Dante’s Inferno

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Despite Dante’s unbelief, Virgil, an old Roman poet, encourages Dante to follow him and abide with his wishes. As Dante, and his trusted guide Virgil, pass through the circles of hell, they encounter various animals. Each animal represents one of the major categories of sin. The first ferocious animal that they encounter in Canto 1 is the Leopard. The leopard is symbolic of malice, fraud and dishonesty. In its natural, uninhibited environment, a leopard will try to hide himself from natural predators. It will typically wait until the optimum time to attack its prey. In this Canto, the leopard blocks his path. “Beyond the point the slope begins to rise sprang up a leopard, trim and very swift! It was covered by a pelt of many spots. And everywhere I looked, the beast was there blocking my way, so time and time again I was about to turn and go back down” (Purcher 1601). The leopard uses the colors of the environment to disguise its identity and sinister motives.

In Canto XVII, Dante encounters Geryon. Despite the innocent initial perception, he is a horrible conniving beast, whose intentions are pure evil, fraud and malice. “His face is appealing like that of an honest man, but his body ends in a scorpionlike stinger”(Purcher 1655). Satan is the ultimate perception of fraud as the precursor to the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Despite the pure intention, this nature is symbolic of a leopard.

As Dante and Virgil continue on his righteous path through hell, the next animal that they encounter is the lion. The lion is symbolic of violence, ambition and pride. In a lion’s natural habitat, it is presumed to be peaceful until aggression occurs. Within its natural environment, a lion is considered the crown of the food chain. A pack of lions is considered a pride. “ …when the figure of a lion loomed up before me, and he was coming straight toward me, it seemed, with head raised high, and furious with hunger- the air around him seemed to fear his presence” (Purcher 1601). A lion, by his natural ability, will seek to satisfy his own will, regardless of the cost or expense of others. 1 Peter 5:8 describes the destructive nature of the lion. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (New International Version, 1 Peter 5:8). The symbolic use of a lion is a perception of anger, brutality, hatred in human nature and society.

The last animal that they encounter in this canto is the she wolf. The she wolf is symbolic of incontinence. “ And now a she wolf came, that in her leanness seemed racked with every kind of greediness…so she made me do, that relentless beast; coming towards me, slowly, step by step, she forced me back to where the sun is mute “( Purcher). The she wolf is a predator by instinct and nature. It doesn’t discriminate nor does it show mercy. “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning it devours its prey, in the evening he devours the plunder” (Genesis 49:27). This Bible verse shows the deceptive nature, emotions and irresistible urges of a she wolf. Humans will typically submit to their sin, desires and irresistible urges. The same humanistic actions are similar to the natural behaviors of a she wolf and their primal instinct. The she wolf is also symbolic of adultery and lust. In William McDougal’s Instinct Theory of Motivation, he writes “Humans are compelled by behaviors that are unlearned, uniform in expression and universal to the species” (Huffman 494). This nature is also relevant in Jeremiah 5:6. “Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many” (Jeremiah 5:6).

The animal symbolism reflects the morals, sins in humanity and the consequences; it also reflects the concern for humanity in its separation from God. These animals almost persuaded them to run and depart the pilgrimage to be reunited with God. As Dante and Virgil emerge from their pilgrimage through hell, Dante has a divine revelation of the beauty of nature and its entire splendor. The use of animals in Dante’s Inferno reinforces the allegoric message - all of mankind has fallen short of God. In Dante’s humility, he came to an understanding of the deity of God and importance of a relationship with God in order to secure an eternal afterlife away from hell.

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Work Cited

Bible, Zondervan NIV Study. The New International Version Study Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2015. Book.

Blow, Susan E. "Dante's Inferno." The Journal of Speculative Philosophy 3 (1989): 121-138. Article.

"Dante Alighieri." 2015. The Famous People website. Jul 18 2015, 08:52 //www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/dante-alighieri-196.php.

Huffman, Karen. Psychology in Action. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2005. Book.

Pulcher, Martin. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. New York, New york: W.W Norton & Company, 2014. Book.