Dante’s Inferno: Canto 1 PDF

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Summary/reactive essay of Dante’s Inferno: Canto 1...

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Andrew Lisa Dante’s Inferno: Canto 1 Dante’s first Canto of Inferno describes his journey into a daunting region of the woods, where a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf block his path on the trail. In response to the sight of the third beast’s appearance, Dante writes, “The very sight of her so weighted me with fearfulness that I abandoned hope of ever climbing up that mountain slope” (Dante 1.52-54). Suddenly he sees a figure in the distance, who he discovers is the poet Virgil, who offers him a path around the beasts by which Dante will survive his journey. This alternate route is revealed to be a trek through Hell. Virgil, because of his shortcomings of holiness, becomes his guide in order to make up for his disobedience to God. This opening section is filled with symbolism which can be related to trials humans face in order to overcome seemingly impassable obstacles. The three beasts blocking the path can be symbols of these obstacles, and Virgil guiding Dante through Hell can represent help along the way to overcome them, though this alternate route is horrifying in and of itself. A simple application of this connection is to a disease which a person gets halfway through life like cancer. The cancer cannot easily be overcome just by simply living life and “walking along the trail”. The cancer must be treated, but this treatment is never easy. Chemotherapy and radiation have their own horrifying side effects which can be daunting, like the journey through Hell. However, with the proper guidance of doctors, represented by Virgil, and the willingness of the patient to go through with the treatments, like Dante following Virgil into Hell, the cancer can be cured. Since Dante must take this alternate route through Hell, he will undoubtedly struggle to complete it. Regardless of this fact, he has no other choice if he wishes to live, therefore he decides to follow Virgil into the Inferno so that he might overcome the obstacle which has been put in his way....