Dante's Inferno | Symbols

[Music] Inferno is rich with a multitude of symbols but here are the most important ones now the first is the path Dante reveals that he has lost the path that does not stray this is first represented as being lost in the woods but quickly the implications are clear that Dante himself is a man lost in the middle of his life unsure of where to go now this path is one toward God the path of virtue repentance and forgiveness it leads to enlightenment Virgil his poet guide tells him he must follow a different path and so Dante goes on this new longer path that represents his spiritual journey that will eventually lead to his Redemption Virgil leads him along this path through the nine circles of hell and as he progresses he gains greater knowledge wisdom and clarity he grows as a person and he becomes more understanding of the ways of God finding his way back to the path ultimately leads to Dante's Redemption darkness is another major symbol in Inferno it symbolizes life spent separated from God's light darkness itself is a kind of loss without being able to see and without the illumination of God's righteous power there's no way to stay on this symbolic path of goodness Dante begins his journey in a dark forest and the light is increasingly dim as he descends lower into the circles of hell some levels are lit by fire but there is little other light along the way the juxtaposition of the fire and brimstone of hell with the scenes of dimly-lit torture and agony help establish hell as a horrible brutal place Dante in the final canto emerges out of the darkness of hell and into the shimmering starlight of God's creation it is this reconnecting with natural light that firmly establishes his place back toward God where it belongs ascent and descent are both important symbols Dante must descend into hell so he can ascend into heaven descending Dante moves further away from God hell is a realm shaped like a funnel made of smaller and smaller descending circles even within hell Dante must occasionally travel up and over dangerous obstacles he often finds these small aspects difficult showing that inhale upward motion is all but impossible now in the other parts of the Divine Comedy Dante ascends Mount purgatory as he moves upward toward heaven establishing movement itself as a key symbol of the entire trilogy you

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Keywords: dantes inferno, Dante, divine comedy, Dante's Inferno symbolism, symbolism in Dante's Inferno, Inferno, dante's inferno, Dante's Inferno

Id: LeLTBGNN9O4

Length: 2min 55sec (175 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 04 2017