Virgil The Poet Becomes Virgil The Prophet: INFERNO, Canto I, Lines 97 - 136
In a previous episode, I talked about how Dante defines Virgil as a poet, not a philosopher, and why that was important in Dante's medieval context.But there's more to Virgil than poetry. There's prophecy. Because as we'll discover, perhaps the most important part of being a poet is being a prophet, too.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we now find out why and how being a prophet is so crucial to a poet's role. We'll hear Virgil predict not only Dante's future but the future of the Italian peninsula itself.This is a tough passage, made tougher because of centuries of commentary. I'll lead you…
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