PURGATORIO, Episode 55. Virgil, Sordello, And The Limits Of The Will: PURGATORIO, Canto VII, Lines 37 - 63

October 18, 2023 by Mark Scarbrough

Sordello tells Virgil they have to find a place to settle in for the night because sunset will mean they can’t move up anymore. The allegory is intense: the will, light, darkness, stasis, and descent. Maybe you should will yourself to stand still when you don’t have any light, rather than moving backwards and away from your goal.

PURGATORIO, Episode 48. Sordello, Dante's Second Guide Across The Known Universe: PURGATORIO, Canto VI, Lines 49 - 75

September 24, 2023 by Mark Scarbrough

Dante and Virgil encounter the second guide across the known universe: Sordello, a late troubadour poet from Italy who is deeply connected to characters across COMEDY and who practiced a sort of poetry that Dante himself wrote earlier in his career. Sordello is isolated and alone, a strange figure in this broken-in-half sixth canto of PURGATORIO.