Hui 325 E1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hui 325 E1 - Essay Example The angel kissing Beatrice symbolizes that she is safe, and she would be loved in the world in which she is headed. In the Divine Comedy, Dante spends three nights in his ascent to Purgatory, and has a different dream each night. The dreams foreshadow events that are to take place during his journey. Dante’s three unique dreams, all happen in the early morning hours. Each dream portrays specific happenings and connects events of Dante’s journey. The dreams prepare Dante for events that he is to encounter, and prepare readers for his journey. The first dream is the image of a golden eagle, which appears in Canto IX, just before dawn as Dante sleeps outside the gates of Purgatory. The eagle snatches him and soars upwards. This symbolizes the ascension that Dante and humans need to undergo in order to reach Paradise. The divine characteristics of the eagle are shown. It’s fixed and determined flight path (lines 25-28). To Dante, the eagle’s glory symbolizes the glory of the Roman Empire. The dream also prophesies Dante’s ascension. When he awakens, he realizes that he has been physically moved by Divine Lucy to paradise. Among the three dreams, it is the only one that gives a picture of Dante’s physical appearance. The dream ends and immediately Lucy departs, symbolizing divine transportation that Divine Lucy offers Dante. Dante’s second dream takes place in Canto XIX in the early morning hours. In this dream, Dante encounters a siren. He sees a woman who at first he describes as ugly (lines 8-9). Dante’s powerful gaze converts her into a powerful object of beauty (lines 10-15). The woman sings, captivating Dante’s eyes and sending him into a trance. An angelic woman who alerts Virgil about the trance saves him. This symbolizes that without Virgil, Dante could not have made it through the journey of Purgatory. It also shows free will, depicted by the way Dante had to choose