Free College Essays - Displays of Light in Paradiso :: Dante Paradiso Essays

Paradiso Displays of Light Dantes ascension throughout the entire Divine Comedy, that is to say that of his last book, Paradiso, is notedly marked by the variant displays of light and how it effects the poets. quintessential to the purpose of this entire poem is the depiction of Paradise as a realm of light that exists in nine spheres, whose proximity to God varies presently with their merit, shown by the number one three lines, "The glory of Him who moveth e verything /Doth penetrate the universe, and shine/ In one part more and in another less." (Dante, 293) In the juxtaposed spheres with the lesser radii, Dante notes the soft glowing lights, but as he approaches the centermost sphere, he attempts to describe the inexpressible gleaming of the vision of divinity, thus the recurrence of the proposition of light running throughout the poem. The first appearance in the grade of lighting occurs in Canto I where he refers to Paradise as " each that hemisphere was bathed in light/ The other dark." (Dante, 294) As he first enters heaven, he notes that its luminescence irradiates everything else around it, leaving it in total darkness. As he continues "Already did I rest content/ From great amazement but am now amazed/ In what way I transcend these bodies light." (Dante, 297) But this would only be the beginning of the amazement. This central constitution of light again appears in Canto XXIII, where Dante contemplates the symbolism of Christ as light. "Outshining myriad lamps beheld I then/ one Sun who kindled each and all, as ours/ kindles the stars that throng his high domain/ and through the rays, poured down in financial backing showers,/ the radiant substance, blazing on me, tried/ my mortal vision beyond my mortal powers." (Bergin, 111) Thus, Dante realizes that has been enlightened far beyond the length of what reason corporation describe. The final instance in the recurring sequence of lights occurs at the ver y end of the poem where he, "by a lightning flash my mind was strike/ And thus came the fulfillment of my wish.