Nothing Funny About Hell - And That's Okay

(Image credited to Michelle Meiklejohn)

Often I have wondered why Dante's The Divine Comedy is considered comedy.  It's not funny!

Reading Dante's Letter to the Can Grande (p. 188-190) cleared this up for me, though.  For some of you, the distinction between comedy and tragedy may have been covered in high school or in sophomore lit.  Not for me.  I just changed my major to English and am still working to finish getting my required lits.  I also didn't pay attention in any of my high school lit classes.  Shame on me, I know.  But its the truth.  And the reason why this post is dedicated to differentiating between comedy and tragedy.

Hopefully, I'm not the only one new to this distinction!

The Comedy
Comedy is explained in Dante's Letter to the Can Grande, where he writes, "Comedy, on the other hand, introduces a situation of adversity, but ends its matter in prosperity..." (p. 190).  Put simply, comedies begin with the main character in an unpleasant situation (such as in Hell) and end with the character in a better situation (such as in Providence).

The Tragedy
Dante also explains tragedy in his letter, writing that  "...tragedy is tranquil and conductive to wonder at the beginning, but foul and conductive to horror at the end, or catastrophe..." (p. 189). In other words, tragedy is the opposite of comedy.  Tragedies begin with the main character in a good situation and end with the character in a worse situation (usually they end with the main character's demise).

So the next time you read about a play at your local high school, think twice when you see the words "tragedy" and "comedy".  Not all tragedies are sad and not all comedies are funny!!