The Sentence

Book excerpt: “He who entered Hell a cavalier youth emerges white haired, yet wiser in spirit, having spent his life’s years reviewing his rebellion against God.” This is the gist of this great dramatic narrative poem by Miller. Told in thirty-one cantos, the poem narrates that “a man’s journey to Hell without God is a construct of illusions from which we awakens to true reality.” He goes by the name of The Sojourner. What is actually a confession, the scoffer’s draconian experience begins with these words: “I choose the freedom and power of Hell’s anarchy over the design and purpose of creation fraud.” A demon replies, “Wouldst thou perjure the devil, my son, ’gainst Hell’s twisted race?” Spoke a Priest, “Demonic sin is our base sod. Escape we not these rocks, sensuous in sin our taste, you but a mere suckling who contented with our god?” This strange parareality dialogue and story—which some would call surreal—is a fascinating account of the netherworld experience of a young scoffer against the Triune God of Scripture. The work conveys a medieval sound of sacrifice and damnation. Each Canto marks a step along The Sojourner’s way. The reader will find that there is no book quite like it in today’s politically correct and realistic society.