il salir per l’altrui scale). On top of all that winters in Venice can be quite blique. Cold rain mixed with snow. (Io sono al terzo cerchio, de la piova
etterna, maladetta, fredda e greve;
regola e qualità mai non l’è nova.)
È bit different than the weather in Florence.
I am sure that’s what decided him to make hell a cold place.
Will the lectures for cantos 27 and on be made visible?
:)
I assumed that the she-wolf was a symbol of pagan Rome.
In the notes to the Hollander translation, they note that early commentators “are strikingly in accord; for them the beasts signify (1) three of the seven mortal sins: lust, pride, and avarice. Modern interpreters mainly-but not entirely, as we shall see-reject this formulation.” He goes on to describe other commentators’ interpretations: envy, pride, avarice; incontinence, malice, mad brutishness; fraud, violence, incontinence. These all, of course, associate the leopard, lion, and wolf as sins. He also notes that other modern commentators associate the leopard with Dante’s Florentine enemies, the lion as the royal house of France, and the she-wolf as the forces of the papacy.
She wolf was referred to the pope and Italy who made him exile
I PREFER THE PREVIOUS PROFESSOR. HE DREW ME INTO CANTO 1