Moral Message of the Divine Comedy

Dante effectively and dramatically shows the world to be full of powerful and dark forces which can tempt a human being off the path of righteousness:

Midway the journey of this life I was 'ware

That I had strayed into a dark forest,

And the right path appeared not anywhere.

Ah, tongue cannot describe how it oppressed

This wood, so harsh, dismal and wild, that fear

At thought of it strikes now into my breast (Dante 3).

However, if Dante were to simply show the inevitability of temptation and sin, and the horror of subsequent punishment to be delivered, his message would be hopelessness and despair. Accordingly, Dante offers an alternative to hell, an opportunity for salvation. The "city" or the path of the true way is symbolized by the high hill, in contrast to the dark wood of the life of the passions and senses: "But when my footsteps had attained the first/ Slope of a hill, at the end of that drear vale/ Which with such terror had my spirit pierced,/ I looked up and beheld its shoulders pale/ Already in clothing of that planet's light/ Which guideth men on all roads witho

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Approximate Word count = 1010
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page)

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