Friday, November 30, 2007

Lines 22-27

Why does Dante ask the reader to "imagine for yourself what I became"?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

He can't put into words what he experienced so he asks us to imagine how awful it was.

Anonymous said...

I think that from a literary standpoint, it enhances the mood and shows how terrible the experience was. It leaves room for the imagination, and as the imagination often runs a little overboard, you begin to think of the most horrible things.

Anonymous said...

I think Dante wanted us to use our imagination since everyone has a different idea of hell.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Noelle. Dante said "Do not ask, Reader, how my blood ran cold and my voice choked up with fear. I cannot write it: this is a terror that cannot be told."
You start to imagine "what he became". But in my opinion, I don't think it was as bad as he makes it out to be. Virgil had said that this was where he would arm his soul against all dread. If anything, I would take that as motivation to do what I needed to do. But in Dante's case, it was the moment he was alive but dead, and I guess he couldn't explain how he felt.