In today’s canto, Beatrice finishes her discourse on the will. Take vows seriously! You’re offering up nothing less than your freedom to God; sacrifice that, and you tear the terms of the covenant. That being said, “like an arrow driven with such might it strikes its mark before the string is still” Beatrice and Dante rocket up to the second rung of Paradise, Mercury, where a blessed soul soon makes itself known…Trans. John Ciardi

In today’s canto, Dante asks how is it that Picccarda Donati, whose vow was broken through no fault of her own, could still be punished. Beatrice is on hand to explain things: a will broken through outside interference is still a will unperfected. Want to see a will in perfect alignment with God? Look to Father Lawrence, Bishop of Rome, martyred by slow roasting over an open fire. Divine justice is perfect indeed, but that makes it no less difficult a pill to swallow. Trans. John Ciardi

Today marks the beginning of our thirty-three-day examination at Dante’s “Paradiso.” What makes this work such a towering achievement? Despite its being the crowning achievement of the whole Comedy, why does it remain one of the lesser-read books in comparison to the “Inferno?” How does Dante describe the undescribable, and render the unrepresentable? These are just a few of the questions we will be exploring over the next month, so strap in and join us in the stars!

Today, we’re revisiting an episode from February. What makes Dickens’s “Bleak House” so compelling? A number of factors, not least of which is his as-always remarkable powers of description, mood, and setting-building. Nothing exemplifies this better than the opening pages of this middle masterpiece.

Today, I offer my thoughts about Edward Said’s classic 1978 study, “Orientalism.” According to Said, for the past three hundred years, Western powers have built up a series of representations and traditions about Eastern culture which now forms the background to everything said or thought about Eastern culture. Listen to my thoughts about Said’s thesis, and where I think it goes astray.

Today, we’re talking about what gives this 1827 novel by Allesandro Manzoni the claim of “Greatest Christian Novel Ever Written.” Is it the celebration of marriage? The dauntless, magnanimous characters? The humanity shown for even the most depraved villain? All of the above? Absolutely! Not to mention the fact that it’s a wonderful action-adventure historical novel of the highest quality, a page-turner, and chock-full of characters you love and characters you love to hate.