Free Essay

The Role of Virgil

In: Novels

Submitted By ChSk8r12
Words 1128
Pages 5
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/>.

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Aeneid vs. Confessions

...Readers of literature often see similarities between various works of scholarly authors. In fact, many authors study famous writers before them and replicate their ideas. In the case of Augustine, he was always studying philosophy and popular works that were written before his age. The ancient Greek poet Virgil, author of The Aeneid, was an influential author in Augustine’s own piece, Confessions. Augustine creates a similar story to The Aeneid by recycling many of Virgil’s ideas and forming a role model for Christians around the world in his story, Confessions. Similarities between The Aeneid and Confessions are abounding. Augustine uses a very similar geographical route in his story that Virgil uses in Aeneas’s conquest. In Book III of Confessions, Augustine moves to Carthage, the same city in which Aeneas arrives in The Aeneid. Augustine, like Aeneas, leaves Carthage and goes to Italy. Both characters eventually fulfill their missions in Italy. Aeneas ultimately finds Rome, and Augustine discovers Catholicism and the Lord in Milan. Upon arrival in Carthage, Augustine reminds the reader of Aeneas’s story saying, “I came to Carthage and all around me hissed a cauldron of illicit loves” (Book III, i). In this reference to The Aeneid, Augustine describes the love affair of Dido and Aeneas. Although they profess openly as lovers after their adventure in the caves, they are not technically married. In Augustine’s own life, he has a lover and they are not married. Ultimately...

Words: 1329 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Louise Cowan's The Terrain Of Comedy

...Louise argues that the whole of redemption fits into these fours elements of poetry. Lyric is the realm of love, the “place of origins and sources…symbolized by the garden.” Lyric represents both the pre-Fall condition of man and the redemptive state. Tragedy is the loss of the garden; comedy is man enduring in the fallen world. Epic, however, restores man to his pre-Fall state. The epic “struggles to build or cleanse,” attempting to complete the journey to the new Eden, one which is “redeemed and made new.” Dante projects his redemptive journey in the Divine Comedy upon the conversation between Statius and Virgil. In Statius and Virgil’s conversation, Dante reveals the necessity of epic, its shortcomings, and lyrics role in redemption. The epic is the journey to redemption and Love lyric is the end. Dante, throughout the divine comedy, reveals the epic struggle. Virgil, the epic poet, does what the saint cannot,...

Words: 1485 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

How Does Virgil Present Dante's Inferno?

...Although Dante and Virgil encounter as many as thirty demons along their travels, I will only be addressing the demons who serve as the role of guardians. These demons are crucial to the narrative because they act as a barriers who jeopardize Dante’s travels. Dante and Virgil’s reactions and descriptions of the guardians display a change in the severity of the demons that they encounter. The first demon who Dante encounters is a ferryman named Charon. Charon rows the boat across the river Acheron that leads to the first circle of...

Words: 1924 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Common Sayings and Their Moral Significance: Lessons Taught by in the Heat of the Night

...below helps us to explore moral hazards presented by John Ball in his fascinating and powerful novel. Don’t judge a book by its cover When a man named Mantoli is murdered, Sam Wood, who is a white, racist police officer, believes the criminal must be a black man because the victim is white. Sam goes to the railroad station and arrests Virgil Tibbs because Tibbs is black and therefore guilty, at least in Sam’s opinion. Sam later discovers that he has made the mistake of arresting an innocent fellow police officer. Bill Gillespie, the chief of police, is also a white racist. He makes the same error for the same reason. Later in the novel, Sam must inform the victim’s daughter, Duena Mantoli, about her father. On his way to the Endicott’s house where she is staying, Sam thinks to himself that Duena, like all Italian girls, will marry early and then become too fat. But Wood is wrong again, and this is another example of racial prejudice and superficial judgement. Chief Gillespie arrests Harvey Oberst because in part he believes Harvey is ‘poor white trash’ who therefore must need money. Both Sam and Bill also suspect Virgil of the murder because he is carrying a large amount of cash. Of course they are as wrong about Tibbs as they are about Oberst. Harvey is also a racist who initially judges Tibbs by his colour and does not want to deal with a black man. Later,...

Words: 936 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Dante's Inferno And The Tempest Comparative Essay

...For time in general things happen. They either happen for a significant reason or symbolic reason or they happen just all of a sudden. That is the problem with time it gets frustrating that way. The problem of time is crucial because significant things happen simultaneously in that period. For the two stories occur in a framework were things must happen at a significant time for things to work to the advantage of the characters. The stories that will be analyzed will be that of Dante’s inferno and that of Shakespeare’s the tempest. For time characters such as Virgil (Dante’s inferno) and Prospero (the tempest) don’t have enough of. The first person that would be analyzed would be Virgil and his connection with time. Virgil in the story of...

Words: 1346 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Dante

...introduction 'Earthly life passed before the half, I found myself in a dark forest ... "- With these lines begins one of the greatest and most brilliant works of world literature - "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. "This is a poem about the Dante," danteida, "and at the same time, a poem about a man who, descending and ascending the ladder of the universe, cleaned, and acquires perfect knowledge." People at all times sought to know the universe. And he could not. Maybe that's why his "comedy" to this day loved by ordinary readers and critics, and researchers are still hotly debated around her, every day, opening in this work, something new, not yet solved. "" Comedy "- it's poetry, which has become itself the judge, interpreter, and the key to unlocking secrets" - rightly remarked Alexander L. Dobrokhotov in his book "Dante Alighieri". The theme of my work - "The conductors and the twins Dante and their functions in the" Divine Comedy. '"I think for most of its first full disclosure should understand that in general it is a product. First, the genre of "Comedy" - a vision. The entire poem - a "journey to the underworld, this poet in a vision." However, it is worth noting that "in the" Divine Comedy "the central character - not an abstract" I "and Dante with all the features of his personality and life events of the past ... At the same time," Comedy "is a fiction that develops on the literary laws." Dobrokhotov draws our attention to the fact that "the combination of...

Words: 4891 - Pages: 20

Free Essay

Duddy Kravitz as an Anti Hero

...money. He was willing to do anything for an extra tip, and according to the owner, Duddy was “the quickest boy in the dining room” (Richler 105). He had determination to become friends with the wealthy businessmen staying at Rubin’s and observed them closely. Duddy “marked the advertising section of the Sunday addition of the New York Times for novelties, bargains and possible gains.” (Richler 82). This was a skill he “picked up from Mr. Cohen, whose family was staying at Rubin’s for the entire summer.” (Richler 82). Duddy almost became too observant of the men; he spent the majority of his time thinking about how to earn the most money, which contributed to his excessive greed. Although the businessmen were wealthy, most were not great roles models. Duddy watched their actions a little too carefully and believed he should mimic everything they did. Duddy watched all the businessmen who came to the hotel. He made sure they got to know him too, and that they made no mistake about his being a waiter. That was temporary. He watched the way they avoided their wives and the sun and sat...

Words: 1673 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Homer, Virgil & Milton

...Homer, Virgil and Milton Homer, Virgil and Milton’s use of allusion in their literature is apparent and most likely educational. They all have clear and recurring parallels between their works. Particularly complex are the allusions to Achilles, which appear in the portrayals of both Aeneas and Turnus. W. S. Anderson, in his influential article1 on Vergil's use of the Iliad, has argued that although Achilles is initially invoked as a model for both Aeneas and Turnus in Aeneid, as the poem progresses Vergil establishes Aeneas as the true heir to Achilles, while Turnus becomes a new Hector or Paris. Book 9 opens with Iris urging Turnus to take advantage of Aeneas' absence by attacking the Trojan camp, a clear reference to Iliad where Iris rouses Achilles to drive the Trojans from the Greek camp. Anderson has argues that “Vergil uses this allusion to support Turnus' own false notion that he is a new Achilles,” a delusion which is gradually dispelled in Book 10 after the reappearance of the real successor to Achilles, Aeneas. The resemblance of the attack of the Latins on the Trojan camp to the attack of Hector and his companions on the Greek camp in Iliad Book 8 and 12 seems to support such a view, placing Turnus in the role of Hector and not Achilles. Later, however, the issue is complicated further as in his slow retreat before the Trojans Turnus is reminiscent of Ajax in Iliad. Finally, just at the end of his retreat, Turnus turns and just jumps into the river, like Achilles'...

Words: 877 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

The Aeneid: The Dead And The Roman Underworld

...Written over 2000 years ago, the epic poem and great work, The Aeneid by the infamous author and poet Publius Virgilius Maro, better known as Virgil is an insightful read and look into a life generations before our own and what we know civilisation to be nowadays. One very interesting aspect of this work is the representation of the rights of the dead and the Roman underworld. Virgil was one of the first authors to introduce these ideas to a modern society and legends and myths that up until that time, were spread through word of mouth and from one generation to another. Many of the rituals and practices however differed in Virgil’s version than from the times he was writing about. Virgil intertwined fantasy and reality into his works to entertain...

Words: 271 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Dido's Obedience To The Gods In The Aeneid

...be otherwise unattainable. We are challenged every day to surpass those obstacles that hold us back, knowing that they can be very meaningful. In the epic of The Aeneid, written by the Roman poet, Virgil, we come across Aeneas, who is marked by his loyalty and devotion, his pietas. This epic also raises the controversy of weather Aeneas wrongs Dido. However, his unquestionable obedience to the gods cannot possibly be blamed for Dido’s heartbroken soul. In the early books of the Aeneid, Aeneas is presented as the son of gods, a valiant, brave...

Words: 1239 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Ancient Literature Essay

...religious elements and themes have resulted. These two stories are no exception. Ancient Greek and Roman religious themes are present in both The Aeneid and Agamemnon. Both stories revolve around the philosophy that what we do with our lives is controlled by the Gods and to disrespect and dishonor the Gods is blasphemy, which will automatically lead to punishment. Both stories are similar in that the Gods are the beholders of the ultimate supreme power and the deciders of our hero’s fates. In other words, if it is not written by the Gods, then it is not the will of the Gods, and is therefore not to be done. It is also apparent in both stories that pleasing the Gods is everything to the characters and ultimately a deciding factor in their roles. Without the acceptance and pleasing of the Gods, the characters see their actions as not worthy and show the Gods ultimate power to keep them in line to fulfill their desires. It is seen as best to follow what the Gods lay down for your fate rather than deal with the unpleasant consequences ahead if you do not. In the story The Aeneid, Aeneas is faced with temptation and has to decide...

Words: 1486 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Ok Corral

...The gunfight at the O.K. Corral is one of if not the most famous gunfight of all time. The O.K. Corral was located in the Arizona territory in the rough town of Tombstone. Even though only three men were killed during this incident, it embodies the old west era, which was legal authorities versus outlaws. The gunfight consisted of nine people who were as follows: Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp, Doc Holliday,Ike Clanton, Billy Clanton,Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and Billy Claiborne. “John Henry “Doc” Holliday was born in Griffin, Georgia, on August 14, 1851.”[1] It is said that he had surgery on his cleft palate when he was two months old, however some historians and physicians debate on whether or not this really happened. “He and his family moved to Valdosta, Georgia in 1864 where his mother died two years later of tuberculosis, Holliday was only 15 at the time.”[1] When he was 19 he moved to Philadelphia where he went to school to earn his dental degree. In 1873 he moved to Dallas, Texas and decided to open a dental office. After a year or so he became a dedicated gambler when he realized that it was more profitable than his dental work. In 1875 he had his first run-in with the law and was indicted for illegal gambling. He was found guilty and left the state for a few years. Holliday came back to Texas in 1877 where he met a man named Wyatt Earp. They began a new unlikely friendship that they would keep until their deaths. They were introduced to each other by a man named...

Words: 1761 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Analysis of the Setting in Inferno

...An Analysis of the Setting in The Inferno Abstract Plutus and Pluto, and their placement in the fourth circle of Hell, were originally very confusing for me. After researching for the interactive oral, I had a much better understanding of him because, in Greek mythology, he is the God of wealth and, in Roman mythology, he is the God of the underworld. Pluto, the Roman God, is not only the God of the underworld, but also of the riches. He is placed in the fourth circle of Hell, that of greed and avarice, which makes sense because of the occupants’ sins, which have to do with riches and wealth. Also, the negative association of money and wealth to greed helped me tie in why a God was in Hell, other than the fact that Pluto/Plutus was Roman/Greek and not Christian. This development not only helped me understand why greed was around the middle of Hell, but also why Pluto/Plutus was there. It also connects to the prevalent idea of retribution, or an eye-for-an-eye, because the God of wealth, riches, and the underworld (money and evil) was around greed (evil due to money). My understanding of the retribution idea in The Inferno was also developed substantially through the interactive oral. Originally, it was easy for me to understand that the punishments were retributive; such as those who tried to look into the future will look backwards (to the past) for all eternity; gluttoners are rained upon by vomit (because they regurgitated what they ate), etc.; but what I did not understand...

Words: 1746 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

The Indian Organ

...Not only does the denial of access to culturally embedded culinary practices cause a “slippage of subjectivity” into something else, but the food itself does not seem like food at all, eliminating a bodily need that was constitutive of individual identity and destabilizing the donor identity as it interrupts its biological processes. More than forcing different cultural standards on the Prakesh family’s consumption habits, Ginny has seen to it that they receive only nourishment that has been so mitigated by technology that it no longer resembles food in any “natural” sense at all. Rather than rice, fish, or potatoes, their kitchen is stocked with “multi-colored pellets” and a specialized “cooking device.” The kitchen itself, as a space highly productive of identities marked by difference, has been “dismantled.” Concerning this food-stuff Detsi-Diamanti writes, “Being constantly monitored and fattened like the proverbial lamb before the slaughter, the characters begin to lead antiseptic lives, eating multicolored pills instead of food, avoiding human contact for fear of contamination” (italics mine, 115), of which one should note the animal comparison. In this fashion, Ginny does not merely invest in her donor population, but rather erases their own domestic identity, and replaces it with the sterilized version suitable to her commodification of their bodies and organs, as she has ordered that the guard “cleans and swabs the entire area.” Similarly, in factory farm environments...

Words: 2260 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Mohammed In Dante's Inferno

...continues his journey with the beckoning of his companion. On the other hand, Dante’s guiding spirit, Virgil, noting his “‘spirit is assailed by cowardice, / which many a time so weighs upon a man / it turns him back from noble enterprise,’” suggests a path first through Hell that is capable of setting the cause of his initial trepidation aright (Alighieri 2.45-47). Beyond the similarities in these stories, Dante gives more direct hints of his knowledge of Mohammed’s nightly journey within the latter’s interactions with Virgil and Dante in canto XXVIII. Mohammed first gains Virgil’s attention when he confuses Dante for a dead soul that is attempting to avoid his punishment temporarily by gawking at Mohammed’s mutilation, despite the mechanism of the demonic transportation of souls forbidding this hesitation. Mohammed’s confusion may arise from his own journey through the afterlife, which allowed him to observe the damned without heading immediately to his eternal punishment. He would not be able to predict Dante’s state of living, however, as it is this journey that ultimately causes Mohammed’s true death. The classical poet’s direct and almost pointed response and description of Dante’s personal path, according to Angelo de Fabrizio, also addresses Mohammed’s “similar presumption to have visited the Other World during his lifetime” (Lieberknecht). Within his words, Virgil also makes the distinction that “death does not have [Dante] yet nor does his guilt lead him to torment”...

Words: 2972 - Pages: 12