Though early readers assumed the Divine Comedy was quite literally a textual record of a religious experience, there is something that suggests that the poem is far from quasi-autobiographical, that there is a schism between Dante Alighieri, poet and author, and Dante the Pilgrim, the protagonist and narrator of the epic. Metafictive elements within the text remind readers that there is a separation between the author Dante and the character Dante; for instance, in Canto IX, Alighieri writes, “Oh, all of you whose intellects are sound, look now and see the meaning that is hidden beneath the veil that covers my strange verses.” These lines pull the audience out of the narrative momentarily as Dante the Poet reflects on his own work, reminding readers that the poetry he has written is far from cut-and-dry. While Dante the Pilgrim interacts directly with the shades in the underworld, the horrors of hell, and the pleasures of paradise, offering emotional responses to all he encounters, Dante the Poet weaves morality into the text, offering sidenotes, allusions, and commentary for all that transpires. Dante the Author remains constant and self-assured, whereas Dante the Pilgrim undergoes several changes, traveling an expansive character arc. It is nearly a measure of head and heart, the matter-of-fact author Dante contrasting with the empathetic pilgrim Dante. On the same hand, one can interpret the act of writing itself as some sort of pilgrimage, a journey into the depths of one’s soul and psyche.