An Epic Defined
...ivine Comedy by Dante expresses the faith of medieval Christianity. In the Inferno, the poet meets with mythological, historical and contemporary figures. Each character is symbolic of a particular fault or virtue, either religious or political; and the punishment given to the characters further illustrates the larger meaning of their actions in the entire scheme of things. Dante is guided through hell by Virgil, who is, to Dante, the symbol of reason. In the Inferno an invocation to the Muse is made when Dante says, “O Muses! O high genius! Help me now!” (2.7). There are many reasons why the Inferno is considered to be an epic. First of all it has a hero, Dante, who goes on a great journey through hell and throughout his journey he symbolizes the thoughts of the Christian church. The epic poem is written in verse with an elaborate style, using language that was too formal for ordinary conversation, as most epics do. The Inferno basically conforms to the stylistic conventions as well as the definition of an epic. Although there is one section that in a way stretches the parameters of the genre by speaking to the reader as is shown here: “O all of you whose intellects are sound, look now and see the meaning that is hidden beneath the veil that covers my strange verses: and then, above the filthy swell, approaching, a blast of sound, shot through with fear, exploded, making both shores of Hell begin to tremble; it sounded like one of those violent winds, born from the clash of counter-temperatures, that tear through forests; raging on unchecked, it splits and rips and carries off the branches and proudly whips the dust up in its path and makes the beasts and shepherds flee its course (9.61-72)! This section incorporates the reader into the story and makes them a part of the action, which is not necessarily a convention of an epic. This is a very unique quality of the Inferno. There are many examples of an epic, another is the Odyssey by Homer. The Odyssey recounts the adventures of Odysseus and his ultimate return home ten years after the fall of Troy. The epic tells of the disorder of his house while he has been away and of his years of traveling home, during which he has had to face many dangers and threatening situations. The second half of the poem is after Odysseus’ arrival home in Ithaca. This aspect of the epic doesn’t seem to completely conform to the definition of the genre. It is more like it is just a story at that point, even though it is still written in a formal type of poetic verse. You can still tell that it is an epic, but the subject matter is not so majestic. Of course this is when Odysseus truly proves himself to be a great hero. Since it is a part of the story which takes place in the present, according to the story, you get to see Odysseus in action first hand in a way instead of just hearing about it from him or s...