Staring at the Sun: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 37 - 60

The 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.

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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.