Walking With Dante

Beatrice has offered her first condemnation of Dante, just as his salve and mentor, Virgil, has left the scene. He's stuck across Lethe with the ice sheet encasing his heart. Even the angels surrounding Beatrice in the chariot seem dumbfounded by her vitriol and offer the pilgrim a psalm of consolation . . . which finally makes the ice that has surrounded his heart melt. He ends up wailing.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this brilliant passage about interiority from the very top of Mount Purgatorio in the Garden of Eden.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:34] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 79 - 99. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment on this episode, please find its entry on my website: markscarbrough.com.

[03:53] One textual reference in the passage: Psalm 30/31: 1 - 8.

[07:46] A second textual reference in the passage: Augustine's CONFESSIONS, Book VIII.

[09:07] One metaphoric rearrangement in the passage: Beatrice as mother and Dante as son.

[11:55] A second metaphoric rearrangement: the melting ice inside of Dante.

[19:28] Allegory as art.

[22:30] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, lines 79 - 99.

We finally hear the first words from Beatrice's mouth. (We've heard her before but as told by Virgil in INFERNO, Canto II.) She is certainly not person we expected. She's the admiral controlling her ship.

She names the pilgrim, names herself, and gets very close to blasphemy in a passage that defies our expectations, about as revelation should.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, for the moment that Beatrice takes center stage in Dante's masterwork, COMEDY.

If you'd like to help underwrite this podcast, please consider a one-time donation or a very small monthly stipend, using this PayPal link right here.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:33] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 55 - 78. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this episode, please find its entry on my website: markscarbrough.com.

[04:41] The pilgrim finally named: Dante.

[09:03] The crux dilemma of orthodoxy: purity versus human feeling.

[13:44] Beatrice's ship, plus other ships in COMEDY.

[15:29] Beatrice, the admiral.

[17:34] Dante's difficulty in naming himself.

[20:20] Beatrice, Minerva, and our (or the pilgrim's?) expectations.

[23:42] Beatrice's curious blasphemy and questions.

[27:09] Dante as a rejuvenated Narcissus.

[30:32] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, lines 55 - 78.

The parade of revelation has stopped and everything holds its breath for what comes next.

She's veiled, behind scattered flowers. But Beatrice arrives, in the place of Jesus Christ, her second coming, her advent in the victory chariot.

And as she arrives, Virgil disappears from COMEDY. (Statius, too, even if he's still standing next to the pilgrim.)

This moment is perhaps the climax of the poem as we have understood it up until now. From here on, everything changes. We have moved out of time and into a world beyond human reason. It's a cause for rejoicing but also for great sadness.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:13] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 22 - 54. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[04:14] Word choices in the passage that reflect its thematic and emotional space.

[07:04] The Vita Nuova as foundational to Beatrice's appearance.

[12:00] Beatrice's colors and the parade of revelation.

[13:39] Christological confusions with Beatrice.

[16:48] Gender confusions during her arrival.

[19:10] The pilgrim's imagined dialogue with a (mis)quote from The Aeneid.

[23:03] The sad, quiet disappearance of Virgil and the pilgrim's pronounced, loud interiority.

[29:02] The silent, almost unnoticed departure of Statius from the poem.

[31:06] The cleansing of the pilgrim as a bookend for the work of PURGATORIO.

[32:39] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, lines 22 - 54

The grand parade of revelation has come to a stop across Lethe from our pilgrim, Virgil, and Statius. Everything seems to hold its breath: the constellations stop moving, the crowd goes quiet, one voice calls out for the bride, then a hundred angels appear, calling out for the groom . . . which is surely Jesus, right?

We seem to be on the verge of a celestial marriage ceremony, the mystic union of Jesus and his church . . . except Virgil's AENEID gets the last word and darkens the scene considerably.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we stand in expectation at the top of Mount Purgatory for the arrival of . . . somebody.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:24] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 1 - 21. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me by dropping a comment on this episode, please find its entry on my website: markscarbrough.com.

[04:33] The Little Dipper, the North Star, the chariot, a griffin, and the Bible, all bound up in the longest sentence in COMEDY.

[13:59] The resurrection with a reclothed voice (that is, the stuff of poetry).

[16:38] Many angels in a very small cart.

[19:32] Quoting the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (here and in The Vita Nuova).

[21:44] Quoting the tragic prophecy about Marcellus from THE AENEID.

[24:43] Inserting Dante and Virgil into Biblical citations.

[26:59] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, lines 1 - 21.

As we have done throughout PURGATORIO, let's read through a chunk of the canticle to get the plot down so that we can then focus on the many moving parts that comprise it.

Here are cantos XXX and XXXI, in many ways the climax of the first part of COMEDY: the arrival of Beatrice, long awaited since INFERNO, Canto II.

Her arrival is like nothing we can expect. In fact, it's her second coming . . . like Christ, in judgment.

Get ready. She's not one to be toyed with!

[01:29] A read-through of PURGATORIO, Cantos XXX and XXXI.

The pilgrim has found the perfect perch to see the full scope and length of the parade of allegories at the top of the Mount Purgatory in the garden of Eden.

After the griffin and its chariot come seven merry women and seven more somber men. They are complex allegories that have inspired much debate.

More than that, they are also an atemporal moment, something outside of chronological time, the way revelation most often happens.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look more closely at the end of the (first half of the) apocalyptic parade our pilgrim witnesses from across the river Lethe.

If you'd like to help with the many costs of this podcast, please consider a very small monthly stipend or a one-time gift, using this PayPal link right here.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:13] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 121 - 154. 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.

[04:34] The three theological virtues (or colors)--which cause a rereading of previous moments in the great parade.

[09:02] The four cardinal or philosophical virtues, clothed in purple, a deep, imperial red.

[12:00] The seven men who end the parade as seen through the now standard (or consensus) interpretation: the latter books of the New Testament.

[16:06] Alternate interpretations: the allegories as a parade of revelation, rather than strictly the books of the Bible.

[20:38] The metapoetics of living, walking books.

[21:24] The temporal anomaly of the grand parade.

[24:11] Rereading the entire parade: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, lines 43 - 154.

The parade goes on to include a Roman, two-wheeled, victory chariot between the four animals. It's a brilliant moment, a chariot better than even famous Roman conquerors got, pulled by a griffin, a legendary two-natured creature . . . yet with a curious moment of emptiness right in all of the victory.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we continue deeper into the allegory of the parade of revelation at the top of Mount Purgatory.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:32] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, lines 106 - 120. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation about this passage with me, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:13] The changing nature of allegory at the top of Mount Purgatory.

[09:38] The poetics of the passage: extreme concision and more of Guido Cavalcanti's pastoral poetry.

[13:26] Roman military history in the passage: Scipio the Younger and Caesar Augustus.

[17:41] Roman (or Ovidian) mythology in the passage: Phaëthon and the sun's chariot.

[21:39] The griffin: ancient, medieval, and allegorical (but of what?).

[27:20] The great aporia: the chariot is empty!

[28:51] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, lines 106 - 120.

The parade goes on, now that the pilgrim, Dante, is in a good spot to see it.

After the twenty-four lords in white come four animals with green fronds as crowns. They are like the Cherubim in both the prophecies of Ezekiel and in the Apocalypse of St. John (or the book of Revelation).

Except not really. Or sort of. Well, the poet doesn't have time to explain. Go read the text yourself. And especially the one that doesn't quite agree with what I saw.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we find Dante's irony alive and well, even during the grand parade of divine revelation.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:20] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 88 - 105. 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.

[02:56] The naturalistic, lush landscape à la Guido Cavalcanti's pastoral poem.

[04:49] The constellations, Argus, and the peacock.

[06:35] The four "animals" from Ezekiel and the Apocalypse of St. John (or the New Testament book of Revelation).

[09:19] Allegorical interpretations of the four animals.

[11:19] "Unmoored" allegories in COMEDY: here and with the three beasts in INFERNO, Canto I.

[14:02] Dante, the Biblical text, and questions of its inerrancy.

[16:25] The direct address tot he reader, perhaps a wild bit of Dantean irony even here in the divine parade.

[21:34] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, lines 88 - 105.

The parade goes on! Our pilgrim, Dante, turns back from Virgil's amazement and finds more of the parade coming toward him . . . at least, he does so after he's reprimanded by the lady who stands across Lethe.

In this passage, the poet's craft heightens to reveal gorgeous poetry that comes from the apocalyptic tradition but far exceeds its beauty with both the Easter eggs Dante puts in the text and the ways the poetry itself enhances the wonder of the parade at hand.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work through our second passage on the parade of revelation in the Garden of Eden at the top of Mount Purgatory.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:19] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, lines 58 - 87. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this podcast episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[04:09] The tradition of apocalyptic literature and Dante's use of it.

[08:44] Biblical references in this part of the apocalyptic parade.

[13:54] Contemporary cultural references in the parade.

[16:01] Surprises: Dante's changes to Biblical imagery, his Easter eggs to his own text, and his idiosyncratic word choices.

[20:07] Possible allegorical interpretations for the twenty-four lords (or elders) and the distance of ten paces between the lights.

[25:20] The poetry of the parade: colorful brushwork and gorgeous (if incomplete) reflections in Lethe.

[28:43] More on emergent revelation.

[31:47] Rereading PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, lines 58 - 87.

As the pilgrim, his poets, and the beautiful lady continue to stand beside Lethe, they see the approaching parade of the apocalypse, which is an example of emergent revelation, the truth coming in slowly and even deceptively.

Our poet has set up a poetic space that leaves even Virgil speechless as we witness the first of the parade of multiple, open-ended meanings proliferate in the Garden of Eden.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we catch our first glimpse of Dante's answer to St. John's Apocalypse.

If you'd like to help underwrite the many fees associated with this podcast, please consider a one-time donation or a very small monthly stipend, using this PayPal link right here.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:16] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 31 - 57. 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.

[04:00] The emergent revelation of the images and sounds.

[09:00] The process of perception (and understanding).

[14:12] Multiplying meanings in the apocalyptic parade.

[20:27] The creation of space for the poetic imagery.

[23:11] The second invocation of PURGATORIO.

[26:50] The questions of poetic craft in this vision.

[28:23] Virgil in the apocalypse.

[31:10] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, lines 31 - 57.