The Plagiarizers

Level 3

After passing the level of gluttons I came
To the section of plagiarists, they were
Stuck in a school with only themselves to blame,

This area of hell made me defer
From ever thinking about copying, their fate
Was so bad it should never occur,

They were forced to be in a state
Of writing, forever would they be
Copying texts, never given the chance to create

Original work, there they sat
In desks, writing until their fingers fell
Off, text after text for all eternity

I pitied them as I walked past, eyes
Glued to the books from which
They never they loved so dearly

With their time on earth, row
After row of sinners, destined to
Spend eternity in a classroom,

The whole time I was there
All I could hear was the silent scribble
Of poor souls writing constantly,

With an evil teacher patrolling
The classroom, passing out more paper
When needed, making sure everyone was

Doing their assigned work,
After a few minutes the silence started
To get to me, for me being mute

For eternity is an unimaginable fate,
I begged my master to move on,
And he granted my request.

Explanation

My canto would be placed in circle 3 of hell, right after the gluttons. Plagiarism is a serious sin that gives you credit for someone else’s hard work. Their punishment follows contrapasso by masterfully fitting the crime. The plagiarists are forced to stay in school forever, rewriting other people’s work for all eternity. This never gives them the chance to write an original statement again. There are destined to follow read and rewrite books they did not even create.

Stanley Szeliga, Period 0