In the final canto of Inferno, Dante confronts Dis, “la creatura ch’ebbe il bel sembiante” (XXXIV.18). In response, the poet declares: “Io non mori’ e non rimasi vivo; / pensa oggimai per te, s’hai fior d’ingegno, / qual io divenni, d’uno e d’altro privo.” (XXXIV.22-27) Beneath this apparently innocuous proclamation is a metaphysical “event” unique among Western letters, as the poet arrogates godly power and bestows on the pilgrim the experience of “existence” beyond the divine will. By this gracious gift of non-existence, the Pilgrim surpasses the mere corruption of Satan and his kingdom, and enters into a state of uncreation. Evidence of this unparalleled passage is found in the pilgrim’s absence of fear during his remaining time in hell.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Caponi, F. J., (2025), "“I did not die, nor did I stay alive:” The Dark Grace of Nonexistence in Inferno XXXIV", HSSCommons: (DOI: )

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1. Quaderni d'italianistica

Original publication: Caponi, Francis J. "“I did not die, nor did I stay alive:” The Dark Grace of Nonexistence in Inferno XXXIV." Quaderni d'italianistica 35 (1): 2015. 5-25. DOI: 10.33137/q.i..v35i1.22349. This material has been re-published in an unmodified form on the Canadian HSS Commons with the permission of Iter Canada / Quaderni d'italianistica. Copyright © the author(s). Their work is distributed by Quaderni d'italianistica under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. For details, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.