2014+SH+P6+Hierarchy+and+Apostrophe



Aim: Patrick Martinez

Apostrophe, the figure of speech, is used throughout The Inferno in order for the author to convey and support the faults of the Catholic Church during the time and uses the literary hierarchy so that his ideas can be noticed. In an edition of The Inferno, it is noted, “. . . Dante the Poet had opened the canto with an auctorial apostrophe-invective against Simon Magus, so Dante the Pilgrim, having reached the Poet’s state of knowledge, ends the segment dealing with the Simonists with an apostrophe-invective against Constantine”(Musa 146). The apostrophes that Dante uses usually reference previous members of the Catholic Church in which he believed to be guilty in some sense. He brings these people into conversation so that their corrupt traits will be revealed and also, in turn, show similar traits in the religion that they belong to. These apostrophes are not the only parts that that support and communicate the purpose of the text, but are among those used to more explicitly state this purpose. It could be debated that Dante may or may not have decided to write The Inferno as an epic over other genres in order to communicate his ideas effectively. The epic genre is regarded as the first and foremost genre, so choosing it as the style of writing may lead to respect towards the work and its concepts. Whether or not the epic genre was chosen for this reason, Dante’s The Inferno has gained much attention and respect even though it was not highly regarded as a respectable work in the time it was written. Dante’s use of apostrophes communicates and reinforces his purpose while the choice of genre in the literary hierarchy brings awareness to the motivation to the creation of the epic.

Works Cited Melani, Lilia. "Genres." Academic. Brooklyn. Cuny. Edu. N.p., 17 Aug. 2000. Web. 04 Sept. 2014 Musa, Mark. Notes 1-6. Dante's Inferno. The Indiana Critical Edition ed. Indiana: Indiana UP, 1995. 144-47. The Divine Comedy. Google. Google. Web. 3 Sept. 2014.