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. 1D AGO

    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 journey ahead into Paradise. Dante complicates his ending of PURGATORIO with notes about his own dark mind and the incomplete work of this second part of his masterpiece COMEDY. At the same time, we're ready for the stars. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the final passage of PURGATORIO. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:22] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 124 - 145. 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. [03:26] Dante, ever the medieval poet, no matter how modern we try to make him. [05:28] The final address to the reader in PURGATORIO and the tricky question of the "woven bridle." [10:58] Matelda, apparently doing what she's always done . . . which only makes her character more complex. [12:49] The threat to memory, the threat to COMEDY as a whole. [15:23] Four hopeful notes that conclude PURGATORIO. [17:55] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, lines 124 - 145.

    20 min

  2. 4D AGO

    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 this innocent landscape. And it gets more curious as we discover rivers named and then renamed before we come to the most difficult naming of them all: Matelda, the fair lady who has been with us since PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII. We'll talk cosmology, geography, and even poetic rhyme sequences before we turn to the thorny question of exactly who Matelda is. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I offer you lots of answers without giving any final solution to this most enigmatic figure. Please consider underwriting this work with a one-time contribution or a small monthly stipend which you can set up at this PayPal link right here. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:26] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 103 - 123. 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. [03:25] Cosmological references that help set (and even bookend) PURGATORIO. [06:24] Stopping the procession at a dark, frigid spot (somehow in Eden!). [08:56] The Tigris and Euphrates rivers: how and why? [14:27] A beautiful rhyme sequence that encodes the fall into Eden. [17:10] Matelda: the difficult and long-standing interpretive questions about who this fair lady is. [31:06] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, lines 103 - 123.

    33 min

  3. APR 1

    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 he doesn't know what many of them mean, particularly those from her. She, on the other hand, launches into her final condemnation: the school he followed was too debased to capture the truths she has in hand. But she doesn't end there. She also promises greater clarity ahead. Thank goodness! Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work through the conclusion of her discourse and discover the ways Dante may be signaling us that the rational mind is not enough to understand theological truths. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:18] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 79 - 102. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me about this passage, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:15] Questions about brain impressions, perhaps derived from the figurae of Joachim da Fiore. [09:22] Beatrice's condemnation of the school Dante followed . . . and the questions about which school does she mean. [17:38] The question of whether Dante fully experiences Purgatory. [21:02] The hope of greater clarity ahead. [22:57] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, lines 79 - 102.

    25 min

  4. MAR 29

    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 journey across the known universe. It's not just any old pilgrimage. It's a crusade. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look at the final images of her speech and discover its larger, structural details . . . which point us directly ahead to PARADISO. Consider defraying the many costs of this podcast with a one-time donation or a small monthly stipend by using this PayPal link right here. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:11] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 61 - 78. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation about this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:03] Fun calculations to discover how long Adam (and Eve) stayed in Limbo. [07:52] Beatrice's assertions about the writing and reading of texts. [13:33] References to the river Elsa and to Pyramus. [17:10] A badly mixed metaphor that leads into questions of interiority. [21:14] Rereading all of Beatrice's final monologue in PURGATORIO: XXXIII: 31 - 78. [23:49] Four structural notes on this monologue.

    29 min

  5. MAR 25

    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 writing, and a challenge for him to become her scribe, to take notes on her lectures. This passage falls in the middle of her long monologue in the last canto of PURGATORIO and it forms the fulcrum that turns us from the apocalyptic vision to something much closer to Dante's own concerns: the craft of writing. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we tease out the difficulties in this notoriously challenging passage at the end of PURGATORIO. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:59] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 46 - 60. 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. [03:24] The obscurity as the point. [07:02] Themis and the Sphinx, early human riddles. [10:02] Dante's well-intended mistake about the Naiads. [13:41] Beatrice's theory of Dante's craft. [15:59] The classical to the Christian: the dominant move in INFERNO and PURGATORIO. [17:35] A twice-robbed tree--but how? [19:50] The tree for God's sole use. [21:58] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, lines 46 - 60.

    24 min

  6. MAR 22

    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 maybe just the church?) set right. But by whom? Or when? And is the church destroyed? Or is it going to be rehabilitated? Beatrice's vision is the capstone of PURGATORIO and prepares us for the elliptical and stylized poetry to come in PARADISO, just ahead of us. It's a test to see whether we can make it. Don't worry: We will! Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin our final walk across one of the most difficult passages in PURGATORIO. Seven hundred years of commentary hasn't come to any agreement on these lines. Why should we? To keep this podcast afloat, please consider a one-time donation or a very small monthly stipend to underwrite its many fees. You can do so at this PayPal link. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:43] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 25 - 45. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me by a comment on this episode, please find it on my website: markscarbrough.com. [04:18] A reminder: the rigid and highly stylized manner code in the Middle Ages. [08:46] Beatrice's redefinition of the terms: wakefulness rather than walking, the chariot as a vessel, the dragon as a serpent (from Eden?), and the chariot's possible, full destruction. [14:18] A translation problem: the possible sop of bread. And difficult interpretations: God's vendetta and a future heir. [18:30] Seven hundred years of commentary on the tough problem of "five hundred ten and five--God's messenger." [27:42] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, lines 25 - 45.

    30 min

  7. MAR 18

    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 passage begins the final canto of PURGATORIO, perhaps a breather before the much more difficult material that will make up the bulk of the last canto of PURGATORIO. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we walk with Beatrice, Dante, the seven ladies, the lady who tends Eden, and Statius. They're a final parade to wrap up this second canticle of COMEDY. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:26] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 1 - 24. 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. [03:31] Possibly, a simple interlude between much more difficult passages. [04:58] The Latin quotation from Psalm 78/79 that opens the final canto of PURGATORIO. [09:19] Beatrice's Latin quotation from the Gospel of John as Dante fuses Mary and Jesus into her character. [16:46] Beatrice's parade and the question of her nine steps. [21:53] Beatrice, Dante's new guide across the known universe. [26:51] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, lines 1- 24.

    29 min

  8. MAR 15

    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 rifts or cracks in its flow. In this episode, let's turn to the much thornier issue of what it all means. A consensus has developed over the seven hundred years of commentary. That reading (or interpretation) now dominates the Anglo-American, rationalist outlooks on the vision. But might there be more? And might that reading be prone to mistakes or gaffes it cannot accommodate? Join me, Mark Scarbrough, for the second of two episodes on the complicated vision of the apocalypse that ends PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII. To support this work, consider underwriting its many fees with a one-time donation or a small monthly stipend. You can do so at this PayPal link right here. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:38] Once again, my English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, lines 109 - 160. 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. [05:28] The now-standard interpretation of the vision as a sweet of Christian church history up until Dante's day and the so-called "Avignon captivity" of the papacy. [13:10] Questions and problems that arise in the standard interpretation. These may show us that the vision is more layered than a rationalist interpretation would consider. [16:28] Two external sources that may impinge on this vision: the prophecy of Daniel 7:7 and the visionary writings of the Radical Franciscans. [19:27] My reading of the vision as the collapse of good governance following the departure of the proper balance of church and state. [21:47] Two final questions: 1) Does Dante cause the collapse of the vision? And 2) should the vision be interpreted in such a rational, one-for-one way?

    25 min
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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
    488
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Mark Scarbrough
  • Show Website
    Walking With Dante

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