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Dante, the poet, steps out of the story seven times in PURGATORIO to address his reader directly--sometimes to spur the reader on to action, sometimes to put a bridle on the reader's intentions or thoughts. If we trace these seven addresses, can we find a developmental pattern? Or uncover Dante's changing attitude toward his work? Or toward his reader? Can we see a growing frustration or even fear about what lies ahead in COMEDY? Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work our way through these seven call-outs to find ways to summarize the greater work and ingenuity of PURGATORIO. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:31] PURGATORIO, Canto VIII, Lines 19 - 21. [05:23] PURGATORIO, Canto IX, Lines 70 - 72. [08:00] PURGATORIO, Canto X, Lines 106 - 111. [11:55] PURGATORIO, Canto XVII, Lines 1 - 9. [15:39] PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 97 - 105. [19:20] PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 124 - 126. [22:22] PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 136 - 138.

As one of three sum-up episode to conclude our time on Mount Purgatory, this one’s about Dante’s conception of what he’s doing when he’s writing, outlined in nine selected passages from INFERNO and PURGATORIO. We’ve moved far enough into the poem that we can see the ways the poet has changed, hedged, and developed his theories of how and why he’s writing COMEDY. Given that one of my theses is that COMEDY is a poem in process, we can then trace some sort of developmental curve in Dante’s thinking about what he’s doing as a poet. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work through Dante's possible theories on his own craft. If you'd like to help underwrite this work, consider a one-time donation or a small monthly stipend using this PayPal link right here. Here are the nine selected passages for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:21] INFERNO, Canto III, lines 1 - 12 [05:02] INFERNO, Canto XV, lines 88 - 96a. [09:42] PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 106 - 114. [13:01] PURGATORIO, Canto VIII, lines 70 - 72. [15:36] PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, lines 49 - 60. [19:24] PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, lines 97 - 102. [22:05] PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, lines 52 - 57. [24:53] PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, lines 76 - 78. [27:33] PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, lines 139 - 141.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Dante is now ready for the final apocalyptic vision of PURGATORIO . . . and in the last place we might expect it: in that bastion of innocence and purity, the Garden of Eden. In seven vignettes, Dante witnesses some chaotic and catastrophic collapse of the chariot and even one of the original trees of Eden. But all is not lost. Beatrice is on the scene. And Dante himself participates in this vision, seemingly instigating a new ending to what had become a disaster. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, for the first of two episodes on the grand apocalypse of Eden in PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII. To support this work, please consider a small monthly stipend or a one-time gift to help cover the many fees associated with this podcast. You can donate at this PayPal link right here. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:37] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 109 - 180. 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] Thoughts on the almost surreal strangeness of the vision as it moves from the natural world to the monstrous. [08:59] The structure of the vision: seven vignettes--five in six-line segments; the first and last scenes, longer. [18:34] Echoes in the vision to other moments in COMEDY: eagles, a vixen, dragons, a prostitute, and giants. [23:12] Biblical echoes from the Apocalypse of St. John at the end of Dante's vision. [25:03] Two outside actors who enter the vision and fundamentally change it.

Before we continue with Beatrice (and even the young woman who tends the Garden of Eden), let's stop and talk all too briefly about the roles and available places for women in Dante's day, the high middle ages. Although we can't hope to cover this subject in depth, we might be able to see some of its reflections in COMEDY so far, as well as in the complex and even contradictory characterization of Beatrice in COMEDY. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we take an all too quick side quest into the question of women in the high middle ages. To help support this podcast by underwriting its many fees, please consider a small monthly stipend or a one-time donation using this PayPal link right here. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:40] The largest grouping of women in COMEDY does not bode well for Dante . . . except a women who lies ahead of us. [06:01] The various roles and positions women could hold in the middle ages, at least according to a tract/book written in Dante's lifetime. [09:48] The damning problem: Women cannot be citizens. [13:31] The church's role in the growing restrictions on women . . . and the ways they subverted those religious restrictions. [17:50] Beatrice's role v. the Virgin's growing veneration.

Dante wakes back up from his unexpected sleep to find that the grand parade is heading off into the forest (or maybe the skies). He's in a panic that Beatrice has left, too, although the young woman of Eden comforts him and shows her now humble place under the renewed tree. Meanwhile, we readers are equally panicked . . . or at least de-centered, as we try to make sense of complicated similes and oblique symbolic meanings. COMEDY is getting more complex by the line. It's a game of interpretation we've been preparing to play since INFERNO, Canto I. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look at the passage just before the giant apocalyptic vision of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII. To underwrite the many fees for this work, 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: [01:21] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 70 - 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. [04:53] Four (or maybe five) interwoven Biblical references in the opening twelve lines of this passage (or the opening four tercets). [13:25] The interweaving of textuality to de-center the reader by pushing meaning further into mystery. [15:52] Dante's awakening to panic and then obeisance. [19:43] The complex meaning of Beatrice's changed position under the tree. [25:10] Dante's Roman hopes for heaven. [26:47] A flourish of the medieval high rhetorical style at the end of the passage. [28:53] Writing as awakening and return. [31:23] Rereading this passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, lines 70 - 108.

The griffin pulls the chariot or cart up to the denuded tree--the "widowed" tree--and the tree regenerates into a color reminiscent of other moments in PURGATORIO. But which one exactly? We're descending into the murk of mystery with new songs that can't be defined, with allegories that are becoming increasingly opaque, and even with classical references that seem somehow out of place in the overall arch of the glorious parade. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin to approach the strange and incomprehensible mysteries that lie at the end of the second canticle of COMEDY. To support this work, 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: [01:24] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 49 - 69. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me with a comment on this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:32] A correction perhaps: "Adam" may have been a murmured reassessment of the misogyny in the text. [04:55] The pole, the chariot, and the tree: complicated translation problems. [07:15] The pole as the cross or perhaps the ties of good human governance. [11:49] The changing seasons as the tree regenerates. [13:26] The ambiguous symbolism of purple. [15:41] The unknown new song, a further mystery in the passage. [18:48] A tense and perhaps off-pitch reference to Ovid. [22:27] A knock against representative art before the apocalyptic vision just ahead. [24:18] Rereading the text: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, lines 49 - 69.

The griffin rolls his chariot up to the foot of a denuded tree as Beatrice descends out of her ride. The symbolism (the allegories, in fact) become increasingly murky, difficult to parse, especially when the griffin says his one and only line in COMEDY. Dante's Garden of Eden is a place where the games of interpretation kick into high gear. Nothing is what it seems . . . yet what it is is a matter of much debate. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work through this increasingly complex passage on our way to the final apocalyptic vision of PURGATORIO. To help support this work with a one-time donation or a very small on-going stipend, please consider using this PayPal link right here. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:04] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 28 - 48. 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. [03:04] Statius, both physically and thematically in the passage. [05:55] Adam and Eve, with notes toward the theological fall of mankind. [09:19] The stripped tree in the Garden of Eden . . . but which tree? [14:49] The griffin, becoming a more difficult allegory with his one and only line in COMEDY. [21:06] Beatrice and her (complex) descent from the chariot/cart. [25:57] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, lines 28 - 48.