Podcast
Walking With Dante
Hosted by Mark Scarbrough · EN
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.
32episodes
Episodes
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Of Natural Instincts and Their Natural Ends: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 115 - 142
2d ago00:23:39Tap to summarizeBeatrice continues in her discourse about our natural instincts, making the bold claim that they can lead us to our natural ends . . . which are the good, not the catastrophic bad.Her Scholastic theology is tinted with poetic metaphors in a bold move to explain how the arrow, once shot, can deviate from its preordained track.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, for the conclusion of Beatrice's first major discourse in PARADISO.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:39] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 115 - 142. To read along or continue the conversation about this passage, please find the entry for this podcast episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.[03:50] Paraphrasing Beatrice's discourse on instinct, order, and ends.[06:41] Keeping the instinct to a predetermined end fuzzy.[09:29] Highlighting Beatrice's poetics in two metaphors: archery and art.[14:43] Swerving with the lightning.[16:02] Drawing further conclusions from Beatrice's first major discourse in PARADISO.[21:05] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto I, lines 115 - 142.
Transcribe →Sailing Across The Great Sea of "To Be": PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 94 - 114
5d ago00:25:40Tap to summarizeBeatrice has answered Dante's first doubt, but he has another. He can't quite understand how he, maybe in his body, can make his way across the universe.She doesn't have a quick answer. Instead, she has a theory of how the whole universe works.Her answers are always bigger than his questions.And in this case, she brings him out onto the great sea of "to be" as he begins to sail into port.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the first part of her great schematic for the universe: its diverse order is a reflection of its unified creator.If you'd like 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:[01:14] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 94 - 114. 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] Dante's agitation, Beatrice's smile.[10:00] His implicit question: my body v. all the heavenly bodies.[13:25] The first part of her answer about the orderliness of creation.[20:10] Order and disorder: Dante's and our dualities.[23:43] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto I, lines 94 - 114.
Transcribe →Returning Home Through The Music Of The Spheres: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 61 - 93
1w ago00:37:11Tap to summarizeOur pilgrim finds everything doubled in brightness . . . because he's begun to fly up to the heavens, although he doesn't know it at first.He's too busy figuring out all that light . . . and listening to the music of the spheres.But Beatrice is there to set him straight and tell him that his ascent is faster than he could ever understand.She also redefines "home"--not the Italian peninsula, nor the Garden of Eden, but the highest heaven, where they're headed in this journey to the final vision.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin our flight among the planets and stars to head home.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[00:49] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 61 - 93. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment to continue the conversation, please find this episode's entry on my website, markscarbrough.com.[03:34] Glaucus, the fisherman who becomes a sea-god.[05:01] Glossing lines 61 - 72: the changing light and pilgrim.[10:14] Glossing lines 73 - 75: the mind/body problem.[13:19] Glossing lines 76 - 84: the sempiternal music of the spheres.[18:55] Glossing lines 85 - 93: Beatrice's answer to an unasked question.[21:00] How a guy transhumans--and how this guy translates some hard lines.[28:06] There is always more light.[30:06] Wonder and awe are not ends in themselves.[32:03] Life is an on-going redefinition of "home."[34:30] Rereading PARADISO, Canto I, lines 61 - 93.
Transcribe →Staring at the Sun: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 37 - 60
2w ago00:36:28Tap to summarizeThe plot gets underway in PARADISO.Our pilgrim Dante turns to Beatrice . . . who is paying him no attention. She's staring at the sun.So he does the same! He hasn't even left earth, yet the miraculous nature of his story is already in high gear.As is his understanding of the universe ahead of him. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we experience Beatrice's return to the poem and the pilgrim's new mode of reflecting her glory.If you'd like to help underwrite this work, please 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:[01:19] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 37 - 60. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me through a comment on this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com.[03:23] In PARADISO plot comes second.[06:06] Where are we? Cosmology and geography in the first three tercets.[12:26] Dante explains the vernal equinox by the geocentric crossings of various circles around the globe.[16:16] PARADISO is based on locations that its readers can observe in real time.[19:18] Beatrice returns to the poem and manifests her ray of light.[26:07] The pilgrim wishes to return home--but where is that?[28:21] PARADISO excels at unanswered questions.[30:24] The sparks fly from the sun . . . or from the sphere of fire.[34:00] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto I, lines 37 - 60.
Transcribe →A Polyvocal Passage With All Its Dissonances: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 13 - 36
2w ago00:41:41Tap to summarizeOur poet moves from his scholastic and even (medieval) scientific opening of PARADISO into his invocation . . . to Apollo?This passage has often embarrassed Dante scholars who feel the need to excuse various pieces of it.But we can let those pieces stand as part of the polyvocality of the text.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we move back and forth from the Christian to the pagan as we walk through this second part of Dante's opening lines of PARADISO.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:11] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 13 - 36. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me via a comment on this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com.[03:09] This passage embarrasses too many Dante scholars.[09:14] This passage is polyvocal, a two-part fugue or invention.[17:59] These two voices lead to dissonances in the passage.[23:36] Did Dante intend these dissonances?[25:20] Three small dissonances: Dante crowns himself, fights in an arena, and find his worth in two places at once.[28:32] Marsyas, a comedic tragedy.[32:01] The flame of the tongue, Pentecost, or maybe Ulysses.[34:48] A high-toned, perhaps red-flag reference to Cyrrha.[35:55] An inaccurate but telling reference to Parnassus.[39:07] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto I, lines 13 - 36.
Transcribe →Welcome to a Renegotiated Poem: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 1 - 12
3w ago00:37:13Tap to summarizeFrom its opening lines, it's clear that PARADISO is not like what has come before in COMEDY. Dante seems to be renegotiating the terms of his poem, establishing a new voice, a new model, and a new methodology for who he will proceed.These opening lines are already packed with the sort of theological and philosophical stumbling blocks that make PARADISO a challenge, not just for a modern reader, but even for a medieval one.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we slowly walk throug the first twelve lines of what is assuredly the most imaginative canticle, PARADISO.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[02:42] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto I, lines 1 - 12. If you'd like to read along, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.[03:56] The glory of the unmoved mover.[09:39] The varying illuminations of the universe.[13:27] The finite geography of heaven.[15:54] A passing glance at the highest heaven.[17:34] Dante and St. Paul, renegotiated.[19:25] The interrelations of desire, intellect, memory, and potentially Beatrice.[22:23] The memory of a memory--or knowing by not knowing, the core of the aphophatic revelation.[29:37] The key paradox of the mystical experience: the cross-currents of the material and the immaterial.[33:02] The resurrection of Brunetto Latini.[35:25] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 1 - 12.
Transcribe →WALKING WITH DANTE is coming back to start PARADISO on 26 July!
4w ago00:03:29Tap to summarizeWe're about to start our flight among (and even through!) the stars on WALKING WITH DANTE. We've been on hiatus for several weeks, but we'll be back with Dante and stepping off into the insurmountable wilds of PARADISO on 26 July 2026. I hope you're ready for the most mind-blowing part of the incredible poem, COMEDY. See you soon!
Transcribe →An Update About Starting PARADISO soon
May 2800:02:37Tap to summarizeHere's just a brief episode about where I am and how the podcast will start again in about six weeks. Hang tight and we'll be walking . . . no, actually flying through the spheres of PARADISO in a few weeks.Until then, gird up your loins. PARADISO is not for those weak in spirit . . . or leggings.
Transcribe →Walking With Dante is going on a short hiatus
Apr 3000:03:00Tap to summarizeHey there. We're going to pause our slow-walk for a couple of months as I get out from under chemotherapy. We've come to the end of PURGATORIO and it also seems natural that we rest a little before the big ascent ahead in PARADISO. Look for more announcements here, but let's plan on being back on our walk (or what will become our flight) in mid-summer. See you then!
Transcribe →Final Thoughts On PURGATORIO
Apr 2600:19:30Tap to summarizeWe've reached the end of our time on the great mountain of Purgatory . . . and in the great second canticle of COMEDY.Here are some final thoughts, an attempt to bring our time with this part of the poem to a close.Dante has worked hard to make PURGATORIO the hinge of his entire poem. Let's explore some ways it reflects back on INFERNO and looks ahead to PARADISO.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:01] PURGATORIO is an inversion of INFERNO.[02:54] PURGATORIO is most human part of COMEDY.[04:34] PURGATORIO is a rehearsal of the structure of the New Testament.[07:29] PURGATORIO is a meta-commentary on the writing of INFERNO.[09:45] PURGATORIO is the end of one sort of poem and the beginning of another.[10:35] PURGATORIO ends with two unique creations by Dante.[12:01] Where do the souls go when they are lifted out of Limbo?[13:46] Why does PURGATORIO end with the virtue of purity?[15:48] Is the will truly the necessary, sufficient, and final cause of a soul's purgation?
Transcribe →