Needless to say that The Divine Comedy is, first of all, similar to Homer’s epics as they both have features of an epic literate piece. To be more particular, Dante Alighieri adopted a narrative style to portray grand themes and heroic figures. In addition, Dante replicated Homer’s approach to broadening the settings displayed in his work; both authors developed their themes without any space constraints. The Divine Comedy elaborates on the afterlife during the characters’ journey from the inferno to purgatorio and then paradise.
It is evident that Homer and Dante focus on educating their readers intellectually and mentally, adopting a more formal writing style in their epic poems. Still, Dante uses a similar to Homer’s entertaining approach to bring liveliness into the piece. Additionally, Dante follows the structure of The Iliad and The Odyssey, demonstrating the plot of the poem through a wide range of actions, such as violence, adventure, travel, and danger.
It seems significant to mention that both Dante and Homer view the meaning of human existence to be heroism and terror, which one experiences during life and even after death. Fearful characters and the challenges they face on their path express the meaning of our life and afterlife, and that is why complications are inevitable. Therefore, the writers take a moralistic viewpoint on the matter at hand and focus on the morality and principles of the characters when they make their decisions, thoroughly portraying their inner world. Overall, Dante follows Homer’s style and also uses his personal growth in creating the main character, which in his case, is his 35-year-old self. The authors’ life experiences bring meaning to the themes they portray and obviously influence their stories.