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The Role of Virgil

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The Role of Virgil Virgil, the Roman poet, is more than Dante’s guide on this journey through the underworld. His relationship with the character of Dante in the poem is wide-ranging in importance and symbolism. He is a figure of authority, reason, and even a metaphorical father. Having traversed the territory before, Virgil serves as a figure of knowledge and safety to Dante, who is at times uncertain and timid about traversing such a treacherous terrain. In Canto II, Dante hesitates at the Vestibule that marks the entrance to hell. It is only through the reassurance of Virgil’s words that he finds fortitude. Dante feels compassion for Virgil as his master and mentor and states, “Thy words have moved my heart to its first purpose. My guide! My Lord! My Master! Now lead on”. At numerous other points also, Virgil shows his authority by dealing with deterrences that occur during their journey as in Canto III, when the ferryman, Charon, refuses Dante passage since he is a living man. Virgil forces Charon to grant them passage: “Charon, bite back your spleen:/This has been willed where what is willed must be/and is not yours to ask what it may mean.” Virgil’s influence, however, is limited. His power is associated with the power of reason, and this power is limited in Dante’s hell. At the very beginning, Virgil warns Dante of this. He says that at the end of the journey through hell that a worthier spirit shall be sent to guide Dante. Virgil cannot accompany Dante on into heaven because his virtues included only reason and not faith. Even at the points when Virgil is functional in clearing the path for the poets, it is only through voicing the fact that their journey is a mandate of heaven. For example when he and Dante are confronted by Minos, Virgil again silently protests, and again by stating their divine purpose: “It is his fate to enter every door/This has been willed where what is willed must be, and is not yours to question. Say no more.” In these examples, Virgil is used as a sort of mediator of reason between Dante and God. Dante seems to be suggesting that though reason is limited in where it can get you, it can be an important tool in interpreting and understanding one’s relationship with the higher power. Virgil’s limitation of influence is shown at the gate of Dis, which blocks the way to the inner circles of Hell, which is guarded by fallen angels. (Fredlund) Though they are fallen and are sentenced to an existence in Hell, these souls are of a Heavenly nature. Accordingly, Virgil’s influence, being a symbol of reason, falls short with these souls. They must wait for a Heavenly messenger to come before they can proceed to the lower circles of Hell. The fact that he can accompany Dante the Pilgrim on this portion of the journey through Hell but no further helps to underscore the point that an intelligent use of reason is sufficient for an understanding of nature of God's justice that is, for the first part of a transforming journey to a fuller encounter with God, but it can take one only so far. (Kautzman) In addition to being the symbol of reason, Virgil is also a fatherly figure to Dante. Dante frequently describes him as such in the poem in ways such as “the sweet Guide and Father”. (Aligheri) Virgil at times protects Dante in a fatherly manner, as when they encounter the three furies at the gate of Dis. At the horrible sight of the furies, Dante draws closer to Virgil. The furies then call Medusa to turn the two poets into stone. Virgil commands Dante to turn his back and cover his eyes. He then turns Dante himself and puts his hands on top of his to help shield his eyes. This scene rings with a fatherly, protective tone. It is obvious that Dante views Virgil as a sort of paternal figure. This figure could have many meanings. Obviously, Virgil could represent a forefather and creator of the art of poetry. Dante, committing himself to this craft, could view himself as a surrogate, a bearer of the noble name of poetry that forefathers in the art created. More importantly, though, he is a father of virtue. He represents the nobility of all of those great thinkers of the classical world, and the heights they attained in logic, ethics, science, and art. However, like any father-child relationship, there comes a point when the child must usurp his father. However noble and wise a father may be, his wisdom is limited to that that was available in his lifetime. The child has not only available to him all of his father’s knowledge, but also new ideas and enlightenments that come about as time moves on. Reason and logic aren’t useless in Dante’s view, but they are incomplete without the next step, faith in God and repentance of sins. Dante illustrates his matching of the virtues of Virgil when he is accepted so readily into the circle of poets that inhabit The Citadel where the honorable pagans dwelled. The poets, “the masters of that highest school whose song outsoars all other like an eagle’s flight”, confer amongst themselves and then “turned and welcomed me most graciously.” (Aighieri) Dante here dubiously illustrates the feeling that he is on par with the greatest poets in history. He has matched their abilities. His superseding of these forefathers is symbolized in his ability to traverse where they cannot. Virgil must leave Dante in the hands of a more worthy soul when his journey though hell is done. Dante, having sought the divine knowledge that his father figure didn’t seek in his life, is granted passage into a higher realm. He thus usurps the power of Virgil and initiates a metaphorical genesis of “adulthood”. In conclusion, Virgil represents a figure of authority, reason, and father to Dante. His roles serve to lead Dante out of Hell, and instill a thought of faith and holiness of which Virgil himself was devoid of due to his pre-Christian existence. More broadly, Virgil embodies all the wisdom that Dante had learned from the classical world

Works Cited
1. Aligheiri, Dante. “Dante’s Inferno.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Vol B. Ed. Martin Puncher. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2012. Print.

2. Fredlund , William . "Dante's Inferno: A Summary" Institute for the Study of Western Civilization . Web. 04 Jan 2013. <http://www.westernciv.com/greatminds/dante/danteinfernosum.shtml>.

3. Kautzman, Kellen. “Dante’s Inferno: Virgil”. Bright Hub Education. http://www.brighthubeducation.com, Inc, 2010. Web. 3 Aug. 2010. <http://www.brighthubeducation.com/>.

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