Dante:  the Significance of  Title, The Divine Comedy

Boccaccio wrote the first biography of Dante.  He said that Dante referred to The Divine Comedy as "this comedy which has made me thin" --                                                          

Two meanings of the word "comedy":

Dante called the work the Commedia, a technical term for a composition that is between a tragedy and an elegy. 

The word also refers to a work with begins in the midst of difficulties but which has a favorable outcome.

The adjective "divine":

The adjective "divine" was used early to describe the comedy in recognition of supreme artistry and to differentiate it from comedies in the usual sense.   The Divine Comedy was first used formally in Venice in 1555. 

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