The Beasts and Monsters in Dantes Inferno Essay example -- Divine Com

The Inferno is the premier section of Dantes three-part poem, The Divine Comedy. Throughout Dantes epic journey into the depths of Inferno he encounters thirty monsters and five hybrid creatures. The or so significant of these monsters are of central importance to his journey and to the narrative, as they non only challenge Dantes presence in Inferno, that are custodians of nether region, tutelage in order or guarding the perduta gente. In this essay I am concentrating on these prominent beasts, namely Minos, Cerberus, Plutus and Geryon, establishing why they feature in Dantes eschatological vision and discussing the sources which influenced his inclusion of these particular creatures. These four monsters all fulfil of the essence(p) functions as well as representing important themes in Inferno, establishing them as symbols which beef up Dantes allegory. Minos, as the infernal judge and agent of Gods justice, represents our own conscience and morality. When the sinners shi ne before him tutta si confessa, which causes the reader to reflect on their own sins.His rattling(a) treatment of the souls is significant as after Charon, he is one of the first figures who they encounter on their passage into Hell, and his unique method of demonstrating which area of Hell that the souls should be sent to increases the horror and adds to the alarming atmosphere. His warning to Dante, is similar to some(prenominal) of the infernal custodians, who continually remind him that he should not be in the Otherworld, tu che vieni al doloroso ospizio, guarda comentri e di cui tu ti fide non tinganni lampiezza de lintrare (1) However, Cerberuss reaction to Dante is one of obvious spite and vice, and rather than comment on his presence he... ...s Minoss warning to Dante and his unusual case of how the sinners are judged. The monsters also form strategic narrative devices, as their confrontations with Dante and Virgil hold open the pattern of incident and movement i n the text, adding variety and tension. The beasts form an congenital and essential part of the narrative because of the excitement and terror that they add to Dante and Virgils journey, as well as reinforcing Dantes classification of sin. They also illustrate the traditional motifs of Otherworld visions, whilst simultaneously expanding and developing previous representations of the afterlife in order to form cowcatcher and exciting creations. This shows the importance Dante placed on the inclusion of these beasts as they not only express the influence of other works on Inferno, but also his own spectacular creativity and fantasy.