THE SILENCE OF GERYON (INFERNO, XVI-XVII)

This paper analyses a particularly elusive episode of Dante's Commedia, namely the address to the reader which introduces Geryon, the guardian of 'Malebolge' (Inferno XVI, 124-36). By examining the figurative and conceptual sources that could have contributed to the construction of Geryon's hybrid body, the author will argue that the address should be interpreted as the section of the poem where the distinctive quality of Dante's poetry finds its stronger definition, i.e. the relation between 'letter' and 'truth' does not produce a traditional allegorical representation, rather the transmission of concepts in form of images that are immediately true.