The Heroic Nella Donati: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIII, Lines 76 - 90

Dante the pilgrim and his rival/friend/fellow poet Forese Donati continue to talk about their concerns: suffering, placement on the mountain, and the role of the living in the service of the dead.

Along the way, they seem to be coming closer and closer to the Christian idea of redemptive suffering, a complex stance in the face of the nihilism that almost overwhelms the suffering in INFERNO behind us.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore these problems, plus talk about Forese's wife, Nella, and the role of the vernacular in exploring and explaining the deepest truths.

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

[01:37] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIII, Lines 76 - 90. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for the episode of the podcast on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:17] The changing notion of suffering--yes, in COMEDY, but even in this small passage.

[07:20] Accounting for time, souls, and their ascents on Mount Purgatory.

[13:32] Nella Donati and two interpretive stances toward her place in the poem: 1) correcting the record or 2) hoping for a full record of a poet's works.

[17:36] Vernacular language and its uncomfortable relationship with "higher" truths.

[24:03] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIII, lines 76 - 90.