Walking With Dante

Three Big Bad Giants With Not Much At Stake Except The Nature Of Comedy Itself: Inferno, Canto XXXI, Lines 82 - 111


Listen Later

We've walked by one giant, Nimrod, a mighty hunter, with his horn (like Roland). But there are more. Three, at least. Ephialtes, Briareus, and Antaeus. Figures out of classical literature who sit at the bottom of hell and pose more theological questions than we can imagine.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we continue on into Inferno's Canto XXXI, a liminal space where all bets are off. Even theological ones. And especially literary ones.

Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:35] My English translation of this passage: INFERNO, Canto XXXI, lines 82 - 111. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment, please go out to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:53] The insistence on turning to the left--except twice when we've turned to the right.

[06:07] The curious insistence on measurable distances in lower hell.

[09:26] Three giants ahead. First up, Ephialtes.

[13:52] Jove? He threatened Jove? Why not God?

[14:14] Next up, Briareus.

[16:48] Finally, Antaeus.

[18:43] The theological riddle in this passage: Antaeus' position in hell. Was he just made bad?

[22:08] Virgil and The Aeneid: back to rewriting it.

[24:36] Shaking Ephialtes for reasons that are not clear, except he's still a tower.

[27:16] The question of the stakes in Canto XXXI.

[29:12] Liminal spaces and the question of authority.

[30:37] Rereading INFERNO, Canto XXXI, lines 82 - 111.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Walking With DanteBy Mark Scarbrough

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

159 ratings


More shows like Walking With Dante

View all
The New Yorker: Fiction by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker: Fiction

3,358 Listeners

The New Yorker: Poetry by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker: Poetry

504 Listeners

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture by Bishop Robert Barron

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

5,736 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,506 Listeners

The Thomistic Institute by The Thomistic Institute

The Thomistic Institute

768 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,812 Listeners

Literature and History by Doug Metzger

Literature and History

1,423 Listeners

The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker by The New Yorker

The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker

2,149 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,617 Listeners

The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg by The Dispatch

The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

6,583 Listeners

Inside The Vatican by America Media

Inside The Vatican

409 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

3,237 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

14,662 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,081 Listeners

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart by Comedy Central

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

10,892 Listeners