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Dante Alighieri's Inferno depicts Dante in the role of a man on a spiritual journey in pursuit of salvation. Along the way he encounters various historical and mythological figures whose stories help Dante realize the consequences of sin. Accompanying him is the poet Virgil, whose guidance will help Dante earn his redemption. At the beginning of Inferno, Dante found himself in a "sunless wood" because he had "wandered from the narrow path." [Canto I, ln.3] The narrow path represents a righteous and holy lifestyle, and the sunless wood represents the state of Dante's life at that time: disorderly, dark, and depressing. The physical and spiritual effects of sin become apparent in Canto One, where Dante is "dead with fatigue" and reduced to dragging his body with his "right leg always lower as [he] climbed." [Canto I, ln.29] This symbolizes how the weight of sin can impede the spiritual journey.
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