Unfulfilled Vows . . . But To Whom? PARADISO, Canto V, Lines 1 - 16

About this episode

Dante wants to know if someone (who?) can make an unfulfilled vow good with other good works? Beatrice begins her answer with a tightly woven passage that illustrate a high degree of poetic skill . . . and then seems to acknowledge her own role in starting a canto of the poem. Dante's question remains curious? To or for whom was the vow made? And how is it broken? Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the meta-beginning of the fifth canto of PARADISO. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:20] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto V, Lines 1 - 16. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:15] Rhetorical strategies: fire, sight, and love tightly interwoven (along with a mixed metaphor!). [09:05] Fire, sight, and love: the metaphoric crux for the theological idea of the vestige of eternal light in all things. [13:14] The root of the problem of unfulfilled vows: potential litigation in heaven's court. [18:04] A meta-canto possibly about the poet's unfulfilled vows . . . to Beatrice, yes, but perhaps also to his readers. [24:16] Rereading PARA