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. 32m ago

    Justice Permits No Excuses: PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 64 - 90

    Beatrice now takes on the pilgrim's second . . . doubt? It had been questions. Now it sounds as if it's more. Doubts. Here, she launches into a discussion of free will that ultimately implicates Piccarda and Constance in their own failures, even though they were forced against their wills out of the convents. Beatrice offers a hard, troubling rationale for their lower status in the pursuit of what she sees as the higher good: the sanctity of free will. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this provocative passage, one of the few moments in which Dante refuses to move his fences. If you'd like to help underwrite the many fees associated with this podcast, please consider a donation or a small monthly stipend using this PayPal link right here. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:01] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 64 - 90. If you'd like to read along or continue the discussion with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:31] The less venomous doubt, perhaps because it takes place fully inside Christian theology. [08:59] Laying the blame on Piccarda and Constance. [13:04] Aristotle's concept of the involuntary will and the voluntary will; Aquinas' concept of the absolute will and the conditional will. [19:53] Examples of a firm will: the Christian St. Lawrence and the pagan Mucius. [24:47] Three implications: the punishment/reward matrix from INFERNO and PURGATORIO continuing into PARADISO, the possible self-editing of PARADISO, and the failure to move the established fence. [30:33] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto IV, lines 64 - 90.

  2. 3d ago

    Plato and Beatrice, Together At Last: PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 49 - 63

    Beatrice continues her rectification of Dante's doubts by using a passage from Plato's TIMAEUS to turn her argument from accommodation to free will. This passage contains perhaps the heart of Beatrice's second grand discourse in PARADISO. But even so, it's a tad garbled as it attempts to answer Plato while giving his works full authority. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we continue our way toward the grand climax of free will in the next passage from PARADISO. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:25] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 49 - 63. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:14] Summarizing the sense and intricacies of the passage: Plato's understanding of the origins and fate of human souls. [10:05] Dante's reluctance to charge Plato's work with error, since ancient texts are forming an important matrix of authority. [15:35] The garbled conclusion about naming the stars (or planets) Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars. [22:34] Full-throated medieval feminism: Beatrice reads Plato! [25:00] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto IV, lines 49 - 63.

  3. Oct 4

    Seeing Is (Almost) Believing: PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 28 - 48

    Beatrice begins to take apart the two questions (or doubts) that she has intuited the pilgrim Dante is holding in silence. She first takes on the one with more "poison" in this passage, in which she reveals that the souls in the moon aren't really in the moon but appear here as an accommodation to the pilgrim's limited understanding, based on sensory data. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin our journey through the Beatrice's second major discourse in PARADISO. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:33] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 28 - 48. If you'd like to read along or continue the discussion, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:51] Dante's frustration of even anger may be connected to the accommodating nature of revelation. [07:09] Beatrice reveals the status of souls in the highest heaven . . . and in the moon at the same time. [20:18] Possible irony: Beatrice argues from her observation while telling the pilgrim Dante that he shouldn't trust his powers of observation. [23:04] Does the poet intend any irony in this passage? [26:36] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto IV, lines 28 - 48.

  4. Sep 30

    Paralyzed by Free Will: PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 1 - 27

    Piccarda may have vanished but questions remain. The pilgrim Dante is caught between them, unable to voice them. Beatrice to the rescue! She voices what he cannot say . . . or perhaps what he is afraid to say. She articulates his two questions, makes one of them very personal, and attempts to mitigate the anger of King Nebuchadnezzar . . . or maybe the pilgrim's anger. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the fascinating opening to the fourth canto of PARADISO. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:01] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto IV, lines 1 - 27. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment to continue the conversation, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:24] PURGATORIO Canto XVIII as the background for PARADISO Cantos IV and V. [06:27] The multivalent, triplicate, opening simile--a man, a lamb, and a dog; hunger, fear, hunger--which embellishes a simile from PARADISO Canto III. [12:51] Beatrice : Daniel :: Nebuchadnezzar : Dante? [15:09] Beatrice's two intuited doubts from the pilgrim: the souls' origins and destinations, as well as the problem of coercion and the will. [20:01] The Latin in the text, the veil of the will. [22:22] The canto's opening simile again: paralysis, perhaps between women, certainly because of desire, hardly a hymn to rational free will. [26:14] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto IV, lines 1 - 27.

  5. Sep 23

    The Expanding Community of Women in the Moon: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 109 - 130

    Piccarda Donati doesn’t stop her monologue with the cryptic line about her life after the convent. She turns to another figure in the lunar landscape: Constance I of Sicily, the Holy Roman Empress and mother of Frederick II, the stupor mundi. Piccarda offers Constance a parallel life to her own. The problem is, Piccarda’s account doesn’t match the historical record. But maybe Dante has other fish to fry. Maybe he’s more interested in Constance’s son, the Holy Roman Emperor that many are insistent on calling “the anti-Christ.” Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work through the final lines of Canto III, the shortest canto of PARADISO. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:22] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 109 - 130. If you’d like to read along or drop a comment about this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:02] Linguistic and poetic details at the end of Canto III: shades, dark spots in redemption, Narcissus, line rhythms, and a seal in the wax. [10:24] Constance I of Sicily, the mother of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the grandmother of Manfred (PURGATORIO, Canto III). [14:17] Parallels with the Donati family in COMEDY and a possible rehabilitation for Frederick II. [17:17] The sphere of the moon, a community of women (only women?) [20:10] When they vanish, where do they go? [21:36] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto III, lines 109 - 130.

  6. Sep 20

    The Violent yet Elliptical End to Piccarda Donati's Story: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 88 - 108

    Piccarda Donati finally answers the question about who she is. She's given her name but not much else about her. In twelve lines (or four tercets) she brings her personal story to its violent yet elliptical conclusion. Before that the poet has to explain what he's learned, the pilgrim has to express what his time with her has felt like, and then she gets to take center stage . . . and not fully answer the question. Piccarda Donati is one of the strongest feminist characters in COMEDY. Her voice is an essential part of the puzzle that includes Francesca from INFERNO and Pia from PURGATORIO. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the conclusion to Piccarda's story. If you'd like to help underwrite the many fees associated with this podcast, you can make a donation or even offer a small monthly stipend through this PayPal link right here. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:12] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 88 - 108. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:13] Unity is expressed in diversity (at least as far as grace goes). [06:15] A Latin word in the pasage--for one-upmanship or to elevate the sweet new style? [08:32] The mixed metaphoric space of the pilgrim Dante and Piccarda Donati. [12:38] The monastic prelude to Piccarda's personal story. [18:56] The violent yet elliptical end of her story. [25:45] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto III, lines 88 - 108.

  7. Sep 16

    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.

  8. Sep 13

    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.

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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
    513
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Mark Scarbrough
  • Show Website
    Walking With Dante

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