Walking With Dante5 Jun 2024

Sapía, Part Three—Rhetorical Games Reveal Both The Penitent And The Pilgrim: PURGATORIO, Canto XIII, Lines 133 - 154

In the concluding moments of Sapía's speech, we find her in dialogue with Dante the pilgrim . . . who is both forthcoming in his confessional stance and also cagey with his hiding his guide, Virgil.

She, too, is caught in her own rhetoric: getting what she wants but ultimately revealing herself as a soul who still has a lot more purgation ahead.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the final words of one of the most intriguing characters in PURGATORIO, if not in all of COMEDY.

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

[00:58] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XIII, lines 133 - 154. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation, please find the comment section for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:18] Dante's reply to Sapía is both cagey and confessional. Did she manipulate him into this ambiguous spot?

[09:27] Does Sapía misunderstand his place in the afterlife? But how can she, since she's already figured out that he's breathing?

[13:03] She turns his confession of pride into . . . comedy or flattery?

[14:12] Her changing notions of prayer exemplify the theological problems of prayer as a Christian act. Meanwhile, she lets the pilgrim know that she's figured him out even more.

[19:36] Sapía is going to spend a lot more time on the terrace of the envious, given her joy over Siena's misfortunes.

[24:59] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XIII, lines 133 - 154.

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