hBjcDQfnMguRXVnjTNgM Mark Scarbrough's WALKING WITH DANTE: The Pilgrim Writes His Way Into Revelation In PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, Lines 49 - 66 - Walking With Dante

Episode 203

The Pilgrim Writes His Way Into Revelation: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, Lines 49 - 66

Published on: 27th August, 2025

We've seen the two crowds of the lustful on the seventh terrace of Mount Purgatory and we clearly identified them in the last passage (and on the last episode of this podcast).

But Dante the pilgrim didn't know who they were. He's stuck, confused. He then seeks to break out his manuscript and rule his paper to find his way into the shocking revelation that love in the body can exist in more than one form.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look at this small passage on the seventh terrace, sandwiched between the two big revelations and before the last major discussion of poetry on Mount Purgatory.

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

[01:51] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, lines 49 - 66. 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.

[04:34] Reading and interpreting through the passage for its metaphoric, rhetorical, and thematic knots.

[14:58] One question from the passage: Why is the body so crucial to this discussion?

[17:03] A second question: What about this passage brings up the mechanics of writing?

[19:29] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVI, lines 49 - 66.

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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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About your host

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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!