Commentary Inf I 65-66

Dante's first spoken word as character is his own poem is Latin (Miserere, 'Have mercy'). This is interesting linguistically, as it indicates a Latin capacity in the author/protagonist that might serve as a defense against those who think the poem, if it is to be taken 'seriously,' should have been written in Latin. But the Latin in question has a more important aspect: it is the language of the Church, the first word of the fiftieth Psalm, Miserere. Thus our hero is identified as a son of the Church -- albeit a currently failing one -- at the outset of the work. For several of the recurring references to that Psalm in the Commedia, see Holl.1973.1. Vincent Truijen, 'David,' states that David is the personage in the Old Testament most referred to by Dante (ED.1970.2), p. 322b. It has also been pointed out that, typically enough, this first utterance made by the protagonist involves a double citation, the first biblical, the second classical, Aeneas's speech to his mother, Venus ({Virg.Aen.I.327-330}). See Holl.1969.1, pp. 88-89. (For an earlier appreciation of the echo of Virgil's o dea certe in Dante's od omo certo see DDP Tommaseo.Inf.I.66.) As for the meaning of the word ombra: the nature of shades in Dante is addressed by Domenico Consoli, 'ombra,' ED.1973.4, pp. 141-145. That Dante is trying to ascertain whether Virgil is the shade of a man or a living soul helps interpret v. 63, i.e., he looks as though he were alive and yet somehow not. The poet will bring Statius to the fore in Purgatorio XXV to explain the nature of this 'aerial body' to the protagonist. That Dante is trying to ascertain whether Virgil is the shade of a man or a living soul helps interpret verse 63, i.e., Virgil looks as though he were alive and yet somehow not. The poet will bring Statius to the fore in Purgatorio XXV to explain the nature of this 'aerial body' to the protagonist.