Dante s Devil Disappointing Or Fitting - 2013 Words

Dante s Devil: Disappointing or Fitting Whether a saint or a sinner is reading Dante s Inferno for the first time, he cannot help but enthusiastically anticipate the â€Å"arrival† of the Devil in the poem. How could he not? Man will either be motivated by his concupiscence or by his holy desire for justice; either force will compel him to look upon the most pitiable of creatures. With each passing canto, as Dante passes more and more malice-filled souls, a plethora of questions arise that demand answers; what will the once-great Light-Bearer be like now; what will his serpent-tongue communicate to Dante; can and will Dante be tempted by him? I myself longed with an ever increasing heart-rate to know what Dante had in store for me, the†¦show more content†¦one cannot be blown around as the souls in Circle II are and also feel the weight of the lead mantle that the hypocrites don in the sixth ditch of Circle VIII], in a way, it seems to befit Lucifer to undergo the punishments of each category. Does an absolute monarch not own everything under his kingdom, even if he doesn t have direct possession of all things at the same time? Though it is neither the first nor the last part of Hell, the Circle of Fraud is one of the most crucial to examine and determine the nature of Satan s punishment. With the sole exception of the second ring of Violence, the Circle of Fraud is the only circle in which a person s soul can be physically changed. Half of the ditches involve a distortion, perpetual sickness, or transformation. Satan, being the Father of Lies, is most justly transformed, like those fraudulent souls, into something he ought not to have been. â€Å"If he was fair as he is hideous now, / and raised his brow in scorn of his creator / he is fit to be the source of every sorrow.†1 In light of this quote, two things should be noted. The first is that Dante ties the Devil s form, both past and current, to his place in Salvation Hist ory as the â€Å"source of every sorrow.† The fact that he must have been so beautiful and still rebelled, leading angel and man astray through deception, required that he be changed to reflect his â€Å"heart.† This new form of Satan,