“When I had walked half the path of our life, I found myself in a shady forest, because I had lost the path that does not deviate. Ah, it's difficult to say what it was, that wild, dense and difficult forest, which even at the memory renews my fear: so bitter - death is certainly not more serious! (Alighieri, Canto I, 1-7). Dante immediately establishes the allegorical plan on which his story is based. Set around 1300, his journey through the dark and twisted forest is described vaguely, most likely due to the protagonist's sleepy disorientation. This ghostly forest proves to be a product of his imagination and incorporates ideas from various traditions, including the forest as an entrance to Hades as described by Virgil in the Aeneid and his association of sin with "a region of dissimilarity" in the Confessions of Augustine (Confessions, 7.10). Stories of the time also told of wandering knights of medieval courts getting stuck in dangerous undergrowth, from which they had to heroically try to escape. Yet, Dante compares the "dark forest" to everything he thought was wrong during his lifetime. He embodies the sins committed by society, as well as its lack of religious faith. His use of the “way of life” and the “path that does not turn aside” from the dark wood creates a clear dichotomy between the ignorance that comes from disbelief in God and the spiritual clarity provided by His love. By referring to his journey in a plural way, Dante suggests that this is a journey shared by all individuals who wish to understand and come to terms with their sins, and ultimately find peace with God. While venturing into the forest, Dante comes across three beasts. Before the adoption of the Christian idea...... middle of paper ......r “light”, for Dante during his journey through Hell. It provides him with hope and warmth – things that God is able to provide if an individual accepts and believes in Him. Dante's journey is representative of humanity's shared moments of weakness and fall into sin. From the beginning, sins are presented as dark woods that accompany a righteous path, from which Dante has strayed. Ascending from darkness into light brings hope and acceptance of God and His way. However, the obstruction of Dante's acceptance by the three beasts shows that he is still unworthy of Paradise, so he must travel through Hell with the hope of gaining knowledge and understanding of sin. By rising into the light – or emerging unscathed and learning about, as well as coming to terms with, society's mistakes – Dante will be able to demonstrate his faith and some sort of valor..