Down in the eighth of the evil pouches (the malebolge) that make up the giant circle of fraud in INFERNO, Guido da Montefeltro has told the (self-justifying) tale of his life. And now comes the struggle at his death, a fight between Saint Francis and a black Cherub from hell.
Join me, Mark Scarbough, as we slow-walk through INFERNO, finishing up Guido's incredible monologue about his life and death. This passage has a few problems in it, not the least of which is the off-handed way Dante (or is it Guido?) mention the great Saint Francis.
Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:
[01:23] My English translation of INFERNO, Canto XXVII, lines 112 - 136. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this episode, please see the page on my website, walkingwithdante.com.
[03:34] The quick shift from Guido's life to his death.
[04:38] Two small problems at the front of this passage: a black Cherub and the name of the sin for this evil pouch.
[06:19] What is fraudulent counsel?
[08:03] The problem of the off-handed reference to Saint Francis.
[11:28] Conversion demands a "before" and an "after"--that is, a linear story, which Guido's is not.
[13:07] The demonic/Scholastic joke in the passage.
[13:45] One last link between Dante the pilgrim and Guido da Montefeltro.
[15:17] The journey to Minos (and maybe some meta-literary joking around, too).
[16:55] Biting yourself in rage: repetition as one of Dante's key literary devices.
[18:07] Guido's final words--and his humanity.
[21:04] Guido's eternal mutterings.
[22:37] A final textual difficulty to round out Inferno, Canto XXVII.
[25:35] A final reading of Guido's entire monologue: Inferno, Canto XXVII, lines 58 - 136.