Inferno Commentary

Roberto Sande Carmona
10 IB English Hour 5
Ms.Peifer
9th of January, 2009

Gold and silver are the gods you adore!/In what are you different from the idolator,/save that he worships one, and you a score?/Ah Constantine, what evil marked the hour-/ not of your conversion, but of the fee/ the first rich Father took from you in dower!/And as I sang him this tune, he began to twitch/and kick both feet out wildly, as if in rage/ or gnawed by conscience-little matter which./And I think indeed, it pleased my Guide:his look/ was all approval as he stood beside me/ intent upon each word of truth I spoke./ He approached, and with both arms he lifted me,/ and when he had gathered me against his breast,/remounted the rocky path out of the valley...(Alighieri Chapter 19, 106-120)

This passage is crucial to the reader's understanding of the Inferno's main characters and overarching theme. The focal point of this excerpt is Dante's harshness towards the corrupt man and Virgil's response: "I [Dante] think indeed, it pleased my Guide:his look/ was all approval as he stood beside me/ intent upon each word of truth I spoke, " (115-117). Throughout Dante's trip through Hell, he makes a perfect representation of how one will naturally feel pity for many of the people in the Inferno, however this is wrong according to Virgil, and according to God's judgment. Hence, when Dante scolds the Pope his guide is satisfied, and gives Dante praise. This supports the theme of God's omnipotent power to judge over everybody, and that feeling pity for the ones in Hell is an insult to his wisdom.

The most effective writing in this passage is simply the tone Dante takes when he scorns Nicholas III. Because Dante rarely lashes out to the people in Hell, so in this manner he sparks the audience's interest. His vivid description of the Pope's reaction-although not lengthy-also provides the reader with a fast interpretation of how Dante regarded him(as a wretch who deserved every insult he was thrown).
The rhyme scheme is well executed to emphasize the language as well, particularly in the first three lines: "Gold and silver are the gods you adore!/In what are you different from the idolator,/save that he worships one, and you a score?" ( 106- 108). The comparison he makes of the Pope with an idolator and the rhyme scheme to back up his point are the basis of his demeaning of the Pope.

This quote is essentially a summary of what Dante had to learn through his voyage. There were several examples where he felt pity for the condemned and these instances were the only times when Virgil expressed anger to his student. Virgil made it clear that for Dante to take the information he needed from his lesson, he had to understand that these people had to be looked upon as a disgrace and scorned; for Dante to feel any sort of clemency was dictating God's judgment as incorrect, and this was the path to damnation.
Since this was one scenario in which Dante properly responded to the doomed souls, it is a decisive part of his work and stands for his eventual path to eternal Heaven.

Works Cited

• Alighieri, Dante.Inferno. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: Signet Classics, 2001.