Songwriting Lessons From Dante’s Inferno: Write Conversationally

Here’s one translator’s comment on Dante’s writing  style in his Inferno:

“…it seeks to avoid elegance simply for the sake of elegance. And overwhelmingly it is a spoken tongue.”

–translator John Ciardi

I’ve read this piece of advice from many different sources: write in simple, straightforward language. If you construct your sentences to be overly ornate, decorous, or pretentious, you’re putting on airs and elevating yourself above your audience—which makes it harder for readers and listeners to connect with what you’re saying. Don’t be any more complex than the material requires! This holds equally true when writing prose, poetry, and song lyrics.

The more transparent and digestible your language is, the more clearly you can communicate ideas and stories. Clarity is important in many forms of writing, but in song lyrics it’s paramount, because lyrics move by at a very fast rate. Nobody that I know of listens with one finger on the “pause” button—music is meant to be a continuous, uninterrupted rhythmic experience. You’ll never have total control over the speed of a listener’s comprehension, but using simple, direct language can only help.

Next songwriting tip in this series: Rhymes Should Sound Natural>>

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