Shows / Walking With Dante
Walking With Dante
Ever wanted to read Dante's Divine Comedy? Come along with us! We're not lost in the scholarly weeds. (Mostly.) We're strolling through the greatest work (to date) of Western literature. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I take on this masterpiece passage by passage. I'll give you my rough English translation, show you some of the interpretive knots in the lines, let you in on the 700 years of commentary, and connect Dante's work to our modern world. The pilgrim comes awake in a dark wood, then…
Episodes
- Walking With Dante
Incarnated in the Moon: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 19 - 45
After Dante's warning to his readers (or perhaps some of his readers), we return to the plot, ascending through the heavens to arrive at the moon . . . or…
- Walking With Dante
Go Home: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 1 - 18
Our poet steps out of the shadows with an important message: "Go home."Because PARADISO is hard. Because we might get lost. Because we're not prepared.The…
- Walking With Dante
Of Natural Instincts and Their Natural Ends: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 115 - 142
Beatrice continues in her discourse about our natural instincts, making the bold claim that they can lead us to our natural ends . . . which are the good, not…
- Walking With Dante
Sailing Across the Great Sea of "To Be": PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 94 - 114
Beatrice has answered Dante's first doubt, but he has another. He can't quite understand how he, maybe in his body, can make his way across the universe.She…
- Walking With Dante
Returning Home Through the Music of the Spheres: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 61 - 93
Our pilgrim finds everything doubled in brightness . . . because he's begun to fly up to the heavens, although he doesn't know it at first.He's too busy…
- Walking With Dante
Staring at the Sun: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 37 - 60
The plot gets underway in PARADISO.Our pilgrim Dante turns to Beatrice . . . who is paying him no attention. She's staring at the sun.So he does the same! He…
- Walking With Dante
A Polyvocal Passage With All Its Dissonances: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 13 - 36
Our poet moves from his scholastic and even (medieval) scientific opening of PARADISO into his invocation . . . to Apollo?This passage has often embarrassed…
- Walking With Dante
Welcome to a Renegotiated Poem: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 1 - 12
From its opening lines, it's clear that PARADISO is not like what has come before in COMEDY. Dante seems to be renegotiating the terms of his poem…
- Walking With Dante
Final Thoughts On PURGATORIO
We've reached the end of our time on the great mountain of Purgatory . . . and in the great second canticle of COMEDY.Here are some final thoughts, an attempt…
- Walking With Dante
The Seven Addresses To The Reader In PURGATORIO
Dante, the poet, steps out of the story seven times in PURGATORIO to address his reader directly--sometimes to spur the reader on to action, sometimes to put a…
- Walking With Dante
Dante's Theories Of Writing Across INFERNO and PURGATORIO
As one of three sum-up episode to conclude our time on Mount Purgatory, this one’s about Dante’s conception of what he’s doing when he’s writing, outlined in…
- Walking With Dante
All The Hopeful Ambiguity Of The Second Canticle: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 124 - 145
We come to the end of the second canticle, of PURGATORIO . . . and it includes all the ambiguity and humanness we've come to expect, plus hopeful notes for the…
- Walking With Dante
At Long Last, Matelda: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 103 - 123
The procession continues away from Lethe and farther into the Garden of Eden until they come to a dark, frigid spot that stops them . . . a curious moment in…
- Walking With Dante
Images, Schools, Obscurities, And The Promise Of Clarity: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 79 - 102
After her final discourse in PURGATORIO, Beatrice and Dante enter into a brief conversation in which he admits he already has images stamped into his brain but…
- Walking With Dante
In Which Pilgrimage Becomes Crusade: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 61 - 78
Beatrice concludes her monologue at the end of PURGATORIO with some dazzling metaphoric pyrotechnics, a slam on Dante's intellect, and a redefinition of this…
- Walking With Dante
Take Notes, Dante: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 46 - 60
Beatrice continues her discourse at the end of PURGATORIO by offering Dante classical examples of her own obscurity, Christian resonances for the very hope of…
- Walking With Dante
Beatrice And Her Cryptic "Five Hundred Ten And Five": PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 25 - 45
As Beatrice and Dante continue to walk through Eden, she begins the final discourse that will end PURGATORIO: a cryptic, apocalyptic vision of the world (or…
- Walking With Dante
Walking With Beatrice In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 1 - 24
From tragedy to comedy, the apocalyptic vision in Canto XXXII has come to an end and Beatrice accepts Dante as her walking companion in Eden.A relatively easy…
- Walking With Dante
Apocalypse Even In Eden, Part Two: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 109 - 160
In the last episode, we talked through some of the "superficial" factors in the grand apocalyptic vision in Eden: its structure, some diction cues, even a few…
- Walking With Dante
Apocalypse Even In Eden, Part One: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 109 - 160
Dante is now ready for the final apocalyptic vision of PURGATORIO . . . and in the last place we might expect it: in that bastion of innocence and purity, the…
- Walking With Dante
A Brief Introduction To Women In The High Middle Ages
Before we continue with Beatrice (and even the young woman who tends the Garden of Eden), let's stop and talk all too briefly about the roles and available…
- Walking With Dante
Beatrice, Changed; Dante, Panicked; And The Reader, De-centered: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 70 - 108
Dante wakes back up from his unexpected sleep to find that the grand parade is heading off into the forest (or maybe the skies). He's in a panic that Beatrice…
- Walking With Dante
Asleep In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 49 - 69
The griffin pulls the chariot or cart up to the denuded tree--the "widowed" tree--and the tree regenerates into a color reminiscent of other moments in…
- Walking With Dante
Games Of Interpretation In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 28 - 48
The griffin rolls his chariot up to the foot of a denuded tree as Beatrice descends out of her ride. The symbolism (the allegories, in fact) become…
- Walking With Dante
Sound The Retreat In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 1 - 27
Face to face with Beatrice, the pilgrim Dante is ready for more revelation. Problem is, even after Lethe he's still doing things wrong and must be corrected by…
- Walking With Dante
A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, Cantos XXXII - XXXIII
As we've done across the second canticle of Dante's masterpiece, COMEDY, we're taking some time to read through the final two cantos of PURGATORIO, XXXII and…
- Walking With Dante
The Revelation Of Beatrice's Hidden, Second Beauty: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 127 - 145
We finally come to the face-to-face meeting of Beatrice and Dante. We've waited for this moment since INFERNO, Canto II, when Beatrice first stepped into…
- Walking With Dante
Beatrice And The Griffin: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 112 - 126
Dante has now crossed Lethe and is ready to face Beatrice head on. She has moved to get ready for this eye-to-eye conversation. She's positioned nearer the…
- Walking With Dante
Washed Clean In Lethe: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 91 - 111
Dante wakes up in the arms of the young woman who first welcomed him to the Garden of Eden. She's dragging him through Lethe before she forcefully pushes him…
- Walking With Dante
Dante Faints For The Third Time In COMEDY: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 64 - 90
Beatrice has finished her case against the pilgim Dante. All that's left is for him to find his way beyond confession and into confession . . . which he does…
- Walking With Dante
Absence Becomes Elevated, High-Style Presence: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 49 - 63
Beatrice continues to lead Dante toward contrition, pointing out both the purposes of her body (or corpse) and the ways he has failed to followed her lofty…
- Walking With Dante
At Long Last, Dante's Confession: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 22 - 48
Ever since INFERNO, Canto I, we've never fully understood why Dante woke up lost in that dark wood.Now, in the Garden of Eden, Beatrice brings him to the point…
- Walking With Dante
The Poet Loses His Words: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 1 - 21
Wailing, Dante comes in for Beatrice's impatience. He hasn't responded yet to her charges, so she turns the spear point of her words on him.He cracks . . . and…
- Walking With Dante
Finding The Fit For Your Talent: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 127 - 145
Beatrice finishes her first indictment of Dante by showing him the fit subject matter for his abundant talent: her and the damned.She accuses him of chasing…
- Walking With Dante
When You Don't Get The Redemption You Want: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 100 - 126
Beatrice is now fully in charge . . . so much so that she can even tell the angels in the chariot with her what they can't understand.She launches into her…
- Walking With Dante
The Ice Finally Melts: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 79 - 99
Beatrice has offered her first condemnation of Dante, just as his salve and mentor, Virgil, has left the scene. He's stuck across Lethe with the ice sheet…
- Walking With Dante
The Admiral Comes Into Her Ship: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 55 - 78
We finally hear the first words from Beatrice's mouth. (We've heard her before but as told by Virgil in INFERNO, Canto II.) She is certainly not person we…
- Walking With Dante
Farewell, Virgil: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 22 - 54
The parade of revelation has stopped and everything holds its breath for what comes next.She's veiled, behind scattered flowers. But Beatrice arrives, in the…
- Walking With Dante
Brides, Grooms, And Virgil: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 1 - 21
The grand parade of revelation has come to a stop across Lethe from our pilgrim, Virgil, and Statius. Everything seems to hold its breath: the constellations…
- Walking With Dante
The Second Coming Of Beatrice: A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, Cantos XXX - XXXI
As we have done throughout PURGATORIO, let's read through a chunk of the canticle to get the plot down so that we can then focus on the many moving parts that…
- Walking With Dante
The Conclusion (For Now) Of The Timeless Parade Of Revelation: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 121 - 154
The pilgrim has found the perfect perch to see the full scope and length of the parade of allegories at the top of the Mount Purgatory in the garden of…
- Walking With Dante
The Shocking Emptiness Of Revelation: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 106 - 120
The parade goes on to include a Roman, two-wheeled, victory chariot between the four animals. It's a brilliant moment, a chariot better than even famous Roman…
- Walking With Dante
No Time For Poetry: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 88 - 105
The parade goes on, now that the pilgrim, Dante, is in a good spot to see it.After the twenty-four lords in white come four animals with green fronds as…
- Walking With Dante
The Parade Of Revelation: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 58 - 87
The parade goes on! Our pilgrim, Dante, turns back from Virgil's amazement and finds more of the parade coming toward him . . . at least, he does so after he's…
- Walking With Dante
That Which Walks In The Forest: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 31 - 57
As the pilgrim, his poets, and the beautiful lady continue to stand beside Lethe, they see the approaching parade of the apocalypse, which is an example of…
- Walking With Dante
Let The Apocalypse Roll: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 1 - 30
Our pilgrim, Dante, and the beautiful lady across Lethe walk on for a bit before the stream bends and the pilgrim ends up facing the right way to see the first…
- Walking With Dante
The Essential Fulcrum Of COMEDY: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 134 - 148
The beautiful lady winds up her discourse with a corollary that combines both revelation and reason to offer a fulcrum to COMEDY as a whole: The classical…
- Walking With Dante
The Abundance Of The Poet's Imagination In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 109 - 133
The lady across the stream continues her answer to the pilgrim Dante's question about the breeze and the water. In this case, she explains the ecology of Eden…
- Walking With Dante
The Breeze Of The Poem's Faith: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 85 - 108
The lady in Eden says she's come to answer the pilgrim's questions. And he's got one. It just might not be the first question on our minds.But it's one that…
- Walking With Dante
The Many Contraditions In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 67 - 84
The lady in the forest has come to face the pilgrim and his poets across the stream in the forest.The pilgrim clearly feels a sexual attraction toward her, one…
- Walking With Dante
The Darkening Poetry Around The Solitary Lady: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 43 - 66
Our pilgrim, Dante, calls the solitary lady over to him. She can't cross the stream that divides them, but she can dance in place before coming closer to…
- Walking With Dante
Of Brooks, Solitary Ladies, and Layered Meanings: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 22 - 42
Our pilgrim continues walking through the old-growth forest, so dark that very little light can get into its cooling shade.He is eventually blocked by two…
- Walking With Dante
Our Pilgrim Let Loose (Again) In A Dark Wood: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 1 - 21
Our pilgrim has been set free--crowned and mitered, in fact--and can wander at will through the dense, thick wood that tops Mount Purgatory.The opening lines…
- Walking With Dante
The Top Of The Mount (Part One): A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, CANTOS XXVIII - XXIX
We've come to the top of Mount Purgatory, on the other side of the globe from Jerusalem and the closest earth ever comes to the heavens above.Our pilgrim…
- Walking With Dante
The Climax Of Virgil In COMEDY: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 124 - 142
We have come to the climax of Virgil's in COMEDY: the apex of his character, the moment when he is what he should have been all along, a poignant and fitting…
- Walking With Dante
To Refocus Virgil And COMEDY: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 109 - 123
We come to the climax of Virgil's character in the poem, the end of PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII. Let's take this dramatic and chilling scene in two episodes…
- Walking With Dante
The Third And Final Dream On Mount Purgatory: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 91 - 108
Our pilgrim has lain down on a step of the final staircase of Mount Purgatory, positioned between Statius below and Virgil above him.As he watches the large…
- Walking With Dante
The Flames Don't Burn Up Irony: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 49 - 90
Our pilgrim has entered the flames of lust. For the first time, he is not a voyeur of the torments. He experiences them on the last terrace of lust.He then…
- Walking With Dante
Of Fraud, Flames, And Love: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 19 - 48
Our pilgrim stands on the brink of the flames. Virgil has to use every rhetorical trick in his bag to get Dante to move . . . and the only thing that works in…
- Walking With Dante
The Whole World Is On Fire: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, Lines 1 - 18
Our pilgrim has come to an impasse: the flames of lust. There's no way forward except to step into them. He must finally feel the sufferings that he has…