Dante is about to meet the first souls in Paradise, emerging from the liquid light of the moon.

The poetry is lush and sensuous. The metaphors are complex and compounded. And Beatrice is a bit chilly, full of Latinisms and a condescending smile.

It's a marvelous banquet for the senses, here in this first sphere, where the souls seems to emerge as reflections in the diaphanous lunar realm.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we see our first redeemed souls in heaven--and discover that Paradise is not as bright or as clear as we might expect.

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

[01:13] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 1 - 33. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment on this episode to continue the conversation, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:53] The lush, even sensual poetics of the moon.

[09:14] Deeper, even dark complexities within the lush poetry.

[11:53] Beatrice, not an allegory, but a real woman, and an honored spokesperson for truth.

[15:30] Dante as Narcissus . . . or not.

[20:20] Getting stuck on the marginalia, so much so that you can't make out the text.

[23:48] Truth as an approximation, not a delineation.

[25:56] Rereading the passage: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 1 - 33.