IMAGES OF READING AND INTERPRETATION IN THE DIVINA COMMEDIA

Abstract

This essay looks closely at imagery and allegorical interpretation in the Divina Commedia by Dante Alighieri. Specifically, this paper explores the images of reading within the work and what appears to be Dante's attempt to shape his readers. In this essay, images of reading from all three sections of the Commedia: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. In Inferno, the images of blocked interpretation are discussed. It is in these images where Dante provides his readers with characters who are either unable to reach the allegorical interpretation, and these examples serve to educate the reader of the importance of being able to allegorically interpret images as they read the Commedia. In Purgatorio, the images of the Pilgrim's dreams are analyzed, looking specifically at the increasing capability of allegorical interpretation on the part of the Pilgrim. Finally, in Paradiso, the discussion focuses mainly on the shortcomings of human intellect. Here, examples of the Pilgrim's inability to interpret what he sees without divine intervention and how in retrospect, readers are able to more fully understand the allegory of the Commedia just as the Pilgrim is able to fully understand everything in the moment of his epiphany at the end of the poem.