Alfred J. Prufrock & Dante’s Inferno

Alfred J. Prufrock & Dante’s Inferno


When reading The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock the first stanza is written in Italian and is seen as the following, “S’io credesse che mia risposta fosse. A persona che mai tornasse al mondo Questa fiamma staria sensa piu scosse ma perciocche giammai di questo fondo Non torno vivo alcun s’i’odo il vero Sensa tema d’infamia ti rispondo.” This will usually automatically turn a reader off and cause them to think that the poem will be too difficult to read or understand.
However, a person should give the poem a chance before disregarding it. When translated, this first stanza is very captivating and makes it almost impossible to put the poem down. It reads as such, “If I thought that my reply would be to someone who would ever return to earth, this flame would remain without further movement; but as no one has ever returned alive from this gulf, if what I hear is true, I can answer you with no fear of infamy.”
This stanza...