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Jorge Luis Borges, “Inferno, V, 129” (1981)

December 14, 2021 By Harrison Betz, FSU '25

jorge-luis-borges-inferno-author-photograph

Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges makes reference to the characters of Paolo and Francesca. The full text of the poem appears as follows:

Dejan caer el libro, porque ya saben
que son las personas del libro.
(Lo serán de otro, el máximo,
pero eso qué puede importarles.)
Ahora son Paolo y Francesca,
no dos amigos que comparten
el sabor de una fábula.
Se miran con incrédula maravilla.
Las manos no se tocan.
Han descubierto el único tesoro;
han encontrado al otro.
No traicionan a Malatesta,
porque la traición requiere un tercero
y sólo existen ellos dos en el mundo.
Son Paolo y Francesca
y también la reina y su amante
y todos los amantes que han sido
desde aquel Adán y su Eva
en el pasto del Paraíso.
Un libro, un sueño les revela
que son formas de un sueño que fue soñado
en tierras de Bretaña.
Otro libro hará que los hombres,
sueños también, los sueñen.
A translated version of this same poem may be found here.
Borges made plenty of references to Dante in his writings, some of which have been posted on our site before. See other Borges citings here and here.
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Categories: Written Word
Tagged with: 1981, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Inferno, Paolo and Francesca, Poetry, Spanish

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How to Cite

Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.

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