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Walking With Dante

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.

The Sun Sets On The Classical Landscape: PURGATORIO, Canto VIII, Lines 85 - 108

29 mins; November 15, 2023

Misogyny Rears Its Head: PURGATORIO, Canto VIII, Lines 64 - 84

26 mins; November 12, 2023

I Saw Them, They Saw Me, So The Journey Is Real: PURGATORIO, Canto VIII, Lines 46 - 63

23 mins; November 08, 2023

The First Angels Descend From Heaven: PURGATORIO, Canto VIII, Lines 19 - 45

29 mins; November 05, 2023

Ecstatic While Longing For Home: PURGATORIO, Canto VIII, Lines 1 - 18

28 mins; November 01, 2023

The Kings Who Dodged What They Should Have Done, Part Two: PURGATORIO, Canto VII, Lines 82 - 136

31 mins; October 29, 2023

The Kings Who Dodged What They Should Have Done, Part One: PURGATORIO, Canto VII, Lines 82 - 136

27 mins; October 25, 2023

Problems In The Poetry Of The Elysian Fields: PURGATORIO, Canto VII, Lines 64 - 81

24 mins; October 22, 2023

Virgil, Sordello, And The Limits Of The Will: PURGATORIO, Canto VII, Lines 37 - 63

32 mins; October 18, 2023

Virgil Redefines Limbo And The Journey Across The Known Universe: PURGATORIO, Canto VII, Lines 16 - 36

26 mins; October 15, 2023

Virgil Returns To Center Stage: PURGATORIO, Canto VII, Lines 1 - 15

22 mins; October 11, 2023

The Rage Comes To Rest (Sort Of): PURGATORIO, Canto VI, Lines 127 - 151

27 mins; October 08, 2023

The Poet Dante Finally Loses Control: PURGATORIO, Canto VI, Lines 106 - 126

22 mins; October 04, 2023

Dante The Pilgrim Versus Dante The Poet

23 mins; October 01, 2023

You Don't Always Get The Poem You Want: PURGATORIO, Canto VI, Lines 76 - 105

27 mins; September 27, 2023

Sordello, Dante's Second Guide Across The Known Universe: PURGATORIO, Canto VI, Lines 49 - 75

29 mins; September 24, 2023

The Garbled Logic Of A Classical Poet In A Christian Poem: PURGATORIO, Canto VI, Lines 25 - 48

20 mins; September 20, 2023

Winners, Losers, And Beggars: PURGATORIO, Canto VI, Lines 1 - 24

30 mins; September 17, 2023

WALKING WITH DANTE is going on a brief hiatus!

2 mins; August 16, 2023

The Strange Brew Of Love And Disgust: PURGATORIO, Cantos VI - VIII

31 mins; August 13, 2023

"Che Son La Pia": PURGATORIO, Canto V, Lines 130 - 136

33 mins; August 09, 2023

The Struggle For A Son's Soul: PURGATORIO, Canto V, Lines 85 - 129

36 mins; August 06, 2023

The Strangely Beautiful And Poetic Death Of Jacopo Del Cassero: PURGATORIO, Canto V, Lines 64 - 84

32 mins; August 02, 2023

In A Rush For Peace: PURGATORIO, Canto V, Lines 37 - 63

32 mins; July 30, 2023

The Prisoners Of Hope: PURGATORIO, Canto V, Lines 22 - 36

20 mins; July 26, 2023

Distractions And The Demands Of Writing About Purgatory: PURGATORIO, Canto V, Lines 1 - 21

22 mins; July 23, 2023

Mobs On The Mountain: A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, Canto V

13 mins; July 19, 2023

Belacqua Redux: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, Lines 97 - 139

15 mins; July 16, 2023

Belacqua, The King Of Misdirection Through Centuries Of Reading Dante's COMEDY: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, Lines 115 - 139

29 mins; July 12, 2023

When The Going Gets Tough, Some People Just Sit Down: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, Lines 97 -114

17 mins; July 09, 2023

Astronomy = Geography = Morality: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, Lines 76 - 96

19 mins; July 05, 2023

A Geocentric Rest Stop: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, Lines 52 - 75

22 mins; July 02, 2023

The Way Up Is Always Hard: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, Lines 19 - 51

29 mins; June 28, 2023

The First "Scientific" Disquisition Is A Grand Misdirection: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, Lines 1 - 18

34 mins; June 25, 2023

The Sad (And Fictional) Story Of Manfred's Corpse: PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 121 - 145

28 mins; June 21, 2023

The First Great Penitent Of Purgatory, Manfred: PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 103 - 120

28 mins; June 18, 2023

Of Flocks, Pilgrims, And Living In The “What Is": PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 79 - 102

17 mins; June 14, 2023

Virgil, The Flattering, Witty Sage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 67 - 78

30 mins; June 10, 2023

The Chaos Of Virgil, The Pilgrim Dante, Reason, And Revelation: PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 46 - 66

16 mins; June 07, 2023

Virgil's Bitter Distress: Purgatorio, Canto III, Lines 22 - 45

27 mins; June 04, 2023

Your Body, Your Alienation: Purgatorio, Canto III, Lines 10 - 21

22 mins; May 31, 2023

Virgil, The Failure . . . Maybe: PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 1 - 9

23 mins; May 28, 2023

The Initial Climb: PURGATORIO, Cantos 3 - 4

26 mins; May 24, 2023

Part Two Of "What Is Purgatory?"

26 mins; May 21, 2023

Comparing PURGATORIO I & II With Each Other And With INFERNO I & II

26 mins; May 17, 2023

Cato's Back--Clearly Mad But A Bit Baffling As Well: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 118 - 133

32 mins; May 14, 2023

Refusing Love And Being Human: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 106 - 117

26 mins; May 10, 2023

Casella, We Love You But Hardly Know You: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 88 - 105

28 mins; May 07, 2023

Spooky Hugs: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 76 - 87

22 mins; May 03, 2023

Of Pilgrims, Pilgrimages, And Wonder: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 52 - 75

30 mins; April 30, 2023

Two Ways Of Being Dead: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 43 -51

26 mins; April 26, 2023

The First Angel Arrives In Purgatory With Lots Of Questions In Tow: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 25 - 42

29 mins; April 23, 2023

Being All Red Just When You're Supposed To Be All White: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 13 - 24

21 mins; April 19, 2023

Sunrise With Nowhere To Go: PURGATORIO, Canto II, Lines 1 - 12

24 mins; April 16, 2023

Part One Of "What Is Purgatory?"

15 mins; April 12, 2023

Lost And Found In Purgatory: PURGATORIO, Canto I, Lines 112 - 136

26 mins; April 09, 2023

Just Tell Your Story And Stay Pliant: PURGATORIO, Canto I, Lines 85 - 111

35 mins; April 05, 2023

Cato, Marcia, And The Problems They Cause: PURGATORIO, Canto I, Lines 49 - 84 (Part Two)

34 mins; April 02, 2023

Virgil Out Of His Depths--Or Maybe Out Of Dante's: PURGATORIO, Canto I, Lines 49 - 84 (Part One)

33 mins; March 29, 2023

A Lone Old Man Who Disrupts COMEDY And Changes The Rules Of The Afterlife: PURGATORIO, Canto I, Lines 28 - 48

26 mins; March 26, 2023

Laughter And Loss, The Essence Of Being Human: PURGATORIO, Canto I, Lines 13 - 27

35 mins; March 22, 2023

Of A Poet, His Hubris, And His Doubts: PURGATORIO, Canto I, Lines 1 - 12

32 mins; March 19, 2023

The Shores Of Purgatory: PURGATORIO, Cantos 1 - 2

29 mins; March 15, 2023

An Introduction To PURGATORIO

26 mins; March 12, 2023

The Podcast “Walking With Dante” Is On A Short Hiatus

1 min; February 05, 2023

What We Missed And How You Can Further Your Own Slow-Walk Across INFERNO

12 mins; February 01, 2023

INFERNO: Final Thoughts Without Firm Conclusions

25 mins; January 29, 2023

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 32 - 34

27 mins; January 25, 2023

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 29 - 31

27 mins; January 22, 2023

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 26 - 28

26 mins; January 18, 2023

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 24 - 25

21 mins; January 15, 2023

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 21 - 23

27 mins; January 11, 2023

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 18 - 20

26 mins; January 08, 2023

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 14 - 17

33 mins; January 04, 2023

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 11 - 13

27 mins; January 01, 2023

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 8 - 10

27 mins; December 28, 2022

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 4 - 7

32 mins; December 25, 2022

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 1 - 3

27 mins; December 21, 2022

Let's Walk Out To See The Stars: INFERNO, Canto XXXIV, Lines 127 - 139

15 mins; December 18, 2022

Despite All The Ribbing And Drubbing, Virgil Remains Virgil To The End: INFERNO, Canto XXXIV, Lines 94 - 126

28 mins; December 14, 2022

More About Up, Down, And Spin: INFERNO, Canto XXXIV, Lines 70 - 93

20 mins; December 11, 2022

The Way Down Is The Way Up: INFERNO, Canto XXXIV, Lines 70 - 93

34 mins; December 07, 2022

Noshing On The Worst Sinners In Hell: INFERNO, Canto XXXIV, Lines 46 - 69

42 mins; December 04, 2022

A Brief History Of Satan (Up Until Dante's Vision)

18 mins; November 30, 2022

The Three Faces Of Interpretation . . . Or Satan: INFERNO, Canto XXXIV, Lines 28 - 45

26 mins; November 27, 2022

An Overview Of The Seven Direct Addresses To The Reader In INFERNO

25 mins; November 23, 2022

Behold Satan: INFERNO, Canto XXXIV, Lines 1 - 27

35 mins; November 20, 2022

The Zombie Apocalypse: INFERNO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 118 - 157

43 mins; November 16, 2022

Virgil Returns For No Reason, Dante The Poet Slips, And More Fun On The Ice Sheet Of Cocytus: INFERNO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 91 - 117

30 mins; November 13, 2022

Of Narcissists, Purgatory, Rage, Ugolino, And Our Poet Dante: INFERNO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 1 - 90

35 mins; November 09, 2022

Count Ugolino As A Perversion And Affirmation Of The New Testament: INFERNO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 1 - 78

38 mins; November 06, 2022

Placing Count Ugolino Inside The Scope Of Dante's Hell: INFERNO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 1 - 78

50 mins; November 02, 2022

Introducing The Last Great Sinner Of Hell, Count Ugolino: INFERNO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 1 - 78

38 mins; October 30, 2022

Cannibalism And Polyphony: INFERNO, Canto XXXII, Lines 124 - 139

25 mins; October 26, 2022

Snitching To The Devil: INFERNO, Canto XXXII, Lines 103 - 123

33 mins; October 23, 2022

A Treacherous Poet On A Treacherous Ice Sheet: Inferno, Canto XXXII, Lines 70 - 102

37 mins; October 19, 2022

An Overview Of The Similes (So Far) In Dante's COMEDY

37 mins; October 16, 2022

They Make Me So Mad That I Could Just Kill My Family: Inferno, Canto XXXII, Lines 40 - 69

45 mins; October 12, 2022

Disembodied Voices In The Pastoral Landscape Of An Ice Sheet: Inferno, Canto XXXII, Lines 16 - 39

31 mins; October 09, 2022

When Hell Gets So Bad You Despair Of Your Own Craft: Inferno, Canto XXXII, Lines 1 - 15

35 mins; October 05, 2022

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Walking With Dante

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