Songwriting Tips from Dante’s Inferno: ‘Offensive’ is Subjective

Musicians and songwriters regularly come under fire in America for being vulgar and obscene. Interestingly enough, Dante reserved no special torment in Hell for those who cuss (though they surely deserve to have their asses kicked).

Near the boiling river of pitch that holds embezzlers, there’s a cruel band of demons who use hooks to snag any sinner who dares raise their head or body above the surface of the river. Imagine my surprise when Dante describes the monstrous leader of these demons signaling the others by “making a trumpet of his ass.”

In America at the date of this writing, you’re not allowed to refer to bodily functions on the radio, or the FCC will fine you. You are also not allowed to curse. In this sense, speech is regulated here and not truly free. How fortunate that this censorship does not extend to my humble little corner of the internet here.

Dante Alighieri was a staunchly faithful Catholic, and saw nothing offensive about cursing or referring to bodily functions. Flatterers, for example, spend eternity in a river of shit. And a “river of shit” is exactly what he called it, for a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.

If you ever catch yourself using the words “art” or “poetry” with your nose in the air, remember that some of the world’s most wonderful literature is full of gross jokes and cuss words. Don Quixote, Gargantua and Pantagruel, the Bible, and Huckleberry Finn come to mind.

hat tip to Matt Blick

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