As we can see, Dante uses much animal
imagery for sinners in Inferno. From my perspective, there are several reasons
by using animals to present the sins.
First of all, having the punishments with
animals is a way to attract the readers and emphasize on the sinners
irredeemable guilt. In Canto XXV, the thieves in Bolgia Seven of the Eighth
Circle were punished by transforming between monster-liked creatures and human.
For example, Agnello comes in human form. He is merged with Cianfa, who looks
like a six-legged lizard. The ugly and nasty imagery Dante used enlarges the
pain of the sin and also refers to the sin of the sinner. In this case, the
sinners took stuffs from others into their own from their lifetime. When they
die, their bodies are taken out of themselves.
Besides, animals give a better sense of
the impersonality of those sinners. Human beings have a sense of logic in their
minds; however, animals can do whatever they needed to survive. In another
word, animals do not know how to control themselves. The endless desires from
the animals imply to the sinners everlasting demands. They lost their sense of
logic as human beings, so they are considered as animals without a difference.
Last but not least, the animals are
symbols from or main characters from the Bible and myths. Almost each of the
animals in Inferno has a reference in mythology. For instance, the snakes on
the thieves’ bodies are referring to the snakes from the Garden of Eden. Since
the snake deceives Eve to eat the apple on the tree which made Eve a thief, the
snake in the book represents for evil.
There are many other reasons by using
animal imagery in Inferno. In my view, for most parts animals are the best
medium to transfer the characteristic of the sinners and to enrich the content
in Inferno.
No comments:
Post a Comment