Dantes Inferno

Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy is said to be the single greatest epic poem of all time. The opening story of the character of Dante the Pilgrim is told in the first of the three divisions: The Inferno. The Inferno is a description of Dante’s journey down through Hell and of the several degrees of suffering and many mythical creatures that he encounters on the way. Throughout his travel Dante displays many different feelings and actions but the emotion that summarizes the entire poem is fear. While some of his character traits change as his mind matures and acknowledges the justice being carried out, from the very beginning until the final Canto, his fear does not subside. This does well to reinforce the symbolism of Dante as Everyman and serves to direct the reader to the moral purpose of Divine Comedy, because of the humility and dependence upon God that fear produces. In the first Canto, which serves as an introduction to the entire comedy, Dante encounters the thre!

e beasts which impede his progress out of the dark woods. Coming upon the She-Wolf he writes: "This last beast brought my spirit down so low / with fear that seized me at the sight of her, / lost all hope of going up the hill" (I.52-54). Dante is so shaken by the appearances of the three beasts that he rushes headlong into the dark woods he has just come out of. This is only the first obstacle Dante encounters, but it proves an insurmountable one. When Dante and Virgil reach the gate of Hell, Dante is overcome with fear upon reading the inscription above the gate and hearing the screams and lamentations of those inside. He reacts to the inscription by crying out, " ‘Master,’ I said, ‘these words I see are cruel.’ " (III.12). By this he shows his fear of the unknown because he does not yet know exactly what he will witness during his descent. One of Dante’s truest display of fear occurs upon reaching the vile City of Dis. When the "fallen angels" deny the travelers access thr!

ough the city, Virgil, usually unflappable, even appears shaken up. Understandably, this does not help Dante’s nerves at all. He actually makes a side comment to the reader declaring the terror he felt after the angels had defied Virgil’s request saying: "And now, my reader, consider how I felt / when those foreboding words came to my ears! / I thought I’d never see our world again!" (VIII.94-96). In this phrase Dante appears very discouraged and feels helpless that his journey may not be successful after all. Another notable display of fear by Dante is found upon his meeting of the Malebranche (Evil Claws) who are black demons. These whimsical but very frightening, violent creatures create an ample amount of terror and worry for the poets. Upon first seeing one rush by him with a sinner slung over his shoulders, Dante is struck by fear as he says: "…(his body’s strength draining with sudden fear), / but, looking back, does not delay his flight; / and I saw coming right behi!

nd our backs, / rushing along the ridge, a devil, black!" (XXI.27-30). They prove to be a great cause for fear after the demons get into a fight among each other over the escape of a sinner they were torturing and Dante and Virgil steal away. The demons come after the poets because of their part in the sinner’s escape and the two barely get away by sliding down the rocky crevice into the next bolgia. Another contributor to Dante’s fear is the enormous amount of mythical animals and beasts found guarding the entrances to various circles and bolgias. Minos, the Minotaur, the harpies, and many others are scattered throughout the poem. One monster, in particular, provokes a great fear in Dante when the need surfaces for the poets to journey into the Eighth Circle. Geryon, symbolizing fraud, is a mythical creature that, according to Dante, has the pleasant, honest face of a man, hairy paws and arms, and the body of