ANNOTATIONS:
1.  "Uproar to an eruption"- We think that this line represents the true chaos of Hell and eruption would suggest that the amount of grief and terror is unmatched by any other circumstance.
2. "I was on the edge..."- We think that this quote represents Dante and Virgil about to enter the place that Minos warned them of: Hell.
3. "It was Hell"- This is a simple sentence that packs a punch at the end of the stanza, accenting the severity of the situation that is Hell and its residents.

PASSAGE:

And true it was that I was on the edge
Of the great pit of the piteous abyss
Where sad cries have the dubious privilege
Of gathering in perpetual synthesis,
And griefs already infinite are by
Their own great number multiplied, to swell
Uproar to an ERUPTION. It was Hell.

I knew, who in that Limbo were suspended.“Tell me, my Master, tell me, thou my Lord,”

Began I, with desire of being certain Of that Faith which o’ercometh every error, “Came any one by his own merit hence,

Or by another’s, who was blessed thereafter?”

Tone:
The tone of this passage is a little dismayed, but more centered around feelings of grief, sorrow, pity for those worthy, albeit, unfortunate souls trapped in hell for no reason other than their religious beliefs.

Danter Alighieri established his tone by asking whether anybody got out of hell in a shocked manner and also adding that he knew several worthy people that were trapped in Limbo.

Annotations:
1. We think that Dante is kind of sensitive and in some ways weak, he is very sensitive to whether or not people deserved their punishments and he faints often.
2. Why does Dante faint so much? Is the author trying to convey a sense of moral in an immoral place? He seems overwhelmed and confused.
3. Why didn't Jesus save any other worthy souls that were human or other? Wouldn't someone as just and fair as christ be expected to help those who were judged unfairly?

Writing Technique: "Great grief siezed my heart" is personification, grief can't literally sieze someone's heart,

No hope doth comfort them for evermore,

Not of repose, but even of lesser pain.

And as the cranes go chanting forth their lays,

Making in air a long line of themselves,

So saw I coming, uttering lamentations,

Shadows borne onward by the aforesaid stress.

Whereupon said I: “Master, who are those

Tone: The tone is depressing because the word choice is very negative and slow sounding.

Dante created this tone by using negative word choice and long sentences. 

1) An anotation is that the sentence shows the depressingness of hell
2)Also this sentence shows the possibility of what hell can be like
3) Finally this sentence also shows Dante's ideas of what hell is like.

Loose sentences, he uses this to express the tone. 

’Tis not enough, because they had not baptism

Which is the portal of the Faith thou holdest;

And if they were before Christianity,

In the right manner they adored not God;

And among such as these am I myself

For such defects, and not for other guilt,

Lost are we and are only so far punished,

That without hope we live on in desire.”

Great grief seized on my heart when this I heard,

Because some people of much worthiness

I knew, who in that Limbo were suspended.

The tone of the passage was more depressed in the fact that they were in hell for no reason since they didn't believe in a god that didn't exist at the time. Also, they didn't sin they believed in their gods as much as christian people did.

Dante created this tone by making the  the people in Limbo sound like they had no hope because they didn't. Dante also involved his feelings like grief and sadness because that is were he will end up.
1. The reason they are in Limbo is because christianity wasn't a religion yet.
2. Dante realizes he will end up in Limbo because of the fact that he isn't a christian
3. Some of the people in limbo were innocent and should have been in heaven instead are stuck in Limbo indefinitly.
 
Great grief seized on my heart when this I heard,

Because some people of much worthiness

I knew, who in that Limbo were suspended. This sentence is a periodic sentence because it stalls until the end to say the true importance.

Lost are we and are only so far punished,

That without hope we live on in desire.”

Great grief seized on my heart when this I heard,

Because some people of much worthiness

I knew, who in that Limbo were suspended.

“Tell me, my Master, tell me, thou my Lord,”

Began I, with desire of being certain

Of that Faith which o’ercometh every error,

“Came any one by his own merit hence,

Or by another’s, who was blessed thereafter?”

And he, who understood my covert speech

Replied: “I was a novice in this state,

When I saw hither come a Mighty One,

With sign of victory incoronate.

Hence he drew forth the shade of the First Parent,

And that of his son Abel, and of Noah,

Of Moses the lawgiver, and the obedient

Abraham, patriarch, and David, king,

Israel with his father and his children,

And Rachel, for whose sake he did so much,

And others many, and he made them blessed;

Tone: shrewd

He created this tone by having only god's children who did nothing wrong were able to go into heaven

1. Donte did not understand why they where here when they did nothing wrong.

2. He was looking at the position they where in and wanting to see what they were thinking

In the right manner they adored not God;

And among such as these am I myself

For such defects, and not for other guilt,

Lost are we and are only so far punished,

That without hope we live on in desire.”

Great grief seized on my heart when this I heard,

Because some people of much worthiness

I knew, who in that Limbo were suspended.
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The tone of this passage is shocked or skeptical because Dante is very surprised by the fact that many innocent people are placed in Hell for reasons beyond their control. He is upset by this fact, and thus skeptical  of the reasoning which placed the people there for that which seems forgivable. 
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Dante created this tone through his own perspective of the situation and its rationality. He describes the people there that he doesn't believe to be there in order to emphasize the fact that the morals of Hell are wrong. He also speaks of the punishment present for those in limbo, and how difficult is to acknowledge, even if it is the least horrible level of Hell. 
- 
1. The quote, "that without hope we live on in desire" demonstrates how the punishment they are forced to deal with is more unsettling to the mind than anything else.
2. The quote, "because of some people of much worthiness" shows how many people in limbo don't deserve to be there, and would have been in heaven if not for their own circumstances beyond their control.
3. The quote, "for such defects and not for other guilt" shows that they are only in Hell for certain shortcomings that they do not believe they should feel guilty for, yet they are because of where it led them.
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One writing technique in the passage is the use of a loose sentence in order to convey a main idea of sorrow for the irrationality of placing certain people in Hell. 

’Tis not enough, because they had not baptism

Which is the portal of the Faith thou holdest;

And if they were before Christianity,

In the right manner they adored not God;

And among such as these am I myself

For such defects, and not for other guilt,

Lost are we and are only so far punished,

That without hope we live on in desire.”

Great grief seized on my heart when this I heard,

Because some people of much worthiness

I knew, who in that Limbo were suspended.

The tone of this passage is desperate and melancholy, because they did not belong in hell, it was not their fault they were sent there. This tone was created by Dante's word choice with words such as grief, seized, and suspended.

Annotation 1. 
Dante is kind and good-hearted, he has a weakness towards those in suffering.

Annotation 2." That they sinned not; and if they merit had,

’Tis not enough, because they had not baptism

Which is the portal of the Faith thou holdest;" This quote shows that it is not thier fault they must wait in hell, and that they do not belong.

Annotation 3. " That without hope we live on in desire.”" In this quote, the people show the burden, the desperation always within them. Simply because of the time they were born, they have no hope, and believe their lives are worthless.

The writing technique we noticed was the use of paragraph breaks to emphasize the point that most people in limbo do not deserve to be there.

Caina waiteth him who quenched our life!”

These words were borne along from them to us.

As soon as I had heard those souls tormented,

I bowed my face, and so long held it down

Until the Poet said to me: “What thinkest?”

When I made answer, I began: “Alas!

How many pleasant thoughts, how much desire,

Conducted these unto the dolorous pass!”

Tone:
The tone of this passage is a sincere, mournful, why me kind of feeling.

Tone Explanation:
Through his diction he created a dreadful and sorrowful feeling through his use of words like borne, dolorous, and tormented.

Annotations:
1. By bowing his face, we can conclude that Dante is sad about all of the pain and suffering.
2. From "These words were borne along from them to us" we can infer that he is very distressed about being in hell. It is his realization about him being in hell.
3. He used repetition in his story by repeating  sorrow multiple times with different words like death, tormented, dolorous, and phrases like "quenched our life!” or "souls tormented".

And that of his son Abel, and of Noah,

Of Moses the lawgiver, and the obedient

Abraham, patriarch, and David, king,

Israel with his father and his children,

And Rachel, for whose sake he did so much,

And others many, and he made them blessed;

The tone of the passage is negative because the author says all the good men that ended up in hell.

Dante created this tone by building off of the characters, and using words that create a sad tone.

Annotations:
1. When he says "hence he drew forth the shade of the First Parent" he is revealing all the secrets of the so called "First Parent"

2. When he says "Of Moses the law giver" he shows that the sun "Abel" is very important.

3. When he says "He made them blessed" he implies that they are all important in a way.

Writing technique: 
Dante uses metaphors when he uses the people that don't belong in hell, he refers to something else in the story.

Lost are we and are only so far punished,

That without hope we live on in desire.”

Great grief seized on my heart when this I heard,

Because some people of much worthiness

I knew, who in that Limbo were suspended.

“Tell me, my Master, tell me, thou my Lord,”

Began I, with desire of being certain

Of that Faith which o’ercometh every error,

“Came any one by his own merit hence,

Or by another’s, who was blessed thereafter?”

And he, who understood my covert speech,

Replied: “I was a novice in this state,

When I saw hither come a Mighty One,

With sign of victory incoronate.

Tone:

1. The overall tone can obviously be seen as sympathetic and sorrowful through the description the author gave of what was seen and heard. 

Annotations: 
1.