At the beginning of the Divine Comedy, Dante the Pilgrim believes he is in mortal danger and experiences extreme mental distress. Why then does Dante consider this work a comedy? Your answer should be at least one hundred words.

Question

Rory Mcfarland

English

20 May, 17:12

At the beginning of the Divine Comedy, Dante the Pilgrim believes he is in mortal danger and experiences extreme mental distress. Why then does Dante consider this work a comedy? Your answer should be at least one hundred words.

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Aden Mercer · Answer 1

Well, the first reason is that back then, in Dante's time, "comedy" didn't really mean funny. In this case, it meant that even though the whole story/poem is full of despair and torture and torment, it actually ends with a happy ending. Back in Dante's era, this meant that instead of being a tragedy, this epic poem was considered a comedy.

Consider Shakespeare's work Romeo and Juliet. It ends with the two young lovers dying, right? That is a tragedy. There is no happiness there. But at the end of Inferno, Dante the Pilgrim actually succeeds in his goals.