The Inferno Commentary

Fong Vang
Peifer
10 IB
9 January 2009

The light was departing. The brown air drew down
all the earth’s creatures, calling them to rest
from their day-roving, as I, one man alone,
Prepared myself to face the double war
of the journey and the pity, which memory
shall here set down, nor hesitate, nor err.
O Muses! O High Genius! Be my aid!
O Memory, recorder of the vision,
Here shall your true nobility be displayed!
Thus I began: “Poet, you who must guide me,
before you trust me to that arduous passage,
look to me and look through me-can I be worthy?
You sang how the father of Sylvius, while still
in corruptible flesh won to that other world,
crossing with mortal sense the immortal sill. (Dante Canto 2, lines 1-15)

This passage is significant because it talks about a character named Dante, on his descent to hell. The theme is that he doubts himself of making it out of hell, it supports the theme because Dante denies all of the help that he is getting. The emotional component is that Dante is rather confused and suicidal because he said to Virgil is he worthy of getting out of hell. ”Before you trust me to that arduous passage, look to me and look through me-can I be worthy?”(Dante, 11-12).

An Important literary device used in the lines was conflict. Dante is in a conflict between himself, because he is in denial. “As I, one man alone, prepared myself to face the double war of the journey and the pity, which memory shall here set down, nor hesitate, nor err.” (Dante, 3-6). Also another literary device is Point of view because the author is telling it in third person omniscient. The most effective literary device being use it point of view, because it’s basically the author telling the characters point of view by using feelings and thoughts of the character.

This passage is really emotional on how the character feels and thinks. He is under a very confusing moment where Dante thinks that he deserves to be in hell because he done something bad, and he tells Virgil that can he be worthy of getting out. So he is lost and confused. Also that when Dante was talking that he is facing a double war, he talks as if his other thoughts are against him and that he don’t know what to do.

Works Cited:
MacAllister, Archibald T. Inferno. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: Signet Classics, 2001.