INFERNO, Episode 8. An Interpolated Episode: A Look Back At Inferno, Canto I, And A Look Around The Entire Poem

Here’s a chance to see Canto I in its trajectory, strangeness, and interpretive knottiness.

I offer a bit about the shape of the plot and the mechanics of the poetry. I want you to see how the language lies (even if we’re reading the poem in English). I want to get away from the fragments of the canto and take it as a big gulp of poetry.

I also want to fill you in on some of the poetics of the COMEDY. This may seem technical, but it helps you understand how COMEDY is put together. Mostly, it helps you understand the epic task the poet Dante set for himself. He created a new poetic form, standardized a Tuscan dialect, wrote in an unbelievably complicated system of rhythm and rhyme, AND (not yet but soon) began to make up words because there were none to fit what he wanted to say.