hBjcDQfnMguRXVnjTNgM The Initial Climb: PURGATORIO, Cantos 3 - 4 - Walking With Dante

Episode 22

The Initial Climb: PURGATORIO, Cantos 3 - 4

Published on: 24th May, 2023

We've encountered Cato (twice!), seen souls arrive in an angel's boat, and heard Casella sing, all before everyone scatters toward Mount Purgatory.

What's next? The climb! Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we read through my English translation of cantos 3 and 4 of PURGATORIO. We'll get the story straight before we break the cantos down into smaller chunks to think through what they entail, what they mean, and what they fail to mean.

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

[01:26] Reading my English translation of PURGATORIO, Cantos 3 and 4.

[18:31] Four interpretive questions immediately raised by these cantos. First, what can we make of how parallel these cantos are?

[20:26] Second, how does Virgil's character change in these cantos?

[22:04] Third, where are we on Mount Purgatory?

[23:47] Fourth, what's the parallel (or disconnect?) between Manfred and Belacqua?

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About the Podcast

Walking With Dante
A passage-by-passage stroll through Dante’s DIVINE COMEDY with Mark Scarbrough
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.
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Mark Scarbrough

Former lit professor, current cookbook writer, creator of two podcasts, writer of thirty-five (and counting) cookbooks, author of one memoir (coming soon!), married to a chef (my cookbook co-writer, Bruce Weinstein), and with him, the owner of two collies, all in a very rural spot in New England. My life's full and I'm up for more challenges!