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Title: The
Divine Comedy (La Divina Commedia)
Author: Dante Alighieri
First Published in: 1290
Divina Commedia, the great work of Dante comprising
the Inferno, the Purgatorio, and the Paradisio, in terza
rima. The Inferno is a description of Hell, conceived as
a graduated conical funnel, to the successive circles of
which the various categories of sinners are assigned. The
Purgatorio is a description of Purgatory, a mountain
rising in circular ledges, on which are the various
groups of sinners. At the top of the mountain is the
earthly Paradise, where Dante encounters Beatrice. In his
visit to Hell and Purgatory, Dante has for guide the poet
Virgil, and there he sees and converses with his lost
friends or former foes. The Paradiso is a vision of a
world of beauty, light, and song, where the Poet's guide
is Beatrice. The poem is not only an exposition of the
future life, but a work of moral edification, replete
with symbolism and allusions based on Dante's wide
knowledge of philosophy astronomy, natural science, and
history.
Text file provided by:
Project Gutenberg
[260kB Zip file]