A Polyvocal Passage With All Its Dissonances: PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 13 - 36

Our poet moves from his scholastic and even (medieval) scientific opening of PARADISO into his invocation . . . to Apollo?

This passage has often embarrassed Dante scholars who feel the need to excuse various pieces of it.

But we can let those pieces stand as part of the polyvocality of the text.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we move back and forth from the Christian to the pagan as we walk through this second part of Dante's opening lines of PARADISO.

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

[01:11] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto I, Lines 13 - 36. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me via a comment on this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:09] This passage embarrasses too many Dante scholars.

[09:14] This passage is polyvocal, a two-part fugue or invention.

[17:59] These two voices lead to dissonances in the passage.

[23:36] Did Dante intend these dissonances?

[25:20] Three small dissonances: Dante crowns himself, fights in an arena, and find his worth in two places at once.

[28:32] Marsyas, a comedic tragedy.

[32:01] The flame of the tongue, Pentecost, or maybe Ulysses.

[34:48] A high-toned, perhaps red-flag reference to Cyrrha.

[35:55] An inaccurate but telling reference to Parnassus.

[39:07] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto I, lines 13 - 36.