The Divine Comedy is a medieval epic poem.

The Divine Comedy is a medieval epic poem.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. It is not epic
• D. It is a modern work

Answer: (A)

The statement is true because The Divine Comedy fits the medieval epic tradition. Written in the early 1300s by Dante Alighieri, it aims at a grand, universal scope—the journey of the human soul toward God—told as a long voyage through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. It uses hallmark epic features: a courageous pilgrim narrator, a vast, cosmic setting, and moral and theological stakes drawn from medieval Christian thought. It’s also notable for being written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, reflecting the medieval shift toward vernacular literature. Its concerns, style, and world view place it squarely in the Middle Ages, not in the modern era. So choosing that it is a medieval epic poem captures both its genre and its historical context.

The statement is true because The Divine Comedy fits the medieval epic tradition. Written in the early 1300s by Dante Alighieri, it aims at a grand, universal scope—the journey of the human soul toward God—told as a long voyage through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. It uses hallmark epic features: a courageous pilgrim narrator, a vast, cosmic setting, and moral and theological stakes drawn from medieval Christian thought. It’s also notable for being written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, reflecting the medieval shift toward vernacular literature. Its concerns, style, and world view place it squarely in the Middle Ages, not in the modern era. So choosing that it is a medieval epic poem captures both its genre and its historical context.