The Journey Symbol Analysis

Dante's poem is heavily allegorical, which means that there are countless individual, minor symbols throughout the text that stand for larger ideas. However, one major symbol that recurs throughout the poem is the idea of the journey. The first line of the poem compares Dante's life to a road or path which Dante is halfway through. Thus, when Dante strays from the right path in the beginning of Canto 1, he has symbolically strayed from the right kind of life. His journey with Virgil through hell is both a physical journey toward heaven and a more allegorical journey of spiritual progress toward God and away from sin. Throughout hell, Dante often lingers to talk to souls or is delayed because of his pity and fear. When Virgil repeatedly encourages him to stay on the course of their journey, he is also, in a sense, telling Dante not to stray from virtuousness. Similarly, the various impediments that threaten to halt Dante's journey are not just physical barriers, but can be seen as agents of hell that threaten to keep Dante from a pious life. Dante's purposeful journey toward the destination of heaven can be contrasted with the aimless wandering and back-and-forth movement of many damned souls in hell. They have completely lost the path of righteousness and literally have no direction in the afterlife. Dante, by contrast, has the ultimate goal of heaven, which gives a purpose and direction to his wandering.