Let The Apocalypse Roll: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 1 - 30

Our pilgrim, Dante, and the beautiful lady across Lethe walk on for a bit before the stream bends and the pilgrim ends up facing the right way to see the first flash of light that will signal the great apocalyptic parade in Eden.

The opening of PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, brings us back to the pastoral world of Guido Cavalcanti's poem before launching us into allegory, theology, morality, and even misogyny.

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Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we find ourselves at the front of the great parade in Eden.

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

[01:27] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 1 - 30. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation by dropping a comment, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[04:07] An introduction to PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX.

[06:59] The only canto in COMEDY that begins with a derivative of the word "canto."

[08:24] More references to Guido Calvalcanti's pastoral poem.

[11:44] A psalm retrofitted to become a beatitude, moving us from the classical world to divine revelation.

[14:31] The symbolism (and allegory?) of their paces and the stream's bend.

[18:00] Sight and hearing as the basis but not nearly enough, as with Guido Cavalcanti's poem.

[19:02] The lady's reaction ("brother") and the pilgrim's reaction (a lack of fear).

[21:45] The misogyny from the initial flash of light.

[28:59] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, lines 1 - 30.