Here’s a chance to look back on INFERNO, Canto I, in all of its strangeness, its lyricism, and its knottiness. We’ll look at where we’ve been AND where we’re going: a glance out across the whole poem. And we’ll talk about Dante’s wild and incredibly difficult poetics, the almost impossible structure of the lines and stanzas he chose for this great masterpiece.
Read MoreVirgil morphs from a classical poet to a prophet worthy to be counted among Isaiah and Ezekiel. It’s a stunning twist from the expected . . . as is always the case in Dante’s great poem. Virgil tells about the pilgrim’s journey, the tortured history of the Italian peninsula, and even hints at the end of all things . . . all before these two can set off across the known universe.
Read MoreVirgil materializes in front of our pilgrim Dante, just as he’s about to fall back into despair in that dark wood. The classical poet shows up in all his humanness: fallible, truth-telling, preening, respectful, and maybe even self-doubting. Virgil as the allegory of reason? No, just a damned man trying to save another man from the same fate.
Read MoreOur pilgrim may have started with the best of hopes but he’s blocked on that slope by three beasts: a gawdy leopard, a roaring lion, and a ravenous wolf. They send him falling back down toward that dark wood with no hope in sight . . . until a ghostly presence materializes in front of him.
Read MoreOur pilgrim begins his climb away from that terrifying wood. The lake of his heart is momentarily calmed as he begins to ascend a mountain with the sun coming up over its shoulder at dawn. It all looks to be going well, that he’s found his own way out. But this is not his journey. This way does not lead across the known universe.
Read MoreDante the poet remains something of a mystery, even today. We have over seven hundred years of muck between us, clouding our understanding of who he was and how he lived. However, we can pin down some facts, although even some of these prove debatable. Let’s talk about what we know and what we don’t about who Dante was.
Read MoreThe beginning of the walk across the known universe . . . at least as Dante understood it. Or as he made it up! A middle-aged man finds himself in a dark wood and has no real clue how he got there. He’s on his own in a world in which being without protection of some sort means almost certain death.
Read MoreAn introductory episode to the entire sweep of the podcast WALKING WITH DANTE. A bit about how we’ll proceed through The Divine Comedy, a bit about who I am. But mostly, just an opening moment to get you ready for the journey ahead.
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