Walking With Dante

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...

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...

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 po...

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 quan...

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 w...

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 Manf...

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. T...

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...

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 t...

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...

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....

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 s...

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...

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 m...

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...

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] PURGATOR...

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...

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 ar...

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, c...

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...

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...

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,...

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 a...

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...

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?...