preview

Dante's Inferno Research Paper

Satisfactory Essays

Harrison Orne
1/26/16
English 12

Dante’s Inferno: A Comedy The word “comedy” has seen its fair share of abuse in the modern world. Many people would probably point to its definition as: “a piece of media that is generally considered to be funny.” Classical comedies can have elements of a comedic nature, but really, in order to be considered a comedy, an epic has to have an uncertain beginning leading up to a clear and happy ending. Comedies also have a certain style associated with them, such as being written in vernacular. Dante’s Inferno is a masterful example of a comedy with its uncertain beginning, happy ending, and writing style. The epic starts out in complete confusion. Dante the Pilgrim is wandering about in a forest having recently …show more content…

Comedies are usually characterized by this, in the sense that the reader’s understanding is not obscured by language that is way above their head. This was definitely an intentional choice, seeing as he most likely wanted as many people as possible to read his work and gain him notoriety. After all, it is about “Everyman” going into Hell and seeing its horrors, not Dante the Poet. Even though the topic of this essay is not: “Dante the Poet vs. Dante the Pilgrim,” it closely integrates because Dante the Pilgrim is a lot less intelligent and emotional than Dante the Pilgrim. One of the best showcases of this is when Dante the Pilgrim, overwhelmed by the horrors of Hell, faints at the end of a canto. The epic is clearly designed for the emotion driven common man, who may not have the best education in the world, and may not be as seasoned or heartless as the cold Dante the Poet. Comedies are a great outlet for an author to send across a message while not getting bogged down in the prose traditionally associated with tragedies. They typically have confusion leading up to a happy ending in a common language that people can understand, and Dante’s Inferno is a clear example of a comedy under that

Get Access