French Poetry Doesn't Have To Condemn You: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, Lines 136 - 148

Guido Guinizzelli has pointed to another figure in the purifying flames of Purgatory's seventh terrace. And now he steps forward, one of the greatest troubadour poets, a model of high-brow poetry and a writer of the sort of lusty verses that led to Francesca's downfall.

Arnaut Daniel breaks COMEDY in some ways. He speaks in (a version of) medieval Provençal. But he also gives the final triplicate rhyme by any penitent on the mountain--and these words sum up the action of poetry.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the final words from any penitent in PURGATORIO.

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

[01:32] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, lines 136 - 148. 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.

[02:56] Lines in Provençal--that is, French poetry, the very thing that was a catalyst for Francesca's fatal choice.

[04:51] Ornate rhetoric that leads to one of the most renowned troubadour poets of the Middle Ages.

[09:02] The possibility of complex irony in Arnaut's speech.

[11:07] The final triplicate rhyme from any penitent in PURGATORIO: folly, power, sorrow.

[14:42] Refining: the action of penance.

[16:46] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, lines 136 - 148.