It is difficult to diminish the notable unpredictability of Inferno to a short rundown of significant images. The story includes Dante going from the external levels of Hell into the most profound areas where Lucifer dwells. He encounters the disciplines of various sins and investigates his own feelings and scholarly problems as he ponders individuals he knows and sins he knows about along his journey. Since the story is a general moral story, it incorporates many short encounters, each of which has philosophical symbolism.
When reading Inferno, it is critical to consider every component of the poem as per how it finds a way into Dante’s bigger arrangement of symbolism. For instance, the monster Geryon with the head of a man and the body of a foul snake addresses deceit (Alighieri 66-67). Symbols tell a lot about the scene, story, human existence, and other topics of the work. The author uses them to unfold the disciplines of ‘good’ and ‘evil,’ which are constantly developed to figuratively compare to the sins which the characters are submitted in their everyday life.
The plot is mostly devoted to unraveling the meaning of life and death, as well as human’s age. The concept of people’s continuous punishment for their sins and appraisal in heaven suggests the notion of eternity and irrelevance of age and time in the person’s pathway in life. Much attention was also contributed to describing the images of the three monsters: the leopard, the lion, and the wolf. It can be inferred that these three monsters address sins. Furthermore, they may illustrate the transgressions of youth, middle age, and mature age. They compare to the three significant orders of Inferno: incontinence, viciousness, and extortion (Alighieri 11-12). Hence, the writing draws a line between antagonistic themes such as sin and righteousness and eternity and age by using symbolic images.
Children are frequently depicted as victims to show the human’s innocence in the early stage of life. The Pisans’ cruelty to small boys is shown as something of a great sin. Later in life, people seem to engage in different dishonest affairs as adultery or fraud. In contrast, people in their older age start thinking that it is time to think about their soul. Thus, Guido da Montefeltro turned into a Franciscan priest when he got old (Alighieri 102-103). Similarly, Dante experiences all the shades of malice of the world to discover his salvation as this is the importance of his journey. Virgilio seems to save Dante from the three creatures, which appear as the portrayal of the Vices (Alighieri 13). The morning light is the start of expectation, and the stars as when God made the world and was great forever. Accordingly, Dante recuperated himself by raising his head when the Lion showed up.
In conclusion, Inferno is a metaphorical work, where everything remains in as an image for something different. The journey through Hell is the fundamental part of the symbolism of the poem. It alludes to Dante’s salvation and his need to discover the causes and consequences of deeds. At the same time, the human’s life from his younger to older ages is masterfully presented throughout the reading. Alighieri skillfully uses mythical creatures and beasts to demonstrate different sins and their matching ages. This way, he shows the actuality of each sin for each period of life.
Reference
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy: Inferno / 1 Inferno. Oxford University Press, 1961.