4 ms·
A major difference is that all the characters in Dante were considered real, historical persons. There is a long tradition of creating "historical fiction" arou
by goto11 7y ago
A major difference is that all the characters in Dante were considered real, historical persons. There is a long tradition of creating "historical fiction" around historical characters, eg. the Pesudepigaphs, the Greek Tragedies.
Don Quixote on the other hand was known as a fictional character invented by an author. Creating new works based on another authors fictional characters and universe constitutes IMHO a distinct genre.
To put it in modern terms, Dante didn't infringe anyone's copyright, although he might be liable for libel.
- Retric 7y agoI doubt Dante actually believed the Cerberus, Charon, Erichtho, Geryon, Harpies, and other characters from Greek myth where actual historical figures. It’s easy to think of mythology as separate from copyright, but it’s still stories created by people not historical facts.
- goto11 7y agoGood point. My suggestion was more that "fan fiction" builds on a particular work of fiction (which the author is a "fan" of).
- Retric 7y agoI think fanfiction starts that way, but a lot of worm fiction is written by people who did not read or did not like the source material. They read a few stories written by fanfiction authors and go from there. Eventually you get ideas from the fan base that takes on a life of it’s own. This is especially true of minor characters who get fleshed out really well in some specific work. It’s like how Superman’s source material is self contradictory where individual works are different. So, you can have Smallville fanfiction or more generic Superman mythology fanfiction.