After all that scholastic reasoning, all that discussion of medieval astronomy and geography, all that cogitation on the soul's unity and the sun's position, Dante the pilgrim and Virgil come across a guy who's just hanging out in the shade, trying to escape the noontime heat.He may be the most famous character of PURGATORIO. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin our exploration of this negligent soul, a character who has captured the imagination of thousands of the COMEDY's readers.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:38] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, lines 97 - 114. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or continue the discussion with me about this passage, please go to my website: <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:47] The guy's first response has two curious bits: an emphasis on the "perhaps" and an address only to Dante the pilgrim, not to Virgil.[06:26] How does this passage relate to Virgil's last words: "I can't say anything else but I do know this much is true"?[09:37] The figure embodies negligence, perhaps what some medieval scholars called "inactive melancholy" or the "noontime demon."[11:20] Dante the poet is playing a tricky game since the sin of sloth was not punished in INFERNO (perhaps).[15:32] The negligent soul seems to offer both the pilgrim Dante AND the reader a way out: what's ahead is tough, so be forewarned before you go on.
Dante the pilgrim continues to rest on the first small ledge that runs around Mount Purgatory. Here, he and Virgil first discuss astronomy--or why the sun is in on his left (or "wrong") in this hemisphere. Virgil seems to end the discussion (in the last episode of this podcast) with a sneer: "If you're smart enough to figure this out."Indeed, the pilgrim is! In fact, he does Virgil one better. He summarizes the "science" far better than Virgil can. And Dante the pilgrim shifts the discussion to geography, which then Virgil oddly shifts to morality, one-upping the pilgrim to show who's really in charge.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, for this episode about a passage from PURGATORIO which is perhaps the crystallization of Dante's technique: misdirection as ultimately the way forward.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:27] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, lines 76 - 96. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:14] Dante the pilgrim restates Virgil's argument about the sun's position. Except the pilgrim changes the argument a bit.[06:41] Is there irony here? Dante the pilgrim is better able to explain the sun's position with a more straightforward restatement of the "science."[08:16] Dante the pilgrim then shifts the discussion from astronomy to geography. Virgil, then, does him one better and shifts the discussion of geography to morality.[11:21] Why does Virgil shift the discussion to moral allegory? Because of his wisdom? Or because of his limits?[13:36] Virgil is forced to admit his ignorance and so takes another drubbing in a string of them in the early cantos of PURGATORIO.[16:23] Rereading the entire sequence on the first small ledge of Mount Purgatory: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, lines 52 - 96.
Virgil and Dante the pilgrim have completed their first major, breath-taking climb on Mount Purgatory. They hang out for a bit on a ledge for a little rest. In truth, there's no rest with all these mental gymnastics!Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this passage. Dante notices that the sun is shining on the "wrong" side of him and Virgil explains (or imagines or "rationalizes") the sun's position in the southern hemisphere, based on the intricate workings of a geocentric universe.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:50] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, lines 52 - 75. If you'd like to read along, print it off, make notes, or drop a comment to me, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:53] How ironic that a passage with so many mental gymnastics is supposed to be restful![06:44] In the geocentric universe as Dante understands it, the sun's position is on an ellipse around the globe.[10:48] Virgil's explanation for the sun's position involves a complicated supposition about the sun's position later in the year, when the sun is in the constellation Gemini.[13:47] Dante's successful trek across the cosmos is in direct contrast to Phaeton's failed journey across the sky.[16:47] Let's begin a larger discussion of the Ptolemaic universe--particularly, the beginning of the cracks in that conception in the European late Middle Ages.
Virgil and Dante leave behind the sheeplike souls that include Manfred to begin their hard climb up Mount Purgatory.The initial ascent is rough on the pilgrim, climbing on his hands and knees, constantly out of breath. Why do we assume the bad is always easy and the good is always hard? And if the ascent is so hard, what's in it for Virgil?Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore these moral quandaries and more in this passage about the first ascent in PURGATORIO.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:18] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, lines 19 - 51. If you'd like to print it off, read along, or continue the conversation with me, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:44] How do we know all the souls around Manfred are more of the excommunicated? May some of them be other stragglers? What assumptions does Dante force us to make? And why?[06:44] Two misdirections in this passage: 1) the pastoral imagery after the scholastic mental gymnastics and 2) a long passage of plot after a passage in which the plot had come to a dead halt.[09:40] Rustic imagery is some of the residue of the troubadour traditions Dante has inherited.[12:06] The widening geographical references may indicate Dante's understanding of his widening readership.[17:17] Virgil becomes Dante's cheerleader. But what's in it for Virgil?[20:48] Why is the good always hard and the bad always easy?[23:56] Desire is the key to the passage--and to the climb itself.[26:47] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, lines 19 - 51.
Manfred's monologue has ended with some shocking conclusions: the excommunicated can indeed end up in heaven, a person can indeed repent at the last second, and the prayers of the living do have an effect on the fate of those in the redeemed part of the afterlife.But Dante is not done shocking us. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we discover that the moral of Manfred's tale isn't what we thought it was. Wasn't it about the fate of a late-repentant soul? Nope. It was about the unity of the human soul.This is the first "scientific" disquisition in PURGATORIO. It sets us up for the complications ahead, causing us to realize that even our notion of "plot" was not strictly correct.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:49] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, lines 1 - 18. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment on this episode, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:42] The "scientific" debate among Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and Dante on the unity of the soul: the debate's historical roots and its importance for Christian theology.[18:43] Why does this "scientific" disquisition appear as the opening of PURGATORIO, Canto IV? 1) Because plot is not just action; it is also the development of the intellect. And 2) because Dante the poet surprises us with an alternate conclusion to the ones we might have drawn from Manfred's monologue.[24:20] Why does PURGATORIO contain so many passages about time? To show us it is a terrestrial, human landscape.[29:00] Wandering humans in congregation can find the way (although the church does have some power, if not final agency).[31:32] Rereading this passage: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, lines 1 - 18.
Manfred continues his shocking speech, giving us the details of his body after his death--thereby continuing the theme of the body in PURGATORIO, Canto III; and thereby giving Dante the poet plenty of room for his imagination to run wild.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we learn what happened to Manfred's body after his death at the hands of the French forces at Benevento--and what can happen to Manfred's soul if the living get busy and focus on his trials at the bottom of Purgatory.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:46] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 121 - 145. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or continue the conversation, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[04:04] Manfred is humbled and admits (vaguely) that the rumors about him may be true.[06:35] What is the "aspect" of God that the church leaders have misread?[08:31] What is the historical record of Manfred's death?[10:37] Why would Dante the poet make up so much of Manfred's story, particularly the story of his body after his death at the hands of the French forces at Benevento?[14:50] Why "thirtyfold"?[17:03] What is the role of the living in terms of the dead? Two answers to this question.[22:08] A structural look at PURGATORIO, Canto III.[25:10] Rereading the entire Manfred sequence: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 103 - 145.
Dante our pilgrim and his guide, Virgil, have come across a flock of sheep-like souls at the very bottom rung of Mount Purgatory. They've fallen in with them, going in front, when one of these humbled souls steps out and gives the first great monologue of PURGATORIO.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we encounter Manfred, the self-proclaimed King of Sicily and Emperor Frederick II's illegitimate son. This passage is strange and unexpected, about as strange for Dante's audience as the appearance of Cato was for us.We'll only cover the first "half" of Manfred's speech in this episode. Here are its segments:[02:22] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 103 - 120. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment to continue the conversation, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[04:14] Who is Manfred?[09:14] Who is the Empress Constance? And who is Manfred's daughter, mentioned in the passage?[10:50] The big surprise is that Manfred is not in hell![13:12] What is the pilgrim Dante's reaction to Manfred? Why would Manfred (dead in 1266 CE) expect Dante to recognize him?[17:27] Why does Manfred smile?[19:49] Why are Manfred's wounds still visible?[24:40] A structure analysis of the middle part of PURGATORIO, Canto III.
Dante and Virgil have come across a group of souls who are hanging back against the cliff's steep rise. They're like shepherd-less sheep--which may indeed be the secret to living a life of the "quia," the "what is”—yet also the heart of Virgil's despair.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore one of the most famous similes in PURGATORIO and find out how the pilgrim Dante and his guide navigate a new way to be: in congregation, reacting and moving, without truly knowing why.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:36] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 79 - 102. If you'd like to read along, print it off to make notes, or drop a comment about this episode, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com.">markscarbrough.com.</a>[03:29] A famous pastoral simile from PURGATORIO, a similie that shows us a humble flock without a distinct shepherd.[06:04] The flock lives in the "quia," the "what is," without a full understanding of the "why"--which is exactly the stance that Virgil exhorted humans to take and that left him in such despair earlier in Canto III.[10:41] Virgil seems to be trying out a similar spell to one he often used in INFERNO.[12:36] The flocks seems to accept Dante and Virgil as their leaders.[15:28] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 79 - 102.
In this episode from Purgatorio, Canto III, we might not see Virgil in his best light. He appears to frighten some souls on the bottom ledge. Then he overplays his hand with flattery. And he ends with a truly bizarre aphorism.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look at some of the interpretive problems in this passage, then turn to think about how characters are built in medieval literature and how they are built in modern literature. The differences may help us get our heads around how strange Virgil's character is becoming in PURGATORIO. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:50] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 67 - 78. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or even leave a comment about this episode, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:01] Why do the penitent souls hesitate, seemingly in fear, though perhaps just in doubt?[06:52] Virgil sets in with some (possibly overstated) flattery.[08:31] Virgil ends his flattery with a banal and almost incomprehensible aphorism.[12:02] Modern vs. medieval characters: the question of the necessity of a backstory.[15:20] Modern vs. medieval characters: the rhythms of ambient personality texture.[18:28] Modern vs. medieval characters: the importance of causality.[19:37] Medieval characters are built with allegorical intent.[22:44] Medieval characters are built through established "topoi" (that is, plot tropes, usually with a moral intent).[26:47] Rereading the entire sequence: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 46 - 78.
Virgil loses the way. Dante finds it. Virgil tries to figure it out. Dante uses the language of revelation. All to make sure Virgil can be the guide again, even when he's clueless about Purgatory.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we watch the irony deepen in this passage from PURGATORIO, Canto III. Dante the poet is playing a wicked game with his characters. And we have to walk slowly to see it.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[02:16] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 46 -66. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment about this episode, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[04:17] The pilgrim Dante and his guide, Virgil, have apparently been walking all along beside incredibly rough terrain--which seems to bring out Virgil's sarcastic streak.[06:55] The clear difference: Virgil looks down; Dante looks up.[07:41] Dante sees human souls on the left. Many commentators believe Virgil and Dante are still following a hellish (leftward) direction.[10:16] Dante uses the language of revelation (after Virgil's discussion of the limits of human reason).[12:05] Virgil gets back on familiar ground as the guide because of Dante's revelation. Who's really the guide here?
Dante the pilgrim has been shocked by his shadow, the only one against the rock. Is he alone? No, Virgil's there, still his comfort.Or is he? Virgil sets into an explanation for why bodies cast shadows, then gets lost in his own sorrow in one of the most astounding speeches in all of COMEDY.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we tease out the implications for Virgil's rich but very disconcerting reply.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[02:07] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 22 - 45. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or leave a comment about this episode, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[04:52] The story of Virgil's death and burial--and thus, of his body, which he lacks.[07:43] Virgil's bitterness: I'm star stuff but damned; I've got divine reason but I can't figure out the workings of the universe.[12:57] Virgil's address to all of humanity: a final riddle that seems to negate the incarnation while also celebrating it at the same time.[19:00] The rhymes in this passage further develop our understanding of Virgil's character.[21:18] Can Virgil be a comfort for Dante?[25:06] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 22 - 45.
Virgil has scurried off, apparently ashamed or somehow guilty (the damned can be guilty?) because of Cato's reprimand.Now it's Dante's turn. As Virgil slows up, Dante first notices the giant mountain beside them--and then sees his own shadow and balks in fear.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I explore this implications of this dramatic and complicated passage in PURGATORIO, Canto III.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:23] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 10 - 21. If you'd like to read along, print them off, or drop a comment, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:35] Virgil's frenzied pace reverses a moment in Limbo and echoes a moment in Inferno, Circle Seven, Ring Three: the running homosexuals.[06:34] Dante the pilgrim has had no moment when he have seen any shadows--until now.[08:32] Discovery leads to fear: the familiar emotional progression of COMEDY so far, and one that much now begin to change.[11:56] Dante's first great neologism (new word) in PURGATORIO: the mountain "unlakes itself."[14:20] Corporeality is a double-edged problem: the source of the soul's safety and the cause of its alienation.[19:38] Rereading our passages in PURGATORIO from the beginning of Canto III: lines 1 - 21.
Cato has given his stern reprimand and everyone has scattered for Mount Purgatory. Even Virgil. He's on the run, ashamed.But why should Virgil be ashamed? What's he done? And what would it matter if he did do something wrong?Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work through these complicated questions that COMEDY never fully answers. Dante the poet, instead, offers us emotional compensations for the logical flaws in his plot. Are those compensations enough?Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:37] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, lines 1 - 9. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website: <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:02] The fiction and strategy of COMEDY is to pretend the poem has neither.[07:11] The divisions between the cantos in PURGATORIO become more permeable--and in some interesting ways both mute and foreground the pilgrim, Dante.[10:12] The pilgrim Dante's place in COMEDY is changing.[11:42] Why is Virgil so upset? How did he fail? What does it matter if he failed?[14:43] Dante the poet "fixes" the problem of Virgil's shame with a plea for compassion. Is that a true "fix"?
We've encountered Cato (twice!), seen souls arrive in an angel's boat, and heard Casella sing, all before everyone scatters toward Mount Purgatory.What's next? The climb! Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we read through my English translation of cantos 3 and 4 of PURGATORIO. We'll get the story straight before we break the cantos down into smaller chunks to think through what they entail, what they mean, and what they fail to mean.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:26] Reading my English translation of PURGATORIO, Cantos 3 and 4.[18:31] Four interpretive questions immediately raised by these cantos. First, what can we make of how parallel these cantos are?[20:26] Second, how does Virgil's character change in these cantos?[22:04] Third, where are we on Mount Purgatory?[23:47] Fourth, what's the parallel (or disconnect?) between Manfred and Belacqua?
In this interpolated episode of the podcast WALKING WITH DANTE, let's look at some Biblical passages that may pertain to Purgatory. Medieval theologians used these verses to codify, justify, and elaborate on the brand-new doctrine.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I look at these five texts to find the rationales behind this new doctrine, brought into church theology formally only a few decades before Dante wrote COMEDY (and not fully codified into church doctrine until long after Dante's death). We can truthfully say that Dante's imagination is one of the most competent architects of Purgatory itself.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[02:30] Psalm 49: 13 - 15 and the problem of Sheol (or perhaps "the pit" or "the grave") and its increasingly complex geography over the course of its conception.[05:42] II Maccabees 12: 39 - 45 and the notion that the living can indeed do something to aid the dead, even idolators.[10:39] The Gospel Of Luke 16: 19 - 26 and the question of where exactly the poor man Lazarus goes when he dies and heads off to find comfort near Abraham.[16:47] I Corinthians 3: 11 - 15 and St Paul's notion that in the resurrection, even the redeemed will judged by fire.[20:11] Philippians 2: 9 - 11 and the strange, slightly baffling tripartite division of the afterlife.
This interpolated episode of WALKING WITH DANTE takes on a structural analysis of the first two cantos of PURGATORIO--as well as our first vertical reading of COMEDY, comparing INFERNO I and II with PURGATORIO I and II.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin to see the incredible architecture of Dante's masterwork COMEDY.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:47] PURGATORIO, Cantos I and II are bracketed by appearances of Cato.[03:20] PURGATORIO, Canto I is Virgil's; Canto II is Dante's.[04:26] The first two cantos of PURGATORIO open with astronomical/astrological references.[06:02] PURGATORIO gets increasingly crowded over its first two cantos.[08:25] PURGATORIO's first two cantos are full of hesitations.[11:11] Let's turn to the question of a "vertical" interpretation of INFERNO I & II and PURGATORIO I & II.[13:53] In INFERNO I, Virgil appears; in PURGATORIO I, Cato appears.[16:55] Both INFERNO's and PURGATORIO's openings include a descent.[19:19] The run rises in first parts of the two canticles.[20:33] In INFERNO II and PURGATORIO II, we get glimpses of Paradise.[21:35] For INFERNO I & II and PURGATORIO I & II, there's a chiasmus: Dante - Virgil in INFERNO; Virgil - Dante in PURGATORIO.[22:40] In INFERNO I & II, the way is clear; in PURGATORIO I & II, it's not.
The souls off the angel's boat, Dante, and Virgil have all been enjoying a nice song on the shores of Purgatory. It's so refreshing, so pastoral . . . until Cato reappears.His return brings up a host of problems for the end of PURGATORIO, Canto II. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I offer you lots of interpretive possibilities without coming to any firm conclusions . . . because that's the way we'll have the most interpretive fun with the poem.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:46] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 118 - 133. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website: <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:11] More about the ways humans can refuse love (according to Dante).[05:48] The on-going dove "program" in COMEDY--comparing INFERNO, Canto V, with PURGATORIO, Canto II.[09:54] CONVIVIO's song ends unnaturally and COMEDY's plot lurches back in motion, having been halted for a long while.[12:42] Five ways to interpret the reappearance of Cato in PURGATORIO, Canto II.[13:54] One, a reprimand to Dante the poet for abandoning Beatrice for a love of philosophy.[18:53] Two, a reprimand merely to the souls off the boat, not to Dante.[21:06] Three, a reference to Moses, the tablets of the law, and the golden calf.[23:01] Four, a reprimand about delay to both the souls off the boat and to Dante the poet.[26:02] Five, a ham-handed way to get the plot moving again.[29:59] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 118 - 133.
Dante has heard Casella's weird story about hanging around back in the land of the living for three months--and not even being able to cross to Purgatory before that.But Dante the pilgrim wants more. He wants comfort. And he gets it. With his own poetry.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we talk about love, about the ways we resist it, and the ways our resistance may show us at our most human.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:37] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 106 - 117. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website: <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:30] The "new law": a possible reference back to Cato's appearance.[06:23] The "new law": a possible reference to Pope Boniface VIII's Jubilee Year of 1300.[11:16] Dante, refreshment, and the origins of the doctrine of Purgatory.[14:36] Casella's song, Dante's poetry, and the sheer relief of being human.[24:18] A rereading of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 106 - 117.
We've come to the heart of the second story sequence in PURGATORIO, Canto II. Here, Dante tries to hug one of the souls off the angels boat and discovers an old friend, Casella.Casella has some surprising news about souls, their journey to the afterlife, and his own hesitations. All from a soul we hardly know.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look at some of the interpretive knots in this early, crucial episode in PURGATORIO.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:24] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 88 - 105. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website: <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:15] Who is Casella? Some source evidence, some information from the early commentators, and the problems with all of that.[08:09] Dating problems in the passage. When did Casella die? How long did he wander around the land of the living?[12:03] More dating problems in the passage: Pope Boniface VIII's Jubilee Year of 1300 and its plenary indulgences.[12:57] The ghost story in the passage.[17:50] Love: the great thematic of PURGATORIO, a part of Dante's historical moment.[21:53] Why is this passage so murky? Some tentative speculations.[26:25] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 88 - 105
Dante has certainly been able to interact with all sorts of souls in INFERNO. But now things seem to be changing. He meets a soul on the shore of Purgatory that he can't touch--or even hug.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this short passage from PURGATORIO to begin a long discussion about the changing nature of the body-soul problem in Dante's COMEDY.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:31] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 76 - 87. If you'd like to print it off, read along, or drop a comment, please find this passage on my website: <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[02:53] Three human moments in the passage to show we're a long way from INFERNO: brotherly affection, a smile, and redemptive wonder.[06:14] The importance of the human voice, even in the afterlife.[07:45] Virgil's masterwork, THE AENEID: still with us, even in PURGATORIO, this far down the road.[10:36] The body/soul problem: corporeality, animation, rationality, and incarnation.[20:58] Rereading this passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 76 - 87.
We begin the second sequence in PURGATORIO, Canto II, with the souls who've been summarily dumped out of the boat onto the shores of the mountain-island. Where should they go? What should they do? They look to Virgil and Dante for answers--who are both clueless as well.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we talk about pilgrims, pilgrimages, hesitancy, and the road to a new life in this gorgeous passage from Dante's PURGATORIO, the second third of COMEDY.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:05] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 52 - 75. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website: <a href="markscarbrough.com.">markscarbrough.com.</a>[03:22] The first souls in Purgatory are not categorized in any way, reminiscent of the souls who throw themselves into Charon's boat.[09:07] The second sequence in PURGATORIO, Canto II starts with hesitation, as does the first sequence--but perhaps with a difference. What if hesitancy is the right start toward a new life?[12:45] Virgil uses the word "pilgrims" for the first time in the poem. Does that mean INFERNO was not part of Dante's pilgrimage?[16:33] Is Virgil a pilgrim? Can he be?[21:01] There have been three references to wonder or marvels here and in the previous two cantos, all the way back to INFERNO, Canto XXXIV. Is there a progression here?[24:18] What news does Dante the pilgrim bring to the shores of Purgatory?[28:02] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 52 - 75.
We've come to the end of the angel sequence in PURGATORIO, Canto II. The souls arrive on the shores of Purgatory singing a psalm that is unique in the medieval liturgy and that points to important pieces of Dante's developing theology.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this short passage from PURGATORIO, talking about some of its INFERNO references, talking about a garbled line in the text, and reading closely the psalm the souls are singing.Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[00:48] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 43 - 51. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website: <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[02:00] INFERNO references in the passage: to Charon and (of course!) Ulysses.[04:44] A garbled line in the passage and a possible explanation for the textual problems here and ahead.[08:50] A close reading of the psalm the souls are singing as they arrive at Purgatory.[19:49] A question about the psalm's musicality in medieval liturgy: one of the only known examples of the "tonus peregrinus."[22:37] Rereading the entire angel sequence: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 13 - 51.
We knew a bright light was approaching fast--but now we find our that it's our first angel in Purgatory, standing at the helm of a ship, following the path Ulysses once took to get here.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the implications of our first angel sighting in PURGATORIO. It's a moment of heavenly triumph. Or would be, were it not for all the questions the angel brings in tow.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:21] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 25 - 42. If you'd like to read along, print off my translation, or drop a comment, please go to my website, <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[03:28] Four infernal characters underneath this passage: first, Phlegyas.[06:31] Second, Charon.[07:42] Third, Ulysses.[09:14] Finally, Francesca.[11:12] Why are there so many references to INFERNO in the opening two cantos of PURGATORIO? I've got five possible answers.[17:04] Virgil's position is complicated in this passage. How does he recognize the angel before Dante the pilgrim? And why doesn't Virgil bow down to the angel?[23:38] Heaven has "officials" because it's a bureaucracy with eternal records.[26:48] What happens when the truth is too bright?
The pilgrim Dante and his guide, Virgil, may not know where to go next, but their answer may be arriving more quickly than they could imagine. Something incredibly white is approaching--and revealing both the poet Dante's and the pilgrim Dante's slightly disingenuous tone.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look for the arrival of the first angel in PURGATORIO.Here are the segments for this episode of the podcast WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:09] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 13 - 24. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website: <a href="markscarbrough.com.">markscarbrough.com.</a>[02:33] Interpreting Mars in the passage: 1) as opposed to Venus in Canto I, 2) as red v. white, and 3) by a passage from Dante's unfinished work, CONVIVIO.[10:41] "The sea's western edge": another reference to Ulysses (INFERNO XXVI: 29).[12:08] The appearance of Dante the poet in the passage. Is there a hint of a disingenuous moment?[13:57] Not a flight of folly but a flight of light.[14:37] The pilgrim's humanity--once again.[15:40] Modern notions of perspective and the quality of light.[16:49] Trinitarian whiteness v. a disingenuous pilgrim.[19:42] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 13 - 24.
The sun's coming up. The sky is turning orange. And night is dropping the scales of Libra. Could it get better? Well, yes, the pilgrim Dante and his guide, Virgil, could have a clue about what to do next.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look at the opening prologue passage for Canto II of PURGATORIO. It's a moment of gorgeous poetry with no forward momentum. In the redeemed part of the afterlife? Apparently so.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:17] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 1 - 12. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website: <a href="markscarbrough.com">markscarbrough.com</a>.[02:27] My confession: too much talk about what's ahead in COMEDY--although such talk may be inevitable.[05:13] PURGATORIO, Canto II is a mirror image of INFERNO, Canto II.[06:35] The terrestrial/astronomical opening of PURGATORIO, Canto II.[11:30] The zodiac skyscape is alive![14:33] The globe flips twice in the passage.[15:18] Hesitancy is the primary thematic of PURGATORIO, Canto II--which may mean Virgil is not the best guide for Purgatory.[18:14] What is this hesitancy? How can we interpret it? Metapoetics? Human motives? A mistake that's not a sin?[22:36] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 1 - 12.
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