Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXVI, No. 6, June 1850

This essay opens a dialogue between two towering figures—Dante and the German philosopher Schelling—by examining the Divine Comedy as a work that defies ordinary classification. It argues that the poem cannot be neatly labeled as epic, romance, drama, or didactic treatise, because its blend of lofty and humble material creates a unique, organic mixture of all those forms. The writer invites readers to see Dante not merely as a narrator but as a high‑priest of a new kind of poetry that demands its own critical language.

Beyond genre, the discussion moves to the broader role of modern poetry, suggesting that today’s art springs from the individual rather than from universal classes of the ancient world. By weaving together religion, science and artistic expression, the piece portrays the Divine Comedy as a prototype for contemporary myth‑making, where personal vision expands into universal meaning. Listeners will discover a thoughtful, historically rich critique that connects 14th‑century verse to the evolving currents of 19th‑century thought.