Still Sure of the Road
Farinata sits upright in fire as if the coffin were a chair of state. He asks about Florence before he asks about the soul. Cavalcante hears a past tense and thinks his son is dead. Two men, one tomb, both still running the war that put them there. Neither can see the present clearly. Farinata predicts Dante's exile and still sounds like a commander taking a briefing.
Key Insight
You can be lost and still give orders. If the first question you ask is about the old faction, you have not noticed the room you are in.
“O Tuscan! thou who through the city of fire alive art passing, so discreet of speech.”Explore full theme analysis
