Greedy Beasts That Refuse The Lure: A Read-Through Of The Fifth Terrace Of PURGATORIO, Cantos XIX - XXI

We've climbed up to the fifth terrace of Purgatory proper and come among the avaricious. These three cantos become increasingly complex and daring: in their theology, in their poetics, and in their myth-making.They're extraordinarily rich. Gilded, even. Which somehow fits, since these are the cantos in which the greedy purge their sin.And we've got three incredible monologues: from a late-to-repent pope, one of the founders of the French monarchy, and Statius, the great Roman poet whose THEBIAD has been with us all along in COMEDY.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, for a read-through of Cantos XIX, XX, and XXI of PURGATORIO before we begin our slow walk along this most dangerous terrace.