Divine Comedy
A narrative poem of the soul's journey through the afterlife.
Dante Alighieri’s *Divine Comedy* is an Italian narrative poem, started around 1308 and finished shortly before his death in 1321. It is regarded as the foremost work in Italian literature and among the greatest in the Western canon. Its depiction of the afterlife reflects the medieval worldview of the 14th-century Western Church. Written in the Tuscan dialect, the poem helped standardize that dialect as the Italian language. The work is split into three sections: *Inferno*, *Purgatorio*, and *Paradiso*. The poem examines the state of the soul after death, presenting a vision of divine justice where people are punished or rewarded according to their deeds. It follows Dante’s journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Allegorically, this journey represents the soul’s path toward God: first recognizing and rejecting sin (Hell), then living a penitent Christian life (Purgatory), and finally ascending to God (Paradise). Dante’s framework draws heavily on medieval Catholic theology and philosophy, especially the Thomistic thought found in Thomas Aquinas’s *Summa Theologica*. The pilgrim Dante is guided by three figures. Virgil, symbolizing human reason, leads him through all of Hell and most of Purgatory. Beatrice, representing divine revelation, theology, grace, and faith, takes over from the end of Purgatory onward. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, embodying contemplative mysticism and devotion to Mary, guides him through the final cantos of Paradise. Originally titled simply *Comedìa* (Tuscan for “Comedy”), the work was first printed under that name in 1472. The adjective *Divina* first appeared in Giovanni Boccaccio’s *Trattatello in laude di Dante*, written between 1351 and 1355, likely referring to the poem’s profound subject and elevated style. The first edition to include *Divina Comedia* in its title was published in 1555 by the Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce, printed by Gabriele Giolito de’ Ferrari. **Structure and story**
The poem contains 14,233 lines divided into three *cantiche*: *Inferno*, *Purgatorio*, and *Paradiso*. Each cantica has 33 cantos, plus an introductory canto that is generally considered part of the first cantica, bringing the total to 100 cantos. The first two cantos are commonly seen as a unified prologue to the entire epic, and the opening two cantos of each cantica serve as prologues to their respective sections. The number three appears throughout. The three cantiche and their lengths reflect this, as does the verse form, *terza rima*. This scheme uses hendecasyllabic lines (eleven syllables each) arranged in tercets with the rhyme pattern ABA BCB CDC DED… Each tercet thus has 33 syllables, matching the number of cantos per cantica. Written in the first person, the poem recounts Dante’s journey through the three realms of the dead, taking place from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300. Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice, Dante’s idealized woman from his childhood, guides him through Heaven. Beatrice was a Florentine woman he admired from afar in the courtly love tradition, a theme explored in his earlier work *La Vita Nuova*. Bernard of Clairvaux guides Dante through the final three cantos. The structure of each realm follows a pattern of 9 plus 1, totaling 10. Hell has nine circles, with Lucifer at the bottom; Mount Purgatory has nine rings, crowned by the Garden of Eden; Paradise has nine celestial bodies, followed by the Empyrean, which contains God’s essence. Within each set of nine, seven elements correspond to a moral scheme divided into three subcategories, with two additional, more specific elements making nine. For instance, the seven deadly sins cleansed in Purgatory are joined by special areas for the late repentant and the excommunicated. The core seven sins correspond to a moral scheme of perverted love: excessive love (Lust, Gluttony, Greed), deficient love (Sloth), and malicious love (Wrath, Envy, Pride). In the political conflict between Guelphs and Ghibellines in central Italy, Dante belonged to the Guelphs, who generally favored the papacy over the Holy Roman Emperor. Around 1300, Florence’s Guelphs split into White and Black factions. Both had once supported a strong papacy, but the White Guelphs later advocated for greater imperial power in Italy. Dante’s wish for a strong emperor to restore order is a recurring theme. Dante was among the White Guelphs exiled in 1302 by Lord-Mayor Cante de’ Gabrielli di Gubbio, after troops under Charles of Valois entered Florence at the request of Pope Boniface VIII, who backed the Black Guelphs. This lifelong exile influenced many parts of the *Comedy*, including prophecies of Dante’s exile, his political views, and the eternal damnation of some opponents. The last word of each cantica is *stelle* (“stars”).
- author
- Dante Alighieri
- begun
- c. 1308
- completed
- c. 1321
- language
- Italian (Tuscan)
- form
- Narrative poem in terza rima
- parts
- Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso
- total_lines
- 14,233
Lore & Background
The poem describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, exploring the condition of the soul after death and portraying divine justice. It is divided into three cantiche: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, each consisting of 33 cantos, with an initial canto bringing the total to 100. The work was originally simply titled Comedìa, later adjusted to the modern Italian Commedia. The earliest known use of the adjective Divina appears in Giovanni Boccaccio's Trattatello in laude di Dante, written between 1351 and 1355. The first edition to name the poem Divina Comedia in the title was published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari, edited by Lodovico Dolce. Dante is guided through the realms by three figures: Virgil, who represents human reason, guiding him for all of Inferno and most of Purgatorio; Beatrice, who represents divine revelation in addition to theology, grace, and faith, guiding him from the end of Purgatorio onwards; and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who represents contemplative mysticism and devotion to Mary the Mother, guiding him in the final cantos of Paradiso. The poem draws on medieval Catholic theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy derived from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. The structure of the three realms follows a pattern of 9 plus 1, totaling 10: nine circles of Inferno followed by Lucifer contained at its bottom; nine rings of Mount Purgatory followed by the Garden of Eden crowning its summit; and nine celestial bodies of Paradiso followed by the Empyrean containing the very essence of God. The poem reflects Dante's political context as a White Guelph exiled in 1302 by the Lord-Mayor Cante de' Gabrielli di Gubbio, after troops under Charles of Valois entered the city at the request of Pope Boniface VIII, who supported the Black Guelphs. Dante's desire for a strong emperor to restore order to Italy and Europe is a constant theme throughout the poem. The last word in each of the three cantiche is stelle ('stars').
Reader's Guide
The Divine Comedy is composed of 14,233 lines divided into three cantiche – Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso – each consisting of 33 cantos, with an initial canto bringing the total to 100. The verse scheme used, terza rima, is hendecasyllabic (lines of eleven syllables), with lines composing tercets according to the rhyme scheme ABA BCB CDC DED... The total number of syllables in each tercet is thus 33, the same as the number of cantos in each cantica. Written in the first person, the poem tells of Dante's journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300. In Inferno, the poem begins on the night before Good Friday in the year 1300, 'halfway along our life's path' (Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita). Dante is thirty-five years old, lost in a dark wood (understood as sin), assailed by beasts (a lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf) he cannot evade. He is rescued by Virgil, and they begin their journey to the underworld. Each sin's punishment in Inferno is a contrapasso, a symbolic instance of poetic justice; for example, in Canto XX, fortune-tellers and soothsayers must walk with their heads on backwards, unable to see what is ahead. In Purgatorio, Dante and Virgil ascend out of the undergloom to the Mountain of Purgatory on the far side of the world. The mountain has seven terraces, corresponding to the seven deadly sins. The classification of sin here is more psychological than that of the Inferno, based on motives rather than actions. Below the seven purges is the Ante-Purgatory, containing the Excommunicated and the Late repentant. The Purgatorio demonstrates the medieval knowledge of a spherical Earth, discussing different stars visible in the Southern Hemisphere, the altered position of the Sun, and various time zones. At this stage it is, Dante says, sunset at Jerusalem, midnight on the River Ganges. In Paradiso, Beatrice guides Dante through the nine celestial bodies, followed by the Empyrean containing the very essence of God. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux guides Dante through the last three cantos. Allegorically, the poem represents the soul's journey towards God, beginning with the recognition and rejection of sin (Inferno), followed by the penitent Christian life (Purgatorio), which is then followed by the soul's ascent to God (Paradiso).
Did You Know?
- The poem was originally simply titled Comedìa, and the first edition to name it Divina Comedia in the title was published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari.
- The earliest known use of the adjective Divina appears in Giovanni Boccaccio's Trattatello in laude di Dante, written between 1351 and 1355.
- The last word in each of the three cantiche is stelle ('stars').
- The poem is composed of 14,233 lines, with each cantica having 33 cantos plus an initial canto, totaling 100 cantos.
- Dante was among the White Guelphs exiled in 1302 by the Lord-Mayor Cante de' Gabrielli di Gubbio, after troops under Charles of Valois entered Florence at the request of Pope Boniface VIII.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Divine Comedy?
The Divine Comedy is a long narrative poem by Dante Alighieri that traces a soul's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Composed in Tuscan Italian using the terza rima rhyme scheme, it is regarded as the foundational masterpiece of Italian literature.
Who wrote the Divine Comedy and when was it completed?
Dante Alighieri began the poem around 1308 and finished it around 1321, shortly before his death in exile. He chose to write in the Tuscan dialect rather than Latin, a decision that helped shape modern standard Italian.
What are the three canticles of the Divine Comedy?
The work is split into Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, each containing thirty-three cantos. An extra introductory canto at the start of Inferno brings the total to one hundred cantos.
What is the Divine Comedy actually about?
It follows Dante's first-person passage through the three realms of the afterlife, guided by the Roman poet Virgil through Hell and Purgatory and then by the figure of Beatrice through Heaven. The poem mirrors the medieval Christian framework of sin, purification, and divine grace.
Why is the Divine Comedy considered so important?
It is widely cited as the single greatest work in the Italian language and a cornerstone of Western literary tradition. Beyond its poetic achievement, it offers a vivid snapshot of fourteenth-century theology, politics, and philosophy, and it cemented Tuscan as the basis for standardized Italian.
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