Walking With Dante

Mark Scarbrough
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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 walks across the known universe. New episodes every Sunday and Wednesday.

  1. 2 days ago

    Piccarda Donati's Apotheosis of the Will: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 58 - 87

    Piccarda has confessed to her more humble place in the heavens. Our pilgrim Dante then wants to know if she wants more. Her answer leads her to an apotheosis of the will. Everything in the universe is in harmony; all dissonances are put aside. It also leads her to a similar spot that Francesca comes to in INFERNO V: a riff off a quotation from St. Augustine's CONFESSIONS. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as Piccarda offers her answer to a central question in COMEDY: How does the universe reconcile its differences? Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:04] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 58 - 87. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me through a dropped comment, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:35] Dante's position in this passage: (1) the pilgrim's smaller question gets a bigger, cosmological answer; and (2) the poet's desire for a greater position may lie under the pilgrim's question. [08:39] Movement in the passage: (1) from not knowing to living the best life, (2) from individuality to unity, and (3) from created to creator. [15:41] Metamorphosis in the passage: (1) their aspects, (2) Piccarda's desire, (3) their wills, and (4) possibly God's. [20:57] Piccarda's use of Latin: the sweet new style gets elevated. [23:49] Francesca and Piccarda: Augustine's students! [28:11] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto III, lines 58 - 87.

  2. 5 days ago

    The First Soul in Paradise, Piccarda Donati: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 34 - 57

    At long last, the first soul--or "shade"--steps forward in Paradise. She's Piccarda Donati, a figure we've already encountered once (maybe even twice) in COMEDY. Dante flatters her to speak and she begins, not with herself, but with some theology and thoughts on her placement in the heavens. Along the way, her speech takes on some dark spots of ambiguity, about like the moon with its rare and dense material. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin our time with the first soul in Paradise. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:04] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 34 - 57. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment on this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:12] Introducing Piccarda Donati, a nun forced to violate her vows. [09:11] Finding Piccarda Donati elsewhere in COMEDY, particularly at PURGATORIO XXIII and XXIV, in the speech of her brother, Forese, among the gluttons. [12:19] Also finding Piccarda Donati in Francesca from INFERNO V. [18:00] Finding darkness (or ambiguity) in Piccarda--moon spots, as it were. [22:51] Playing games with vows, voids, and volition (or the will). [26:37] Rereading PARADISO, Canto III, lines 34 - 87.

  3. 9 Sept

    Catching Feelings in the Sensual Sphere of the Moon: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 1 - 33

    Dante is about to meet the first souls in Paradise, emerging from the liquid light of the moon. The poetry is lush and sensuous. The metaphors are complex and compounded. And Beatrice is a bit chilly, full of Latinisms and a condescending smile. It's a marvelous banquet for the senses, here in this first sphere, where the souls seems to emerge as reflections in the diaphanous lunar realm. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we see our first redeemed souls in heaven--and discover that Paradise is not as bright or as clear as we might expect. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:13] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 1 - 33. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment on this episode to continue the conversation, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:53] The lush, even sensual poetics of the moon. [09:14] Deeper, even dark complexities within the lush poetry. [11:53] Beatrice, not an allegory, but a real woman, and an honored spokesperson for truth. [15:30] Dante as Narcissus . . . or not. [20:20] Getting stuck on the marginalia, so much so that you can't make out the text. [23:48] Truth as an approximation, not a delineation. [25:56] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 1 - 33.

  4. 6 Sept

    The Souls of the Universe: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 127 - 148

    Beatrice concludes her explanation for moon spots by veering away from them specifically to talk about the nature of the universe. Blessed movers turn the spheres. Or perhaps inhabit them. Or are bound to them. Or maybe even give them life. Her argument may veer into heresy as Dante brings his universe alive . . . maybe literally. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this dense and abstruse conclusion to Beatrice's first major discourse in PARADISO. To support this podcast, consider a one-time donation or a small monthly stipend using this PayPal link right here. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:20] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 127 - 148. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation by dropping a comment about this episode, please find its entry on my website: markscarbrough.com. [04:26] A paraphrase of this difficult passage. [06:14] Beatrice's central questions: How do the spheres of the heavens move and how do they disperse their influence? [13:03] Light as the vehicle for stellar or heavenly influence. [14:26] Heresy, angels, spheres, souls, and bodies: Is the universe at least partly alive? [20:36] Beatrice's incomplete discourse: How do some spheres have more than one nature and how are any dark spots dark? [23:08] The bigger implication: Dark and light parts of people . . . and maybe of the blessed. [24:47] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto II, lines 127 - 148.

  5. 2 Sept

    The Diversity of Being in a Universe of Light: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 106 - 126

    Beatrice now launches into the true explanation for moon spots, found not in folklore, not in natural philosophy, but in metaphysics. Her explanation pushes her to disclose the parts of the universe we could never see, then lets her discuss diversity as a function of the light falling from the stars through the planets to us. A gorgeously poetic passage, it also raises many more questions than it answers . . . . questions that will trouble PARADISO for cantos to come. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin the discovery of Dante's ultimate explanation for moon spots. They're not physical. They're metaphysical. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:45] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 106 - 126. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment on this episode to continue the conversation, find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com. [04:10] An overview of the three explanations for moon spots and of the structure of this passage. [06:27] Beatrice's metaphysical explanation for moon spots. [16:32] Dante's fully aligned (and thus broken) cosmos. [19:05] Two astrological implications from Beatrice's metaphysics. [22:41] Beatrice's metaphors in the passage. [26:37] Rereading PARADISO, Canto II, lines 106 - 126.

  6. 30 Aug

    Testing Theology With Optics: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 85 - 105

    Beatrice continues in her scientific and Scholastic explanation for moon spots by taking apart a secondary argument . . . and proposing an optical experiment. She voices an objection Dante might have: perhaps there are dense bits behind the rare bits that reflect light as darker spots because those denser bits are farther off. To prove him wrong (although he hasn't said a thing), she asks him to set up an experiment with three mirrors. Problem is, he doesn't need three mirrors for this experiment. But he does need three if he wants to show that the universe is based on a trinitarian concept of God. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look at one of the more surprising moments in PARADISO: the call for scientific experimentation (perhaps to prove a theological point). Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:13] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 85 - 105. To read along or to continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:25] The basic structure of the passage: Beatrice's secondary explanation (or objection), then her experimental refutation of that explanation. [05:29] Medieval optical theory and its limits. [08:36] The limits of Beatrice's proposed experiment--and why they may not matter since the point may be theology, not optical theory or cosmology. [17:23] Four possiblereasons this long discussion of moon spots lands here in COMEDY. [23:41] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto II, lines 85 - 105.

  7. 26 Aug

    Mixed Metaphors and the Limits of Human Senses: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 64 - 84

    Beatrice begins her destruction of Dante's explanation for moon spots by taking apart his notion of dense and rare spots on the lunar surface . . . with a dizzying display of mixed metaphors. Her argument lofts to the highest visible heaven, the eighth sphere; then falls back into scholastic reasoning; and offering both experimental and poetic rationales for why he's wrong. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the first part of Beatrice's explanation for moon spots, predicated on the bass line of the incarnation. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:20] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 64 - 84. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation about this passage, find its entry at my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:27] Paraphrasing this difficult passage in Beatrice's argument about moon spots. [04:46] Lofting the argument to the eighth heaven, the highest part of visible creation (from Dante's perspective). [08:15] Offering diversity as complexity beyond a simple continuum for an answer. [12:31] Moving into experimental (or experiential) proofs for her argument (and implicitly for an understanding of the incarnation of Jesus). [15:13] Inspiring a dizzying vertigo through mixed metaphors to state the negative of her argument. [18:41] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto II, lines 64 - 84.

  8. 23 Aug

    Of Moon Spots and Virgil: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 46 - 63

    Now that our pilgrim Dante is standing in the moon, he has a fundamental question: Why are there spots on the moon? And he thinks he knows the answer, right out of natural philosophy. They're caused by rare and dense material in the moon. He's asking a question for which he knows the answer, trying to play teacher's pet. But Beatrice is having none of it. She's ready to show him how he's not as smart as he thinks he is. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin our descent into some of the most complicated material in all of COMEDY. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:14] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 46 - 63. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com. [02:57] Two small thematic details: the uses of the word "body" and Beatrice's watery metaphor of "submerged." [06:02] Two of three explanations for moon spots in this canto: 1) the folkloric myth and 2) the natural philosophy deduction. [07:57] Folklore: Cain and his thorns in the moon. [09:21] Natural philosophy: rare and dense materials (and how they reflect light). [12:54] The distance Beatrice puts between her arguments (to come) and 1) sensory input and 2) reason . . . and thereby Virgil. [17:07] Diversity and a pluralistic world. [19:07] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto II, lines 46 - 63.

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About

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 walks across the known universe. New episodes every Sunday and Wednesday.

Information

  • Creator
    Mark Scarbrough
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    507
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Mark Scarbrough
  • Show Website
    Walking With Dante