11. Purgatory V, VI, IX, X

Dante in Translation (ITAL 310)

This lecture covers Purgatory V, VI, IX and X. The purgatorial theme of freedom introduced in the previous lecture is revisited in the context of Canto V, where Buonconte da Montefeltro's appearance among the last minute penitents is read as a critique of the genealogical bonds of natural necessity. The poet passes from natural to civic ancestry in Purgatory VI, where the mutual affection of Virgil and Sordello, a former citizen of the classical poet's native Mantua, sparks an invective against the mutual enmity that enslaves contemporary Italy. The transition from ante-Purgatory to Purgatory proper in Canto IX leads to an elaboration on the moral and poetic structure of Purgatory, exemplified on the terrace of pride in Canto X.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Tension between the Old and the New: Moral Purification
04:54 - Chapter 2. Canto V: Retrospective Knowledge; Buonconte da Montefeltro; Pia de' Tolomei
15:22 - Chapter 3. Canto VI: The Political Canto
35:22 - Chapter 4. Marking the Rupture in Canto IX
40:08 - Chapter 5. Canto X: The World of Art; The Idea of Measurement
48:57 - Chapter 6. Learning How to Look; More on Measurement
01:10:04 - Chapter 7. Question and Answer