In the midway of this our mortal life,
I found me in a gloomy wood, astray
Gone from the path direct: and e'en to tell,
It were no easy task, how savage wild
That forest, how robust and rough its growth,
Which to remember only, my dismay
Renews, in bitterness not far from death.
Yet, to discourse of what there good befel,
All else will I relate discover'd there.

This passage marks the commencement of Dante's epic journey in "The Divine Comedy." The "midway" of life, his thirty-fifth year, symbolizes a pivotal moment of self-reflection and crisis. Dante finds himself lost in a "gloomy wood," which is a metaphor for the confusion and moral ambiguity besetting him. The imagery of the "savage wild" forest underscores the daunting nature of his existential predicament. Recalling this place fills Dante with "dismay," suggesting the depth of his spiritual despair, yet he hints at forthcoming revelations and redemption, promising to recount "what there good befel." The passage sets the stage for a transformative voyage, not just through the literal landscape of Hell, but through the allegorical depths of sin and redemption, the moral choices faced by humanity, and the anagogical journey towards divine grace.