THE CANTO OF VIOLENCE. READING «INFERNO» 12

Abstract

The essay offers a reading of Inferno 12, in which Dante’s poetic tools are highlighted, aiming to build a landscape both realistic and full of moral significance. The relationship between Dante and Virgil is set as a pedagogical relationship but also as a comparison between the Christian poet and classical culture. It is a Canto that is marked by the guardians. Among the sinners there are great personalities of ancient and contemporary history, but Dante does name just some violent characters of the past and the present. The Centaurs are more important than the damned in the Canto. By placing the violent in a marginal position, Dante manifests his contempt for those sinners. Tyrants, killers and highwaymen are guilty of the evil that infests medieval cities. Inferno 12 can also be interpreted as a denunciation of the violence of the present.

Keywords: Inferno, violence, Centaurs, tyrants, Minotaur, Dante, rationality.