Walking With Dante

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

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rage knows no bounds--even in a poem as controlled as Dante's COMEDY. The poet has been offering up an invective about Italian strife and the war-torn...

Dante The Pilgrim Versus Dante The Poet

01 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've danced around the notion of Dante as the pilgrim and Dante as the poet and their competing voices in COMEDY for so many episodes--quite literall...

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

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Please consider supporting this work in WALKING WITH DANTE by donating to help me cover hosting, streaming, website, and licensing fees for this podca...

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

24 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Help support WALKING WITH DANTE by donating to cover hosting, licensing, streaming, and podcast fees at the PayPal link here.Virgil has come in for a ...

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

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Help support WALKING WITH DANTE by covering the hosting, editing, and licensing fees. You can donate through PayPal here.The pilgrim Dante and Virgil ...

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

17 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Help support WALKING WITH DANTE to keep it sponsor-free. Click here for a PayPal link to donate and help me cover licensing, hosting, streaming, and r...

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

13 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE, we'll read the three cantos that lead us up to the gate of Purgatory itself.These are tough cantos! It's import...

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

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante the pilgrim has heard two dramatic speeches from characters whose deaths were full of Sturm und Drang. Now, a quiet, lone voice comes forward to...

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

06 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We come to the second monologue in PURGATORIO, Canto V. This time, we're on the other side of the battle of Campeldino with one of Dante's enemies. An...

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

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The frenzied souls had spoken in unison, in monophony. Now they begin to differentiate, to enter into polyphony with each other.Join me, Mark Scarbrou...

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

30 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The pilgrim Dante and his guide, Virgil, have passed beyond the lazy souls and on to a group that's in a frenzy: running, calling out, speaking in one...

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

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We come to a second scene, certainly sequential, almost contemporaneous with the previous scene among Belacqua's cohorts.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as ...

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

23 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante the pilgrim has had his last words with Belacqua and begins his journey on up the mountain. Or at least, laterally along the mountain of Purgato...

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

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've reached the end of the first narrative arc of PURGATORIO. Dante the poet brings the first five cantos to a close with a very quiet, almost distu...

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

16 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've talked about Belcqua as a parodic, ironic, or comedic figure in PURGATORIO. But is there a way to interpret his character as more straightforwar...

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

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Belacqua has been the subject of hundreds of commentaries over centuries as readers have grappled with who this figure is and what purpose he serves i...

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

09 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After all that scholastic reasoning, all that discussion of medieval astronomy and geography, all that cogitation on the soul's unity and the sun's po...

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

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante the pilgrim continues to rest on the first small ledge that runs around Mount Purgatory. Here, he and Virgil first discuss astronomy--or why the...

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

02 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Virgil and Dante the pilgrim have completed their first major, breath-taking climb on Mount Purgatory. They hang out for a bit on a ledge for a little...

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

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Virgil and Dante leave behind the sheeplike souls that include Manfred to begin their hard climb up Mount Purgatory.The initial ascent is rough on the...

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

25 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Manfred's monologue has ended with some shocking conclusions: the excommunicated can indeed end up in heaven, a person can indeed repent at the last s...

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

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Manfred continues his shocking speech, giving us the details of his body after his death--thereby continuing the theme of the body in PURGATORIO, Cant...

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

18 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante our pilgrim and his guide, Virgil, have come across a flock of sheep-like souls at the very bottom rung of Mount Purgatory. They've fallen in wi...

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

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante and Virgil have come across a group of souls who are hanging back against the cliff's steep rise. They're like shepherd-less sheep--which may in...

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

10 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode from Purgatorio, Canto III, we might not see Virgil in his best light. He appears to frighten some souls on the bottom ledge. Then he ...

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

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Virgil loses the way. Dante finds it. Virgil tries to figure it out. Dante uses the language of revelation. All to make sure Virgil can be the guide a...

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

04 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante the pilgrim has been shocked by his shadow, the only one against the rock. Is he alone? No, Virgil's there, still his comfort.Or is he? Virgil s...

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

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Virgil has scurried off, apparently ashamed or somehow guilty (the damned can be guilty?) because of Cato's reprimand.Now it's Dante's turn. As Virgil...

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

28 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cato has given his stern reprimand and everyone has scattered for Mount Purgatory. Even Virgil. He's on the run, ashamed.But why should Virgil be asha...

The Initial Climb: PURGATORIO, Cantos 3 - 4

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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

Part Two Of "What Is Purgatory?"

21 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this interpolated episode of the podcast WALKING WITH DANTE, let's look at some Biblical passages that may pertain to Purgatory. Medieval theologia...

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

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This interpolated episode of WALKING WITH DANTE takes on a structural analysis of the first two cantos of PURGATORIO--as well as our first vertical re...

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

14 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The souls off the angel's boat, Dante, and Virgil have all been enjoying a nice song on the shores of Purgatory. It's so refreshing, so pastoral . . ....

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

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante has heard Casella's weird story about hanging around back in the land of the living for three months--and not even being able to cross to Purgat...

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

07 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've come to the heart of the second story sequence in PURGATORIO, Canto II. Here, Dante tries to hug one of the souls off the angels boat and discov...

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

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante has certainly been able to interact with all sorts of souls in INFERNO. But now things seem to be changing. He meets a soul on the shore of Purg...

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

30 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We begin the second sequence in PURGATORIO, Canto II, with the souls who've been summarily dumped out of the boat onto the shores of the mountain-isla...

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

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've come to the end of the angel sequence in PURGATORIO, Canto II. The souls arrive on the shores of Purgatory singing a psalm that is unique in the...

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

23 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We knew a bright light was approaching fast--but now we find our that it's our first angel in Purgatory, standing at the helm of a ship, following the...

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

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The pilgrim Dante and his guide, Virgil, may not know where to go next, but their answer may be arriving more quickly than they could imagine. Somethi...

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

16 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The sun's coming up. The sky is turning orange. And night is dropping the scales of Libra. Could it get better? Well, yes, the pilgrim Dante and his g...

Part One Of "What Is Purgatory?"

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

At the end of PURGATORIO, Canto I, l'd like to stop and start a larger discussion of what Purgatory is. It may surprise you to learn that it's fairly ...

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

09 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We come to the end of PURGATORIO, Canto I. Cato has disappeared. Virgil and Dante wander around (despite being told exactly what to do). And Dante the...

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

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Virgil has replied to Cato--and now it's Cato's turn to answer back. This time, Cato doesn't seem so threatening. He seems more willing to help Virgil...

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

02 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our second episode on this tough passage. Here, we focus on Cato and Marcia, two big problems in the text. Why and how is Cato redeemed? Or is he? And...

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

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We have come to one of the strangest moments so far in COMEDY: the moment we recognize the lone old man is in fact the Roman pagan Stoic suicide Cato....

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

26 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As Dante the pilgrim gazes at the gorgeous sky, he finds an old man standing next to him, a figure who will startle us (if not the pilgrim) and who wi...

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

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dante the poet leads us in a slow turn toward Dante the pilgrim, his "fictional" alter ego, who is looking up at the heavens--that is, at Venus, at fo...

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

19 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

These are the opening lines of PURGATORIO, in whcih we start, not with the Dante the pilgrim (as we did in INFERNO), but with Dante the poet, who puts...

The Shores Of Purgatory: PURGATORIO, Cantos 1 - 2

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As I told you in the previous episode of this podcast, we're taking PURGATORIO in chunks, rather than small bits. Or more like, first chunks, then sma...

An Introduction To PURGATORIO

12 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Support WALKING WITH DANTE to keep it sponsor-free by donating what you can via this PayPal link here.Welcome back! We've been on hiatus for a bit, af...

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

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We have come to the end of our slow-walk across Dante's INFERNO, the first third (or so) of his masterpiece, COMEDY. But there are admittedly things w...

INFERNO: Final Thoughts Without Firm Conclusions

29 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've come to the end of our slow-walk through INFERNO, the first third of Dante's masterpiece, COMEDY.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, for some final though...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 32 - 34

25 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We finish off INFERNO in my English translation, which you can find on my website: markscarbrough.com.But I hope you don't go there. I hope you sit ba...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 29 - 31

22 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we fast-walk (!) through Dante's INFERNO, the first third (or so) of his masterpiece, COMEDY (or "The Divine Comedy," as ...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 26 - 28

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're continuing to read through my English translation of INFERNO--which you can find on my website: markscarbough.com.But I hope you don't. I hope y...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 24 - 25

15 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're continuing on our journey, which has become a read-through of INFERNO. Having walked the first third (or so) of Dante's COMEDY passage by passag...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 21 - 23

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we celebrate the conclusion of our slow-walk through INFERNO, the first third of Dante's masterpiece, COMEDY, by reading ...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 18 - 20

08 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're continuing to read INFERNO for what it truly is: a glorious plot, the story of a guy who wakes up lost and walks across the known universe.Join ...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 14 - 17

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've finished our slow-walk through INFERNO, passage by passage, bit by bit, allusion by allusion, across over two hundred episodes of WALKING WITH D...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 11 - 13

01 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We have finished our slow-walk through the first canticle of Dante's masterwork, COMEDY. And we're celebrating by reading the cantos straight through ...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 8 - 10

28 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're continuing our read-through of Dante's INFERNO, the first canticle of COMEDY, as we conclude our long study of this first third (or so) of Dante...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 4 - 7

25 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've finished our walk across INFERNO, passage by passage, interpretive knot by interpretive knot. It's now time to see Dante's INFERNO for what it i...

Reading INFERNO, Cantos 1 - 3

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're not ready to finish our walk across hell. Instead, there's one more thing to do: hear the walk for what it is. A story. A narrative through-line...

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

18 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Can you believe we got here? The final lines of the first canticle of Dante's masterwork, COMEDY.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we climb out of hell to ...

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

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've come beyond Satan and are standing in a giant, empty, baronial hall, waiting to get out of hell.But not before our pilgrim, Dante, gets some ans...

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

11 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There's much more to be said about this problem of up, down, and spin after Dante the pilgim and Virgil pass the center of the earth.Join me, Mark Sca...

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

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've seen it all. Now we just have to get out. And to do that, we have to make a big turnaround on Virgil's shoulders. Right at Satan's butt.Join me,...

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

04 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've come to our last moments in hell. Here, our pilgrim Dante sees the three worst sinners in human history: Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius.Wai...

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

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dante the pilgrim has seen the final vision of INFERNO: Satan, looked in the ice sheet of Cocytus. Perhaps it's wise to step back and think about wher...

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

27 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're about to get a good look at Satan, closer and closer, until we can see the color of his faces. Yes, faces. Three of them. Some trinitarian perve...

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

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is an interpolated one in the podcast WALKING WITH DANTE. We've just gone beyond the last of the seven direct addresses to the reader in ...

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

20 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've come to the final revelation of INFERNO, to its climax: the vision of Satan himself, called "Dis" by Virgil (after his own king of the underworl...

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

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've come to the last sinner who speaks in INFERNO. And his story is as wild as it gets. He claims that once someone violates the guest/host relation...

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

13 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've slipped on down to the third ring of Cocytus--where we find a few textual problems, more New Testament references, the return of Virgil for no g...

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

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our final episode on Count Ugolino! Yet there's so much left to say. We're going to have to pass on from this ghastly damned soul and let him return t...

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

06 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On first glance, Count Ugolino's speech appears to be quite secular. He even appeals to the earth, not God, to save him and his sons.In fact, Dante ha...

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

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the last episode of this podcast, we've looked at Count Ugolino's speech as a narrative arc, taking apart and looking at the ways both the poet Dan...

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

30 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We come upon the last great sinner of hell: Count Ugolino, frozen in the ice of Cocytus, munching on the brains of Archbishop Ruggieri.Join me, Mark S...

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

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dante the pilgrim and silent Virgil lead us to the most disgusting scene in all of INFERNO as one sinner munches on the skull and brains of another.Th...

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

23 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dante the pilgrim has come across an infamous traitor on the ice sheet of Cocytus in the ninth ring of hell. Here in Antenora, the second sub-ring of ...

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

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're nearing the center of the universe, a place where we can feel the weight of everything bearing down on us.Our pilgrim is showing the strain. Vio...

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

16 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've come a long way down into INFERNO and we'already passed dozens, even hundreds of similes. (It all depends on how you count them.)This podcast ep...

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

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've come to the first subset of the last circle of INFERNO, the pit of hell, an ice sheet that start with Caïna, which holds those who've offed fam...

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

09 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We start our trek with the pilgrim Dante and his guide Virgil across the final, ninth circle of hell, an unforgiving ice sheet, where we encounter dis...

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

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've come to the ninth circle of hell. But not quite yet. Dante opens Inferno, Canto XXXII with a metapoetic moment, a passage in which he talks abou...

Welcome To The Foundations Of The Universe: Inferno, Canto XXXI, Lines 130 - 145

02 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've walked with Dante the pilgrim and his guide, Virgil, to the very foundations of the universe, the ninth circle of hell, the bottom of all that i...

Flattering Your Way To The Center Of The Earth: INFERNO, Canto XXXI, Lines 112 - 129

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dante the pilgrim and Virgil walk on to find Antaeus, the unbound giant who can set them down on the floor of hell--otherwise known as the center of t...

Three Big Bad Giants With Not Much At Stake Except The Nature Of Comedy Itself: Inferno, Canto XXXI, Lines 82 - 111

25 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've walked by one giant, Nimrod, a mighty hunter, with his horn (like Roland). But there are more. Three, at least. Ephialtes, Briareus, and Antaeus...

Nimrod, A Mighty Hunter, A Mighty Problem: INFERNO, Canto XXXI, Lines 46 - 81

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dante the pilgrim thought he saw towers in the gap between the eighth and ninth circles of hell. But no, they were giants. Who were "entowered" in the...

Towers? No, Giants! No, Towers! Inferno, Canto XXXI, Lines 28 - 45

18 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Virgil has promised Dante the pilgrim clarity if they press on toward the ring of towers ahead. But then maybe they don't need to, since Virgil explai...

The Liminal Space Between The Eighth And Ninth Circles Of Hell: Inferno, Canto XXXI, Lines 7 - 27

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've come through the ten malebolge or evil pouches of fraud, but we're not to the ninth circle of INFERNO yet. Instead, we're walking with Dante the...

Our Farewell To Fraud With A Host Of (Maybe Unanswered) Questions: INFERNO, Cantos XVIII, Line 1, through XXXI, Line 6

11 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Here's our last episode on the giant eighth circle of INFERNO, the largest piece of real estate Dante creates in COMEDY.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I...

An Overview Of Fraud, The Eighth Circle Of INFERNO

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have been at fraud, in the eighth circle of hell, among the malebolge (or evil pouches) and with Dante the pilgrim and Virgil, for almost eighty-se...

A Review And Overview Of Fraud's Tenth Evil Pouch: Inferno, Canto XXIX, Line 1, through Canto XXXI, Line 6

04 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Eleven episodes! That's how long it took us to get through the tenth and last of the evil pouches (the "malebolge") of fraud, Hell's vast eighth circl...

The End Of Fraud—That Is, The Self In The Self Wishing The Self Were In The Self: INFERNO, Canto XXX, Line 130, through Canto XXXI, Line 6

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've come to the bottom of the circle of fraud and to one of the most complicated, self-aware, and modern similes in all of INFERNO. Is it connected ...

The Many Pleasures Of Insults: INFERNO, Canto XXX, Lines 104 - 129

28 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're nearing the bottom of the eighth circle of hell, the fundamentals of fraud--where we're treated to an insult contest between Master Adam and Sin...

The Bottom Of Hell, The Beginnings Of Western Civilization: INFERNO, Canto XXX, Lines 91 - 103

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We are almost done with the tenth of the evil pouches (the "malebolge") that make up the giant eighth circle of INFERNO, the vast landscape of hell.We...

Behold The New Modern Man, Master Adam: INFERNO, Canto XXX, Lines 46 - 90

21 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

First, leprosy. Then rabies. And now dropsy. The medieval hospital of horrors just gets worse in the tenth of the evil pouches (the "malebolge") of fr...

Watch Out For Those Impersonators: INFERNO, Canto XXX, Lines 34 - 45

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've been to Thebes and Troy. We've seen two rabid souls arrive to tear up old Capocchio and maybe the other alchemist. But who are these rabid pigs?...