When Crossing Acheronte Into The First Ring Of Hell, Don't Faint: INFERNO, Canto III, Lines 109 - 136
Walking With Dante8 Marras 2020

When Crossing Acheronte Into The First Ring Of Hell, Don't Faint: INFERNO, Canto III, Lines 109 - 136

We finish canto III of INFERNO, standing on the shores of Acheronte, the river that forms the border of the first rings of inner hell.

Charon is busy with this job, Virgil is suddenly gentler, more parental toward the pilgrim than he's been. And Dante? When the earthquake hits, he's beyond help.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we walk up to the shores of hell's first river and find ourselves adrift in a terrifying landscape.

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

[00:50] A summary of Canto III to this point.

[02:06] Reading my translation of INFERNO, Canto III, Lines 109 - 136. If you'd like to read along, find a much more in-depth study guide, or continue the conversation with me by dropping a comment, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:55] Two problems: the problem of pain in the afterlife and the problem of the demon Charon.

[09:18] The big simile in the passage (all about leaves, falcons, falling, casting, and lures): its problems, its dissonances, and its resonances.

[17:50] Virgil's explanation: Their fears have morphed into their desires. It's one of the most modern statements in INFERNO.

[23:34] Dante collapses. What happens here? Something fails. I'll give you three possible answers: The pilgrim fails, Virgil fails, or the poet fails.

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The Expanding Community of Women in the Moon: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 109 - 130

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The Violent yet Elliptical End to Piccarda Donati's Story: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 88 - 108

The Violent yet Elliptical End to Piccarda Donati's Story: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 88 - 108

Piccarda Donati finally answers the question about who she is. She's given her name but not much else about her. In twelve lines (or four tercets) she brings her personal story to its violent yet elli...

20 Syys 27min

Piccarda Donati's Apotheosis of the Will: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 58 - 87

Piccarda Donati's Apotheosis of the Will: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 58 - 87

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16 Syys 30min

The First Soul in Paradise, Piccarda Donati: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 34 - 57

The First Soul in Paradise, Piccarda Donati: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 34 - 57

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The Souls of the Universe: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 127 - 148

The Souls of the Universe: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 127 - 148

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The Diversity of Being in a Universe of Light: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 106 - 126

The Diversity of Being in a Universe of Light: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 106 - 126

Beatrice now launches into the true explanation for moon spots, found not in folklore, not in natural philosophy, but in metaphysics.Her explanation pushes her to disclose the parts of the universe we...

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Testing Theology With Optics: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 85 - 105

Testing Theology With Optics: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 85 - 105

Beatrice continues in her scientific and Scholastic explanation for moon spots by taking apart a secondary argument . . . and proposing an optical experiment.She voices an objection Dante might have: ...

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