The Divine Comedy

Dante's epic masterpiece, La divinia commedia (The Divine Comedy), was probably begun about 1307 and was completed shortly before his death. The work is an allegorical narrative in verse of the poet's imaginary journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven. It is divided into three sections named the Inferno (Hell), the Purgatorio (Purgatory), and the Paradiso (Paradise). In each of these three realms the poet meets with mythological, historical, and contemporary characters, each of whom symbolizes a particular fault or virtue, either religious or political. Dante is guided through hell and purgatory by the Roman poet Virgil, who is, to Dante, the symbol of reason. The woman Dante loved, Beatrice, whom he regards as a manifestation and an instrument of divine will, guides him through paradise. Dante intended the poem for his contemporaries and wrote it in Italian rather than Latin.