num_pages: 384
description: Long narrative poem originally titled Commedia (about 1555 printed as La divina commedia) written about 1310-14 by Dante. The work is divided into three major sections--Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso--which trace the journey of a man from darkness and error to the revelation of the divine light, culminating in the beatific vision of God. It is usually held to be one of the world's greatest works of literature. The plot of The Divine Comedy is simple: a man is miraculously enabled to visit the souls in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. He has two guides: Virgil, who leads him through the Inferno and Purgatorio, and Beatrice, who introduces him to Paradiso. Through these fictional encounters taking place from Good Friday evening in 1300 through Easter Sunday and slightly beyond, Dante the character learns of the exile that is awaiting him (an actual exile that had already occurred at the time of writing). This device allowed Dante not only to create a story out of his exile but also to explain how he came to cope with personal calamity and to offer suggestions for the resolution of Italy's troubles as well.
language: English
title: Dante's Divine Comedy
titlecomplete: Dante's Divine Comedy
characters: Dido of Carthage, Saul (biblical king), Beatrice (Dante), Trajan (emperor), Gaius Cassius Longinus, Attila the Hun, Julius Caesar (Roman emperor), Francesca da Rimini, Cleopatra, Virgilio (Publius Vergilius Maro), Judas Iscariot, Cerberus, Dante Alighieri, Roland, Charon (mythology), Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Achilles, Mary (mother of Jesus), Brutus, Marcus Junius, Odysseus, Lucifer
genres: Classics, Italian Literature, Fantasy, Philosophy, Religion, Italy, Fiction, Classic Literature, Literature, Poetry
ratings_count: 146828
series: La Divina Commedia
awards: awardedAt: 1357027200000
name: Deutsch-Italienischer Übersetzerpreis, awardedAt: 252489600000
name: Премія імені Максима Рильського, awardedAt: 946713600000
name: Prêmio Jabuti
category: Tradução, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Premi Crítica Serra d'Or de Traducció
publisher: Chartwell Books