Recently, I have been digging into the poem Divine Comedy, and I found myself really into the content. Hence, I am going to share some of my reflections on my reading. The Divine Comedy, also known as the Commedia, is considered one of the most prestigious literary works throughout the medieval ages. It is a long narrative poem written by Dante Alighieri. Dante draws a vivid image of the afterworld by depicting himself as a Pilgrim who travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Accordingly, The Comedy is divided into three portions corresponding to the Trinity, namely Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Regardless of the complex hierarchical structures and countless hidden treasures in this masterpiece, we will only be discussing some of the symbolic meanings embedded in the texts. Dante's Divine Comedy comprises numerous characters with symbolic meanings, not only do they strengthen the tension of the plot, but clarify the messages Dante tried to convey, making the Commedia an absorbing fiction to enjoy.

     

      Firstly, in the first canto of Dante's Inferno, three beast figures show up and block the protagonist Pilgrim's way, and each of them stands for different types of sins on earth. Moreover, they possess a symbolic meaning, which exhorts people that being a sinner keeps you away from God. In the beginning, When Pilgrim realizes that he is in the middle of dark wood, he can do nothing but keep wandering until he finds himself bathed in sunlight. He then decides to keep on climbing the hill in front of him. However, the only path is blocked by three dreadful beasts, first a Leopard, then a Lion, and a She-Wolf. Spiritually, the "dark wood" represents Dante's wretched state of separation from God. Politically, it refers to the age of anarchy when Dante lives. Nevertheless, when three beasts that stand for different sins show up and block the way, it is a kind of a metaphor that indicates that being a sinner blocks your way toward God. Leopard stands for "fraudulence" which is the sin that God hates the most. Those who committed the vilest fraudulence would be frozen together with Lucifer down to the very button of hell. For instance, Judas for betraying Jesus. Next, we have the Lion, which refers to "violence" divided into three parts from against neighbors to against self, and lastly against God(Blasphemy). Something worth mentioning is that if one commits violence against self(suicide), the punishment is to become a tree, torturing by the Harpies(A bird-like beast) as they constantly tear their body(trunk). They are suffering in eternal pain because they did not respect their body that was given by God on earth. Finally, the She-Wolf stands for "incontinence" that can be split into multiple parts from simply disbelieve in God to utterly Heretics, and its punishment is the lightest among all. These three sins block the people's way toward God. Hence, Dante's barriers toward paradise are thus our barriers toward heaven. We should try to avoid them along the journey of our own life.

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     Secondly, The punishments in The Divine Comedy are also combining with symbolic meanings, stressing the importance of evil-shunning to a greater extent.  There is a so-called "Contrapasso" concept in Dante's world, which refers to the meaning of"suffer the opposite". To be specific, sinners in Inferno are suffering either resembling or contrasting with their sins. On one hand, if you refuse to do certain things that matter to life, you may be forbidden to do it forever. For instance, if you are sluggish during your lifetime, then you may receive a punishment of lying in the swampy water of Styx till the end of time because you did not want to work while still alive; you are not allowed to move anymore in the afterlife then. On the other hand, you may be forced to do things you loath during your lifetime. For example, Hypocrites tell lies to ease their life on the earth. Now they must suffer by wearing golden clock to weigh them down, marching ahead unendingly. Because they refuse to deal with troublesome things during life,  they are now dealing with them forever. Other than that, they may be suffering in literally body pain. As the famous figure in Canto XXVIII, Bertran de Born who holds his own head as a lantern shows up, saying that "I am Bertran de Born, the one who evilly encouraged the young king. Father and son I set against each other", "because I cut the bounds of those so joined, I bear my head cut off...". He is suffering by having his head cut off, for he had committed schism. If one dear to instigating people against each other, their body parts will be against each other as well. This is known to be the ''perfect contrapasso" so far. Dante constantly draws the effect of contrapasso, trying to warn the readers to shun evil and keep themselves away from sins. From my perspective, it achieves a prominent effect to exhort people since we all taste the dreadful fear just by scrutinizing through such horrible scenes in this book.

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​   ​   In addition, the two guides who lead Dante through his spiritual journey are combined with symbolic meanings that are eulogizing God and Christianity. As the great Roman poet who wrote the Aeneid and favored by the author of Divine Comedy, Virgil was assigned to be Dante the Pilgrim's guide till the end of purgatory. However, he cannot proceed there because he was a pagan. A human who does not have faith in God is not allowed to enter paradise. Even such a great poet whom Dante himself admires that much cannot enter heaven in Dante's own book, not to mention those of the ordinary ones. By doing so, Dante successfully delivered his message that everyone should have faith in God above all. Finally, Beatrice Portinari who is Dante's idealized love since childhood, but died in 1290, takes over Virgil's leading role in Paradiso.  In Canto XXX of purgatory, Beatrice appears in a white veil and crown as a literal symbol of Divine love,  reprimanding Dante harshly until Dante started to confess his guilt as a sinner. As Dante wrote, "I was the guilty child facing his mother, abject before her harshness...". After Dante was finished with his confession, Beatrice soon lead him to paradise, beholding the Divine Light glowing at the highest point, the Empyrean. Beatrice Portinari is the incarnation of divine wisdom, virtue, and beauty, manifesting as what is required for a mortal to unite with the Lord of the cosmos.

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     To sum up, Dante constantly inserts symbolic meanings into characters, including beasts, sinners, and even respectable ones, allowing the readers to acquire some antique qualities while enjoying the content itself. From my perspective, not only does it meet his attempts of convincing and clarifying that Christianity is the only true religion, but also makes his work more accessible to the readers throughout the ages.