Write a critical appreciation of the symbols used by Dante in Canto I.

Introduction:

A complicated interpretation, metaphors and symbolism are found in every line of Dante’s Inferno. The first Canto is a canto of introduction to the whole Comedy. Midway of our life is 35 years. Therefore we are in 1300. The dark forest is symbolic of sin. Dante's Inferno indicates a journey. The journey is difficult and full of revelations, disappointment and questions, but they persevere. Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. Some symbols are used in the following:

The Dark forest:

The dark forest is symbolic of sin. Dante loses his path in dark forest. The dark forest is a product of poet’s imagination. Danty finds the dark forest at the beginning of the poem which is describes in vague terms.

The Sun:

The sun is symbolic of God. Dante sees that the sun shines down from the Hilltop.

Dante also used some animal Symbolism in Canto I of Inferno that emulates the negative connotation within animal imagery assumed by Christianity. Dante's symbols are the leopard, the lion, and the she-wolf whose indicates the different categories of sins.

Leopard:

Dante used it for the sins of malice and fraud because the leopard, having a spotted pelt. The leopard will bide his time and strike at the most optimal moment, when its prey least suspects it.

Lion:

Dante uses the lion to denote sins of violence and ambition because the lion is considered to be an aggressive and assertive creature that has a tendency to satisfy his own needs. Dante makes a metaphoric symbol of the lion, as one who commits violent and/or ambitious sins can be compared with many similarities. The lion is also symbolic in Egyptian Mythology.

She-wolf:

Dante employs the she-wolf to represent the sins of incontinence that a human cannot resist, such as lust and adultery. He chooses the she-wolf as she is mysterious and because wolves tend to hunt in packs.

The protagonists of this travel are three, such as Dante, Virgil and Beatrice. Other major types of symbols include figures whose represent human qualities in the following: 

Dante:

 The 1st one is Dante himself, symbolic of whole mankind. Dante is author and main protagonist of Divine Comedy.

Virgil:

The 2nd one is Virgil, symbolic of human reason. He is a Dante's guide through Inferno and Purgatory. It was the famous Roman poet Virgil, who is Dante’s inspiration and all-time favorite idol. Virgil who lived under Julius Caeser and then Augustus. He is the most famous for his Aeneid. This epic poem recounts the journey of Aeneus from Troy.

Beatrice:

The 3rd one is Beatrice, who is representative of spiritual love.  A woman loved by Dante during his life. In the Divine Comedy, she’s the symbol of God’s love which can help the man to be saved. She is a Dante's guide through Paradiso.

Conclusion:

Dante’s main purpose in writing the Divine Comedy was to preach the necessity of a moral and religious renew for everybody, in order to get ready for the after-life and to ascend to Heaven, eternally saved. Dante acts as a prophet who speak in behalf of God to the whole mankind. In this sense, he’s strongly medieval and his poem is the higher expression of this culture.