Light Imagery
From the opening stanzas of Paradiso, it is clear that light will play an important role in Dante's imagination of heaven. As Beatrice and Dante rise through the spheres of heaven, Dante repeatedly comments on the increase of light as they near God; the souls in Paradise are represented as moving lights; and Dante frequently turns to the language of "splendor" and reflection to evoke God's "eternal Light" as it filters through the universe.
Ship Imagery
Throughout the Commedia, Dante's journey is compared to the voyage of a ship on a great sea. One can see this as early as the first canto of the Inferno, and it recurs in Paradiso as early as canto two: "you may indeed set out, your ship afloat/upon the salty deep," Dante writes. Thus, the motif of navigation and the theme of guidance meet in Dante's "ship," in which he figures his reader and himself as sailors on dangerous waters.
Imprinting
Across the Paradiso, Dante turns to a particular set of images related to imprints, seals, and stamps, often to describe God's "mark" on the created world. Figures like Beatrice and Charles Martel discuss God's "imprint" on the wax of the world; others refer to counterfeit coins. All these uses refer, importantly, to concrete practices in the Middle Ages, such as coin-making and letter-making. In both cases, the "imprint" is a mark of authenticity, and in Paradiso, the images serve similar ends, evoking the true creation of God.
Flowers
Flowers appear across the Paradiso, but they serve a multitude of ends. The lily, for example, at one point represents the city of Florence and the violence between the Guelfs and Ghibellines. Yet when Dante sees the host of heaven, the apostles appear as white lilies, seemingly meant to evoke their purity. Mary, too, appears in the final cantos as a red rose blossoming, which evokes the red of blood, sacrifice, and spirit.
