L ' I N F E R N O

PIER DELLE VIGNE 1190? - 1249 AGE : 59?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BORN AT CAPUA IN THE PROVINCE OF CASERTA. HE WAS BORN POOR SO IS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE SPOKEN A
DIALECT. EDUCATED SPEECH.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
112
PIER DELLE VIGNE: CHANCELLOR OF THE TWO SICILIES & MINISTER TO THE EMPEROR FREDERICK II. HE RECAST THE LAWS
& WAS IN FREDERICK’S CONFIDENCE UNTIL 1247, WHEN HE WAS ACCUSED OF PLOTTING WITH POPE INNOCENT IV, WAS
BLINDED & IMPRISONED, SUBSEQUENTLY COMMITTING SUICIDE. HE WAS BORN IN POVERTY IN CAPUA. HE WAS A POET & SAID
TO HAVE COMPOSED THE FIRST ITALIAN SONNET. HE WAS COMPARED, AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POWER, TO ST PETER, HOLDING
THE KEYS OF PUNISHMENT & MERCY.
TRUNK / PIER DELLE VIGNE (VOICE):
INF C13 34-36 / DANTE INF C13 34-36 / KLINE
Da che fatto fu poi di sangue bruno, And when it had grown dark with blood, it began
ricominciò a dir: «Perché mi scerpi?» to cry out again: Perché mi scerpi?...Why do you
non hai tu spirto di pietade alcuno? splinter me? Have you no breath of pity?
INF C13 37-39 / DANTE
Uomini fummo, e or siam fatti sterpi: Uomini fummo…We were men, and we are
ben dovrebb' esser la tua man più pia, changed to trees: truly, your hand would be more
se state fossimo anime di serpi». merciful, if we were merely the souls of snakes.
INF C13 40-45 / KLINE
Just as a green branch, burning at one end, spits and hisses with escaping air at the other, so from that broken wood,
blood and words came out together: at which I let the branch fall, and stood, like a man afraid.
DANTE, HORRIFIED, RETREATS OUT OF SIGHT. VIRGIL ADDRESSES THE TRUNK./.PIER DELLE VIGNE.
VIRGIL:
INF C13 46-48 / DANTE INF C13 46-8 / KLINE
«S'elli avesse potuto creder prima», My wise sage replied: Wounded spirit,
rispuose 'l savio mio, «anima lesa, if he had only believed, before,
ciò c'ha veduto pur con la mia rima, what he had read in my verse
VIRGIL: & VIRGIL:
AENEID 3 25-29 / VIRGIL AENEID 3 25-29 / KLINE
conatus, ramis tegerem ut frondentibus aras, to decorate the altar with leafy branches, I saw
horrendum et dictu uideo mirabile monstrum. a wonder, dreadful and marvellous to tell of.
nam quae prima solo ruptis radicibus arbos From the first bush, its broken roots
uellitur, huic atro liquuntur sanguine guttae torn from the ground, drops of dark blood dripped,
et terram tabo maculant. mihi frigidus horror and stained the earth with fluid.
INF C13 49-51 / DANTE INF C13 49-51 / KLINE
non averebbe in te la man distesa; he would not have lifted his hand to you,
ma la cosa incredibile mi fece but the incredible nature of the thing
indurlo ad ovra ch'a me stesso pesa. made me urge him to do what grieves me.
VIRGIL CONTINUES AS DANTE RETURNS.
VIRGIL:
INF C13 52-54 / DANTE INF C13 52-54 / KLINE
Ma dilli chi tu fosti, sì che 'n vece But tell him who you were, so that he might
d'alcun' ammenda tua fama rinfreschi make you some amends, and renew your fame
nel mondo sù, dove tornar li lece». up in the world, to which he is allowed to return.
TRUNK./.PIER DELLE VIGNE SPEAKS AND DANTE HOLDS HIS NERVE.