The Spouter-Inn

34. Purgatorio.


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Close to the top, we reached a point from where

I saw a gate...

                          ...and I saw

the silent figure of someone on guard.

I slowly raised my eyes: I saw that he

was sitting on the highest step, his face
too splendid for my eyes—I looked away!

And in his hand he held a naked sword;

so dazzling were the rays reflected thence,
each time I tried to look I could not see.

...

Falling devoutly at his holy feet,

in mercy’s name I begged to be let in;
but, first of all, three times I smote my breast.

Then with his sword he traced upon my brow

the scars of seven P’s. “Once entered here,
be sure you cleanse away these wounds,” he said.

Dante’s Divine Comedy continues with Purgatorio , in which the poet

explores Purgatory. As he climbs this terraced mountain with his guides, he
will learn about the seven deadly sins, and talk with people who are working
through their problems. Eventually he will reach the top of the island—the
Garden of Eden—and reencounter his beloved Beatrice, who will be his guide
through the final section of the poem, Paradiso (which we’ll probably do next
year). Also, Chris and Suzanne take this opportunity to talk about
ekphrasis—the depiction of one medium of art in another medium (such as a
description of a painting).

Show Notes.

The Inferno as translated by Mark Musa

[Bookshop] or Charles
Singleton. Also available free online in Allen
Mandelbaum’s translation (with useful notes by Teodolinda
Barolini) at Digital Dante.

Our episodes on the first part of the Divine Comedy,

Inferno, and on Virgil’s epic poem, the
Aeneid.

Statius.

This article by Suzanne

begins with a medieval map of the cosmos.

Alan of Lille’s Sermon on the

Intelligible Sphere is in this collection.

Sandow Birk’s, Gustave

Doré’s, and William
Blake’s illustrations for the Divine Comedy.

A collection of other illustrations of the Commedia, including a

map of Purgatory.

Next: Eden Robinson: Monkey Beach [Sadly, not

available on Bookshop].

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, and can afford to, please consider

supporting us (and our network) on Patreon.
Thank you.

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The Spouter-InnBy Suzanne Conklin Akbari and Chris Piuma

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