Comparing the Personalities of the Writers, Dante and Chaucer

Even though Dante and Chaucer never met, Dante having died 19 years before Chaucer was born, Dante inadvertently became Chaucer’s life long mentor. Dante’s severe spirit turned out to be far more harsh than Chaucer’s nature, however Dante’s protà ©gà ©, Boccaccio, became one of Chaucer’s greatest inspirations. Looking back at both Dante and Chaucer’s works, experts now see striking similarities in their writing. Whether Chaucer ever meant to use Dante’s materials or not, he is now closely compared with his contrary counter part. The original purpose of this paper was to tell how closely related Chaucer’s writing was to Dante’s, however, a closer look at the man, the better the picture is that shows the blatant contrasts between these two†¦show more content†¦These experiences made Dante quickly realize that this world is corrupt to the core. â€Å"Greed for material things is the main fault, greed which is all owed to dictate the actions of men. Only a cessation of strife, the establishment of universal peace can ensure the happiness of mankind and allow men to pursue the ultimate aim for which God has destined them on earth, that of exercising constantly and to the full their distinctive quality, the ‘Virtus Intellective’ (virtuous intellect)† (Limentani,117). He believed that life on this earth was for a purpose and had meaning to it this can be seen in the Inferno because Dante is working to make his journey purposeful. He travels so far and tries so hard to work his way up to heaven. Chaucer stands in contrast to Dante’s almost dogmatic piety and looks to other things as purposeful in his life. Chaucer’s views of life come from a very political point of view. He was introduced to court life while still in his teens, becoming a page to one of the kings daughter-in-laws. From there he rose in status until he was promoted to the rank of esquire. Though h e was exposed to political plots and war Chaucer exhibit’s a lust and compassion for life that completely eludes Dante’s works. While he was easy going and generally sympathetic to others Chaucer was nothing of a typical idealist. While Dante searched for ways to better the world by destroying chaotic war and hate, Chaucer was content to let the world