Geoffrey Chaucer’s collection of stories titled The Canterbury Tales and Dante Alighieri’s three-part poem The Divine Comedy have certain similarities and some differences that often have a religious theme. One of the most obvious comparisons between the two is that both authors wrote about significant journeys. While Dante wrote about traveling through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, Chaucer wrote about a group of people occupying their time while they traveled. The two authors had contrasting writing styles when discussing those journeys; Chaucer’s was more light-hearted and sometimes even risqué, while Dante’s was more consistently solemn and meticulous. Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, and Dante, author of The Divine Comedy, had some …show more content…
Dante created a “fictional version of himself who travels through the farthest reaches of Hell (Inferno), purgatory (Purgatorio), and paradise (Paradiso)” (Matt Collins). The Inferno is the first and most popular of the series, possibly due to its “accessible voyeurist lure of its strange punishments and fearsome beasts” or perhaps due to the “imaginative allure of strange and foreign places” (mmkelly). While Inferno is excellent in its strangeness, the most relevant book for the typical human audience is actually Purgatorio. It is extremely similar to the Earth, and the individuals in it are also trying to achieve salvation. It is easier to relate to Purgatorio due to its similarities to Earth and humanity than to Inferno and its mythological and magical …show more content…
The Wife of Bath was looking for her sixth husband. She willingly and happily admitted to using sex as a means to get what she wanted. In addition, she seemed to only view men as opportunities and as disposable. She stated, “By God! if women hadde written stories, / As clerkes han withinne hire oratories, / They wolde han writen of men moore wikkednesse / Than all the mark of Adam may redresse” (Chaucer lines 693-696). Overall, the quote basically means that men control the story, but when it is her turn to speak she definitely has plenty to say. Chaucer did not fear writing about topics that were possibly considered inappropriate. For example, in the Miller’s Tale, he detailed what is most likely history’s first description of analingus as the character Abslaon “put up his mouth and kissed her naked arse, most savorously” (Chaucer line 166-167). Also an uncommonly written about topic, the Summoner’s Tale is about how someone could divide a fart into twelve separate parts.