ctaylor

“Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted…one moment

Would you capture it or just let it slip?” (Lose Yourself, Eminem)

In Canto 31, Virgil and Dante take advantage of the suave words Virgil speaks to Antaeus to pursuade him to lower them into the last pit of hell.  If they want to complete their journey they have to take advantage of every possible "shot" to achieve their goal.  In Canto 33, Friar Algberigo sees his chance, in Dante's arrival and passage through, to regain a little fame through Dante by telling him his story.  Dante wishes to hear about his predicament, and the Friar tells him.  He is then eternally commemorated by being included in The Inferno.  In Canto 34, Virgil gets one shot to escape from hell with Dante and captures the moment do it.  Virgil was "watching for a moment when the wings were opened wide, reached over dexterously and siezed the shaggy coat of the king demon" (The Inferno, p.185).  Then Virgil climbs down the devils lower half to the center of the earth, then flips over and climbs up the last part of the devil.  Then they climb back onto the earths surface.  All three of these situations were a single opportunity situation where the person could take advantage of the opportunity or forever hold their peace because they would never get anoth chance, this was their only shot, and they call captured it.