Deceivers Deceived: Devilish Doubletalk

Today’s Misrepresentations and Doubletalk Study of the Day is:

“Deceivers Deceived: Devilish Doubletalk in Inferno 21-23,” Christopher Kleinhenz, Quaderni Dilaliamstica, vol. 10. nos. 1-2. 1989. The author, at the University of Wisconsin, explains:

“In the course of their journey downward through the eighth circle of Hell, through the series of ten concentric ditches (bolge) which form the Malebolge, Dante the Pilgrim and his guide Virgil complete their observation of the diviners and move toward the bridge over the fifth bolgia, talking of matters that are not pertinent to the poem. The opening verses of canto 21 of the Inferno announce in their flowing, casual — one might even say, lighthearted — scene that is to come…”