View source for Unsolved:Divine Comedy

{{short description|Long Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri}}
{{Italic title}}
<!-- Note: VERSIONS OF "Divine Comedy" (including the British Band) ARE LISTED IN THE SECTION "In the arts" BELOW. -->
[[File:Dante Domenico di Michelino Duomo Florence.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Biography:Dante Alighieri|Dante]] shown holding a copy of the ''Divine Comedy'', next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Michelino's fresco]]

The '''''Divine Comedy''''' ({{lang-it|Divina Commedia}} {{IPA-it|diˈviːna komˈmɛːdja|}}) is a long Italian [[Social:Narrative poetry|narrative poem]] by [[Biography:Dante Alighieri|Dante Alighieri]], begun [[Social:Circa|c.]] 1308 and completed in 1320, a year before his death in 1321. It is widely considered to be the pre-eminent work in Italian literature<ref>For example, ''Encyclopedia Americana'', 2006, Vol. 30. p.&nbsp;605: "the greatest single work of Italian literature;" John Julius Norwich, ''The Italians: History, Art, and the Genius of a People'', Abrams, 1983, p.&nbsp;27: "his tremendous poem, still after six and a half centuries the supreme work of Italian literature, remains&nbsp;– after the legacy of ancient Rome&nbsp;– the grandest single element in the Italian heritage;" and Robert Reinhold Ergang, ''The Renaissance'', Van Nostrand, 1967, p.&nbsp;103: "Many literary historians regard the Divine Comedy as the greatest work of Italian literature. In world literature it is ranked as an epic poem of the highest order."</ref> and one of the greatest works of world literature.<ref>{{Cite book| last=Bloom | first=Harold |  title=The Western Canon | url=https://archive.org/details/westerncanonbook00bloorich | url-access=registration | year=1994}} See also Western canon for other "canons" that include the ''Divine Comedy''.</ref> The poem's imaginative vision of the [[Philosophy:Afterlife|afterlife]] is representative of the [[Philosophy:Medieval philosophy|medieval world-view]] as it had developed in the [[Organization:Catholic Church|Western Church]] by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written (also in most present-day Italian-market editions), as the standardized [[Social:Italian language|Italian language]].<ref>See {{Cite book| last=Lepschy | first=Laura |author2=Lepschy, Giulio | title=The Italian Language Today | year=1977}} or any other history of [[Social:Italian language|Italian language]].</ref> It is divided into three parts: ''[[Unsolved:Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'', ''[[Unsolved:Purgatorio|Purgatorio]]'', and ''[[Unsolved:Paradiso (Dante)|Paradiso]]''.

The narrative takes as its literal subject the state of souls after death and presents an image of divine justice meted out as due punishment or reward,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Lansing|first=Richard|title=The Dante Encyclopedia|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=181}}</ref> and describes Dante's travels through Hell, [[Unsolved:Purgatory|Purgatory]], and Paradise or Heaven,<ref>Peter E. Bondanella, ''The Inferno'', Introduction, p.&nbsp;xliii, Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003, {{ISBN|1-59308-051-4}}: "the key fiction of the ''Divine Comedy'' is that the poem is true."</ref> while [[Religion:Allegory in the Middle Ages|allegorically]] the poem represents the soul's journey towards God,<ref>[[Biography:Dorothy L. Sayers|Dorothy L. Sayers]], ''Hell'', notes on page 19.</ref>  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''). Dante draws on medieval [[Organization:Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lansing|first=Richard|title=The Dante Encyclopedia|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=273}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lansing|first=Richard|title=The Dante Encyclopedia|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=481}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lansing|first=Richard|title=The Dante Encyclopedia|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=298}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lansing|first=Richard|title=The Dante Encyclopedia|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=214}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lansing|first=Richard|title=The Dante Encyclopedia|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=56}}</ref> theology and philosophy, especially [[Philosophy:Thomism|Thomistic philosophy]] derived from the ''[[Philosophy:Summa Theologica|Summa Theologica]]'' of [[Biography:Thomas Aquinas|Thomas Aquinas]].<ref>Charles Allen Dinsmore, ''The Teachings of Dante'' (Ayer, 1970), p.&nbsp;38, {{ISBN|0-8369-5521-8}}.</ref> Consequently, the ''Divine Comedy'' has been called "the ''Summa'' in verse".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-AQTAAAAIAAJ&q=%22the+Summa+in+verse%22&dq=%22the+Summa+in+verse%22&cd=10 ''The Fordham Monthly''] Fordham University, Vol. XL, Dec. 1921, p.&nbsp;76</ref>  In Dante's work,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Approaches to teaching Dante's Divine comedy|url=https://archive.org/details/approachestoteac0000unse_j1m7|url-access=registration|date=1982|publisher=Modern Language Association of America|others=Slade, Carole., Cecchetti, Giovanni, 1922–1998.|isbn=978-0873524780|location=New York, N.Y.|oclc=7671339}}</ref> the pilgrim Dante is accompanied by three guides:<ref name=":0" /> Virgil (who represents human reason),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lansing|first=Richard|title=The Dante Encyvlopedia|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=743}}</ref> Beatrice (who represents [[Unsolved:Revelation|divine revelation]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lansing|first=Richard|title=The Dante Encyvlopedia|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=743}}</ref> [[Religion:Theology|theology]], [[Philosophy:Faith in Christianity|faith]], and [[Religion:Grace in Christianity|grace]]),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lansing|first=Richard|title=The Dante Encyclopedia|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=93}}</ref> and [[Religion:Saint|Saint]] Bernard of Clairvaux (who represents [[Philosophy:Christian contemplation|contemplative mysticism]] and [[Religion:Marian devotions|devotion to Mary]]).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lansing|first=Richard|title=The Dante Encyclopedia|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=99}}</ref> Erich Auerbach said Dante was the first writer to depict human beings as the products of a specific time, place and circumstance as opposed to mythic archetypes or a collection of vices and virtues; this along with the fully imagined world of "The Divine Comedy", different from our own but fully visualized, suggests that the Divine Comedy could be said to have inaugurated modern fiction.

The work was originally simply titled '''''Comedìa''''' ({{IPA-it|komeˈdiːa|pron}}; so also in the first printed edition, published in 1472), Tuscan for "Comedy", later adjusted to the modern Italian {{lang|it|Commedia}}. The adjective {{lang|it|Divina}} was added by Giovanni Boccaccio, and the first edition to name the poem ''Divina Comedia'' in the title was that of the Venetian [[Philosophy:Renaissance humanism|humanist]] Lodovico Dolce,<ref>Ronnie H. Terpening, ''Lodovico Dolce, Renaissance Man of Letters'' (Toronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press, 1997), p.&nbsp;166.</ref> published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari.

==Structure and story==
The ''Divine Comedy'' is composed of 14,233 lines that are divided into three ''cantiche'' (singular ''cantica'')&nbsp;– ''Inferno'' ([[Religion:Hell|Hell]]), ''Purgatorio'' ([[Unsolved:Purgatory|Purgatory]]), and ''Paradiso'' ([[Unsolved:Heaven|Paradise]])&nbsp;– each consisting of 33 cantos (Italian plural  ''canti'')<!--NOTE: BEFORE ADDING "Inferno has 34" (AGAIN) READ THE NEXT SENTENCE-->. An initial canto, serving as an introduction to the poem and generally considered to be part of the first ''cantica'', brings the total number of cantos to 100. It is generally accepted, however, that the first two cantos serve as a unitary prologue to the entire epic, and that the opening two cantos of each ''cantica'' serve as prologues to each of the three ''cantiche''.<ref>Dante The Inferno A Verse Translation by Professor Robert and Jean Hollander p.&nbsp;43</ref><ref>Epist. XIII 43 to 48</ref><ref>Wilkins E.H The Prologue to the Divine Comedy Annual Report of the Dante Society, pp.&nbsp;1–7.</ref>

The number three is prominent in the work (alluding to the [[Religion:Trinity|Trinity]]), represented in part by the number of ''cantiche'' and their lengths. Additionally, the verse scheme used, ''terza rima'', is hendecasyllabic (lines of eleven syllables), with the lines composing tercets according to the rhyme scheme ''aba, bcb, cdc, ded, ...''.<ref>Kaske, Robert Earl, et al. ''Medieval Christian Literary Imagery: A Guide to Interpretation''. Toronto: Toronto UP, 1988. p. 164</ref> 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 [[Religion:Good Friday|Good Friday]] to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300. The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice, Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven. Beatrice was a Florentine woman he had met in childhood and admired from afar in the mode of the then-fashionable [[Social:Courtly love|courtly love]] tradition, which is highlighted in Dante's earlier work ''La Vita Nuova''.{{sfn|Shaw|2014|pp=xx, 100–101, 108}}

The structure of the three realms follows a common [[Unsolved:Numerology|numerical pattern]] of 9 plus 1, for a total of 10: 9 circles of the Inferno, followed by Lucifer contained at its bottom; 9 rings of Mount Purgatory, followed by the [[Religion:Garden of Eden|Garden of Eden]] crowning its summit; and the 9 celestial bodies of Paradiso, followed by the [[Astronomy:Empyrean|Empyrean]] containing the very essence of God. Within each group of 9, 7 elements correspond to a specific moral scheme, subdivided into three subcategories, while 2 others of greater particularity are added to total nine. For example, the [[Religion:Seven deadly sins|seven deadly sins]] of the Catholic Church that are cleansed in Purgatory are joined by special realms for the late repentant and the [[Religion:Excommunication|excommunicated]] by the church. The core seven sins within Purgatory correspond to a moral scheme of love perverted, subdivided into three groups corresponding to excessive love (Lust, Gluttony, [[Philosophy:Greed|Greed]]), deficient love ([[Philosophy:Sloth (deadly sin)|Sloth]]), and malicious love (Wrath, [[Philosophy:Envy|Envy]], [[Philosophy:Pride|Pride]]).{{sfn|Eiss|2017|p=8}}

In central Italy's political struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines, Dante was part of the Guelphs, who in general favored the Papacy over the Holy Roman Emperor. Florence's Guelphs split into factions around 1300{{snd}}the White Guelphs and the Black Guelphs. Dante was among the White Guelphs who were 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&nbsp;VIII, who supported the Black Guelphs. This exile, which lasted the rest of Dante's life, shows its influence in many parts of the ''Comedy,'' from prophecies of Dante's exile to Dante's views of politics, to the eternal damnation of some of his opponents.{{sfn|Trone|2000|pp=362–364}}

The last word in each of the three ''cantiche'' is ''stelle'' ("stars").

===''Inferno''===
[[File:Gustave Doré - Dante Alighieri - Inferno - Plate 9 (Canto III - Charon).jpg|thumb|Gustave Doré's engravings illustrated the ''Divine Comedy'' (1861–1868); here Charon comes to ferry souls across the river Acheron to Hell.]]
{{Main|Unsolved:Inferno (Dante)}}
The poem begins on the night before Good Friday in 1300, "halfway along our life's path" (''Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita''). Dante is thirty-five years old, half of the biblical lifespan of 70 (Psalms 89:10<!-- do not change to Ps. 90; in the Vulgate, as specified, the chapter is 89 -->, Vulgate), lost in a dark [[Earth:Forest|wood]] (understood as sin),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abebooks.it/INFERNO-DIVINA-COMMEDIA-ANNOTATA-COMMENTATA-TOMMASO/590245816/bd |title=Inferno, la Divina Commedia annotata e commentata da Tommaso Di Salvo, Zanichelli, Bologna, 1985 |publisher=Abebooks.it |accessdate=16 January 2010}}</ref><ref>''Lectura Dantis'', Società dantesca italiana</ref><ref>Online sources include [http://www.ladante.it/DanteAlighieri/hochfeiler/inferno/naviga/selva.htm], [http://www.operare.net/news.php?id=55] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723233122/http://www.operare.net/news.php?id=55 |date=23 July 2011 }}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20061113164331/http://www.learnitaly.com/selva.htm] [http://balbruno.altervista.org/index-182.html], {{cite web|url=http://www.primocircolopotenza.it/DivinaCommedia/Dante/caratteristiche.htm|title=Archived copy|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091202062524/http://www.primocircolopotenza.it/DivinaCommedia/Dante/caratteristiche.htm|archivedate=2 December 2009|url-status=dead|accessdate=1 December 2009}},    {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052503/http://www.ladante.it/DanteAlighieri/hochfeiler/inferno/naviga/selva.htm |date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> assailed by beasts (a [[Biology:Lion|lion]], a [[Biology:Leopard|leopard]], and a [[Biology:Wolf|she-wolf]]) he cannot evade and unable to find the "straight way" (''diritta via'')&nbsp;– also translatable as "right way"&nbsp;– to salvation (symbolized by the sun behind the mountain). Conscious that he is ruining himself and that he is falling into a "low place" (''basso loco'') where the sun is silent ('''l sol tace''), Dante is at last rescued by Virgil, and the two of them begin their journey to the underworld. Each sin's punishment in ''Inferno'' is a ''contrapasso'', a symbolic instance of [[Social:Poetic justice|poetic justice]]; for example, in Canto XX, fortune-tellers and soothsayers must walk with their heads on backwards, unable to see what is ahead, because that was what they had tried to do in life:

{{poemquote|they had their faces twisted toward their haunches
and found it necessary to walk backward,
because they could not see ahead of them.
... and since he wanted so to see ahead,
he looks behind and walks a backward path.<ref>''Inferno'', Canto&nbsp;XX, lines 13–15 and 38–39, Mandelbaum translation.</ref>}}

Allegorically, the ''Inferno'' represents the Christian soul seeing sin for what it really is, and the three beasts represent three types of sin: the self-indulgent, the violent, and the malicious.<ref>[[Biography:Dorothy L. Sayers|Dorothy L. Sayers]], ''Purgatory'', notes on p.&nbsp;75.</ref> These three types of sin also provide the three main divisions of Dante's Hell: Upper Hell, outside the city of Dis, for the four sins of indulgence (lust, gluttony, avarice, [[Social:Anger|anger]]); Circle 7 for the sins of violence; and Circles 8 and 9 for the sins of fraud and treachery. Added to these are two unlike categories that are specifically spiritual: Limbo, in Circle 1, contains the virtuous pagans who were not sinful but were ignorant of Christ, and Circle 6 contains the heretics who contradicted the doctrine and confused the spirit of Christ.<ref>Carlyle-Okey-Wicksteed, ''Divine Comedy'', "Notes to Dante's Inferno"</ref>

===''Purgatorio''===
{{Main|Unsolved:Purgatorio}}
[[File:Dante03.jpg|thumb|left|Dante gazes at Mount Purgatory in an allegorical portrait by Agnolo Bronzino, painted c. 1530]]
Having survived the depths of Hell, Dante and Virgil ascend out of the undergloom to the Mountain of [[Unsolved:Purgatory|Purgatory]] on the far side of the world. The Mountain is on an island, the only land in the [[Earth:Southern Hemisphere|Southern Hemisphere]], created by the displacement of rock which resulted when Satan's fall created Hell<ref>''Inferno'', Canto 34, lines 121–126.</ref> (which Dante portrays as existing underneath [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]<ref>Richard Lansing and Teodolinda Barolini, ''The Dante Encyclopedia'', p.&nbsp;475, Garland Publishing, 2000, {{ISBN|0-8153-1659-3}}.</ref>). The mountain has seven terraces, corresponding to the [[Religion:Seven deadly sins|seven deadly sins]] or "seven roots of sinfulness."<ref>[[Biography:Dorothy L. Sayers|Dorothy L. Sayers]], ''Purgatory'', Introduction, pp.&nbsp;65–67 (Penguin, 1955).</ref> The classification of sin here is more psychological than that of the ''Inferno'', being based on motives, rather than actions. It is also drawn primarily from Christian theology, rather than from classical sources.<ref>Robin Kirkpatrick, ''Purgatorio'', Introduction, p.&nbsp;xiv (Penguin, 2007).</ref> However, Dante's illustrative examples of sin and virtue draw on classical sources as well as on the Bible and on contemporary events.

Love, a theme throughout the ''Divine Comedy'', is particularly important for the framing of sin on the Mountain of Purgatory. While the love that flows from God is pure, it can become sinful as it flows through humanity. Humans can sin by using love towards improper or malicious ends (Wrath, [[Philosophy:Envy|Envy]], [[Philosophy:Pride|Pride]]), or using it to proper ends but with love that is either not strong enough ([[Philosophy:Sloth (deadly sin)|Sloth]]) or love that is too strong (Lust, Gluttony, [[Philosophy:Greed|Greed]]). Below the seven purges of the soul is the Ante-Purgatory, containing the Excommunicated from the church and the Late repentant who died, often violently, before receiving rites. Thus the total comes to nine, with the addition of the Garden of Eden at the summit, equaling ten.<ref>Carlyle-Oakey-Wickstead, ''Divine Comedy'', "Notes on Dante's Purgatory.</ref> <!-- 7 + 2 = 9 not 10 -->

Allegorically, the ''Purgatorio'' represents the Christian life. Christian souls arrive escorted by an angel, singing ''In exitu Israel de Aegypto''. In his ''Letter to Cangrande'', Dante explains that this reference to Israel leaving Egypt refers both to the redemption of Christ and to "the conversion of the soul from the sorrow and misery of sin to the state of grace."<ref>"The Letter to Can Grande," in ''Literary Criticism of Dante Alighieri'', translated and edited by Robert S. Haller (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1973), p. 99</ref> Appropriately, therefore, it is Easter Sunday when Dante and Virgil arrive.

The ''Purgatorio'' is notable for demonstrating the medieval knowledge of a [[Spherical Earth|spherical Earth]]. During the poem, Dante discusses the different stars visible in the southern hemisphere, the altered position of the sun, and the various [[Time zone|time zone]]s of the Earth. At this stage it is, Dante says, sunset at Jerusalem, midnight on the River Ganges, and sunrise in Purgatory.

===''Paradiso''===
{{Main|Unsolved:Paradiso (Dante)}}
[[File:Philipp Veit 004.jpg|thumb|''Paradiso'', Canto III: Dante and Beatrice speak to Piccarda and Constance of Sicily, in a fresco by Philipp Veit.]]

After an initial ascension, Beatrice guides Dante through the nine [[Astronomy:Celestial spheres|celestial spheres]] of [[Unsolved:Heaven|Heaven]]. These are concentric and spherical, as in [[Biography:Aristotle|Aristotelian]] and [[Biography:Ptolemy|Ptolemaic]] cosmology. While the structures of the ''Inferno'' and ''Purgatorio'' were based on different classifications of sin, the structure of the ''Paradiso'' is based on the four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues.

The seven lowest spheres of Heaven deal solely with the cardinal virtues of [[Philosophy:Prudence|Prudence]], [[Philosophy:Cardinal virtues|Fortitude]], [[Philosophy:Justice|Justice]] and [[Philosophy:Temperance (virtue)|Temperance]]. The first three spheres involve a deficiency of one of the cardinal virtues&nbsp;– the [[Astronomy:Moon|Moon]], containing the inconstant, whose vows to God waned as the moon and thus lack fortitude; [[Astronomy:Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], containing the ambitious, who were virtuous for glory and thus lacked justice; and Venus, containing the lovers, whose love was directed towards another than God and thus lacked Temperance. The final four incidentally are positive examples of the cardinal virtues, all led on by the [[Astronomy:Sun|Sun]], containing the prudent, whose wisdom lighted the way for the other virtues, to which the others are bound (constituting a category on its own). [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]] contains the men of fortitude who died in the cause of Christianity; [[Astronomy:Jupiter|Jupiter]] contains the kings of Justice; and [[Astronomy:Saturn|Saturn]] contains the temperate, the monks who abided by the contemplative lifestyle. The seven subdivided into three are raised further by two more categories: the eighth sphere of the fixed stars that contain those who achieved the theological virtues of [[Philosophy:Faith|faith]], hope and [[Philosophy:Love|love]], and represent the Church Triumphant&nbsp;– the total perfection of humanity, cleansed of all the sins and carrying all the virtues of heaven; and the ninth circle, or [[Astronomy:Primum Mobile|Primum Mobile]] (corresponding to the Geocentricism of Medieval astronomy), which contains the angels, creatures never poisoned by original sin. Topping them all is the [[Astronomy:Empyrean|Empyrean]], which contains the essence of God, completing the 9-fold division to 10.

Dante meets and converses with several great saints of the Church, including [[Biography:Thomas Aquinas|Thomas Aquinas]], [[Biography:Bonaventure|Bonaventure]], Saint Peter, and [[Religion:John the Apostle|St. John]]. The ''Paradiso'' is consequently more theological in nature than the ''Inferno'' and the ''Purgatorio''. However, Dante admits that the vision of heaven he receives is merely the one his human eyes permit him to see, and thus the vision of heaven found in the Cantos is Dante's personal vision.

The ''Divine Comedy'' finishes with Dante seeing the [[Religion:Trinity|Triune God]]. In a flash of understanding that he cannot express, Dante finally understands the mystery of Christ's divinity and humanity, and his soul becomes aligned with God's love:<ref name="DLS33">[[Biography:Dorothy L. Sayers|Dorothy L. Sayers]], ''Paradise'', notes on Canto&nbsp;XXXIII.</ref>

{{poemquote|But already my desire and my will
were being turned like a wheel, all at one speed,
by the Love which moves the sun and the other stars.<ref>''Paradiso'', Canto&nbsp;XXXIII, lines 142–145, C. H. Sisson translation.</ref>}}

==History==

===Manuscripts===
According to the Italian Dante Society, no original manuscript written by Dante has survived, although there are many manuscript copies from the 14th and 15th centuries&nbsp;– some 800 are listed on their site.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danteonline.it/english/codici_frames/elencocodici.asp |title=Elenco Codici |website=Dante Online |access-date=5 August 2009}}</ref>

===Early printed editions===
[[File:Alighieri - Divina Commedia, Nel mille quatro cento septe et due nel quarto mese adi cinque et sei - 2384293 id00022000 Scan00006.jpg|thumb|right|Title page of the first printed edition (Foligno, 11 April 1472)]]
[[File:Divina Commedia 1555 Edition.png|thumb|First edition to name the poem ''Divina Comedia'', 1555]]
[[File:Lucifer from Petrus de Plasiis Divine Comedy 1491.png|thumb|right|Illustration of [[Astronomy:Lucifer|Lucifer]] in the first fully illustrated print edition. Woodcut for ''Inferno'', canto 33. Pietro di Piasi, Venice, 1491.]]

The first printed edition was published in Foligno, Italy, by Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi on {{nowrap|11 April}} 1472.<ref>Christopher Kleinhenz, ''Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia'', Volume 1, Routledge, 2004, {{ISBN|0-415-93930-5}}, p.&nbsp;360.</ref> Of the 300 copies printed, fourteen still survive. The original printing press is on display in the ''Oratorio della Nunziatella'' in Foligno.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Early printed editions
! Date !! Title !! Place !! Publisher !! Notes
|-
| 1472 || ''La Comedia di Dante Alleghieri'' || Foligno || Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi || First printed edition (or ''editio princeps'')
|-
| 1477 || ''La Commedia'' || Venice || Wendelin of Speyer ||
|-
| 1481 || ''Comento di Christophoro Landino fiorentino sopra la Comedia di Dante Alighieri'' || Florence || Nicolaus Laurentii || With Cristoforo Landino's commentary in Italian, and some engraved illustrations by Baccio Baldini after designs by Sandro Botticelli  
|-
| 1491 || ''Comento di Christophoro Landino fiorentino sopra la Comedia di Dante Alighieri'' || Venice || Pietro di Piasi || First fully illustrated edition
|-
| 1502 || ''Le terze rime di Dante'' || Venice || Aldus Manutius ||
|-
| 1506 || ''Commedia di Dante insieme con uno diagolo circa el sito forma et misure dello inferno'' || Florence || Philippo di Giunta ||
|-
| 1555 || ''La Divina Comedia di Dante'' || Venice || Gabriel Giolito || First use of "Divine" in title
<!--
|-
| date || ''title'' || place || publisher || notes
-->
|}

==Thematic concerns==
The ''Divine Comedy'' can be described simply as an [[Religion:Allegory in the Middle Ages|allegory]]: each canto, and the episodes therein, can contain many alternative meanings. Dante's allegory, however, is more complex, and, in explaining how to read the poem&nbsp;– see the ''Letter to Cangrande''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/cangrande.english.html |title=Epistle to Can Grande |work=faculty.georgetown.edu |accessdate=20 October 2014}}</ref> – he outlines other levels of meaning besides the allegory: the historical, the moral, the literal, and the [[Religion:Anagoge|anagogical]].

The structure of the poem is also quite complex, with mathematical and numerological patterns distributed throughout the work, particularly threes and nines, which are related to the Holy Trinity. The poem is often lauded for its particularly human qualities: Dante's skillful delineation of the characters he encounters in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise; his bitter denunciations of [[Place:Florence|Florentine]] and Italian politics; and his powerful poetic imagination. Dante's use of real characters, according to Dorothy Sayers in her introduction to her translation of the ''Inferno'', allows Dante the freedom of not having to involve the reader in description, and allows him to "[make] room in his poem for the discussion of a great many subjects of the utmost importance, thus widening its range and increasing its variety."<ref>[[Biography:Dorothy L. Sayers|Dorothy L. Sayers]], ''Hell'', Introduction, p.&nbsp;16 (Penguin, 1955).</ref>

Dante called the poem "Comedy" (the adjective "Divine" was added later, in the 16th century) because poems in the ancient world were classified as High ("Tragedy") or Low ("Comedy").<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Tragedy/|title = Ancient History Encyclopedia|date = |accessdate = |website = |publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref> Low poems had happy endings and were written in everyday language, whereas High poems treated more serious matters and were written in an elevated style. Dante was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of humanity, in the low and "vulgar" Italian language and not the Latin one might expect for such a serious topic. Boccaccio's account that an early version of the poem was begun by Dante in [[Social:Latin|Latin]] is still controversial.<ref>Boccaccio also quotes the initial triplet:"Ultima regna canam fluvido contermina mundo, / spiritibus quae lata patent, quae premia solvunt /pro meritis cuicumque suis". For translation and more, see Guyda Armstrong, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130402195337/http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/heliotropia/02-02/armstrong.shtml Review] of Giovanni Boccaccio. Life of Dante. J. G. Nichols, trans. London: Hesperus Press, 2002.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Hiram |last=Peri |title=The Original Plan of the Divine Comedy |journal=Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes |volume=18 |issue=3/4 |year=1955 |pages=189–210 |jstor=750179 |doi=10.2307/750179 }}</ref>

===Scientific themes===
Although the ''Divine Comedy'' is primarily a religious poem, discussing sin, virtue, and theology, Dante also discusses several elements of the science of his day (this mixture of science with poetry has received both praise and criticism over the centuries<ref>Michael Caesar, ''Dante: The Critical Heritage'', Routledge, 1995, pp.&nbsp;288, 383, 412, 631.</ref>). The ''Purgatorio'' repeatedly refers to the implications of a [[Spherical Earth|spherical Earth]], such as the different stars visible in the southern hemisphere, the altered position of the [[Astronomy:Sun|sun]], and the various [[Time zone|time zone]]s of the Earth. For example, at sunset in Purgatory it is midnight at the Ebro, dawn in Jerusalem, and noon on the River Ganges:<ref>[[Biography:Dorothy L. Sayers|Dorothy L. Sayers]], ''Purgatory'', notes on p.&nbsp;286</ref>

{{poemquote|Just as, there where its Maker shed His blood,
the sun shed its first rays, and Ebro lay
beneath high Libra, and the ninth hour's rays

were scorching Ganges' waves; so here, the sun
stood at the point of day's departure when
God's angel{{snd}}happy{{snd}}showed himself to us.<ref>''Purgatorio'', Canto&nbsp;XXVII, lines 1–6, Mandelbaum translation.</ref>}}

Dante travels through the centre of the Earth in the ''Inferno'', and comments on the resulting change in the direction of [[Physics:Gravity|gravity]] in Canto&nbsp;XXXIV (lines 76–120). A little earlier (XXXIII, 102–105), he queries the existence of wind in the frozen inner circle of hell, since it has no temperature differentials.<ref>[[Biography:Dorothy L. Sayers|Dorothy L. Sayers]], ''Inferno'', notes on p.&nbsp;284.</ref>

Inevitably, given its setting, the ''Paradiso'' discusses [[Astronomy:Astronomy|astronomy]] extensively, but in the [[Geocentric model|Ptolemaic]] sense. The ''Paradiso'' also discusses the importance of the [[Experiment|experimental method]] in science, with a detailed example in lines 94–105 of Canto&nbsp;II:

{{poemquote|Yet an experiment, were you to try it,
could free you from your cavil and the source
of your arts' course springs from experiment.

Taking three mirrors, place a pair of them
at equal distance from you; set the third
midway between those two, but farther back.

Then, turning toward them, at your back have placed
a light that kindles those three mirrors and
returns to you, reflected by them all.

Although the image in the farthest glass
will be of lesser size, there you will see
that it must match the brightness of the rest.<ref>''Paradiso'', Canto&nbsp;II, lines 94–105, Mandelbaum translation.</ref>}}

A briefer example occurs in Canto XV of the ''Purgatorio'' (lines 16–21), where Dante points out that both theory and experiment confirm that the [[Physics:Reflection|angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection]]. Other references to science in the ''Paradiso'' include descriptions of [[Physics:Clock|clock]]work in Canto&nbsp;XXIV (lines 13–18), and Thales' theorem about triangles in Canto&nbsp;XIII (lines 101–102).

[[Biography:Galileo Galilei|Galileo Galilei]] is known to have lectured on the ''Inferno'', and it has been suggested that the poem may have influenced some of Galileo's own ideas regarding mechanics.<ref>Peterson, Mark A. [https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/mpeterso/galileo/scaling8.pdf "Galileo's discovery of scaling laws"]. ''American Journal of Physics'' '''70''', 575 (2002). {{doi|10.1119/1.1475329}}.</ref>

==Theories of influence from Islamic philosophy==
In 1919, Miguel Asín Palacios, a Spanish scholar and a Catholic priest, published ''La Escatología musulmana en la Divina Comedia'' (''Islamic [[Unsolved:Eschatology|Eschatology]] in the Divine Comedy''), an account of parallels between early Islamic philosophy and the ''Divine Comedy''. Palacios argued that Dante derived many features of and episodes about the hereafter from the spiritual writings of [[Biography:Ibn Arabi|Ibn Arabi]] and from the [[Religion:Isra and Mi'raj|Isra and Mi'raj]] or night journey of [[Biography:Muhammad|Muhammad]] to heaven. The latter is described in the ''ahadith'' and the ''Kitab al Miraj'' (translated into Latin in 1264 or shortly before<ref name="Heullant">I. Heullant-Donat and M.-A. Polo de Beaulieu, "Histoire d'une traduction," in ''Le Livre de l'échelle de Mahomet'', Latin edition and French translation by Gisèle Besson and Michèle Brossard-Dandré, Collection ''Lettres Gothiques'', Le Livre de Poche, 1991, p.&nbsp;22 with note 37.</ref> as ''Liber Scalae Machometi'', "The Book of Muhammad's Ladder"), and has significant similarities to the ''Paradiso'', such as a [[Religion:Seven Heavens|sevenfold division of Paradise]], although this is not unique to the ''Kitab al Miraj'' or Islamic cosmology.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ascent to Heaven in Islamic and Jewish Mysticism|last1=Uždavinys|first1=Algis|pages=23, 92–93, 117|isbn=978-1908092021|publisher=Matheson Trust |year=2011}}</ref>

Some "superficial similarities"<ref>William Montgomery Watt and Pierre Cachia, ''A History of Islamic Spain'', 2nd edition, Edinburgh University Press, 1996, pp.&nbsp;125–126, {{ISBN|0-7486-0847-8}}.</ref> of the ''Divine Comedy'' to the ''Resalat Al-Ghufran'' or ''Epistle of Forgiveness'' of [[Biography:Al-Ma'arri|Al-Ma'arri]] have also been mentioned in this debate. The ''Resalat Al-Ghufran'' describes the journey of the poet in the realms of the afterlife and includes dialogue with people in Heaven and Hell, although, unlike the ''Kitab al Miraj'', there is little description of these locations,<ref>Dionisius A. Agius and Richard Hitchcock, ''The Arab Influence in Medieval Europe'', Ithaca Press, 1996, p.&nbsp;70, {{ISBN|0-86372-213-X}}.</ref> and it is unlikely that Dante borrowed from this work.<ref>Kāmil Kīlānī and G. Brackenbury, Introduction to ''Risalat ul Ghufran: A Divine Comedy'', 3rd ed, Al-Maaref Printing and Publishing House, 1943, p.&nbsp;8.</ref><ref>The theory "receives little credence", according to Watt and Cachia, p.&nbsp;183.</ref>

Dante did, however, live in a Europe of substantial literary and philosophical contact with the Muslim world, encouraged by such factors as [[Philosophy:Averroism|Averroism]] ("Averrois, che'l gran comento feo" Commedia, Inferno, IV, 144, meaning "Averrois, who wrote the great comment") and the patronage of Alfonso&nbsp;X of Castile. Of the twelve wise men Dante meets in Canto&nbsp;X of the ''Paradiso'', [[Biography:Thomas Aquinas|Thomas Aquinas]] and, even more so, [[Biography:Siger of Brabant|Siger of Brabant]] were strongly influenced by Arabic commentators on [[Biography:Aristotle|Aristotle]].<ref name="copleston">{{Cite book|title=A History of Philosophy, Volume 2|author=Frederick Copleston|location=London|year=1950|publisher=Continuum|page=200}}</ref> Medieval [[Religion:Christian mysticism|Christian mysticism]] also shared the [[Philosophy:Neoplatonism|Neoplatonic]] influence of [[Religion:Sufi cosmology|Sufis]] such as [[Biography:Ibn Arabi|Ibn Arabi]]. Philosopher [[Biography:Frederick Copleston|Frederick Copleston]] argued in 1950 that Dante's respectful treatment of [[Biography:Averroes|Averroes]], [[Biography:Avicenna|Avicenna]], and Siger of Brabant indicates his acknowledgement of a "considerable debt" to Islamic philosophy.<ref name="copleston" />

Although this philosophical influence is generally acknowledged, many scholars have not been satisfied that Dante was influenced by the ''Kitab al Miraj''. The 20th century Orientalist Francesco Gabrieli expressed skepticism regarding the claimed similarities, and the lack of evidence of a vehicle through which it could have been transmitted to Dante. Even so, while dismissing the probability of some influences posited in Palacios' work,<ref>Francesco Gabrieli, "New light on Dante and Islam", ''Diogenes'', 2:61–73, 1954</ref> Gabrieli conceded that it was "at least possible, if not probable, that Dante may have known the ''Liber Scalae'' and have taken from it certain images and concepts of Muslim eschatology". Shortly before her death, the Italian philologist Maria Corti pointed out that, during his stay at the court of Alfonso&nbsp;X, Dante's mentor [[Biography:Brunetto Latini|Brunetto Latini]] met Bonaventura de Siena, a Tuscan who had translated the ''Kitab al Miraj'' from Arabic into Latin. Corti speculates that Brunetto may have provided a copy of that work to Dante.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emsf.rai.it/interviste/interviste.asp?d=490#3|title=Errore|access-date=7 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714061911/http://www.emsf.rai.it/interviste/interviste.asp?d=490#3|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Biography:René Guénon|René Guénon]], a Sufi convert and scholar of Ibn Arabi, rejected in ''The Esoterism of Dante''  the theory of his influence (direct or indirect) on Dante.<ref>{{Cite book| last=Guenon| first=René|  title=The Esoterism of Dante | year=1925}}</ref> Palacios' theory that Dante was influenced by Ibn Arabi was satirized by the Turkish academic Orhan Pamuk in his novel ''The Black Book''.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion|volume=70|issue=3|pages=515–537|year=2002|last1=Almond|first1=Ian|title= The Honesty of the Perplexed: Derrida and Ibn 'Arabi on "Bewilderment" |jstor=1466522}}</ref>

==Literary influence in the English-speaking world and beyond==
[[File:Sandro Botticelli - Inferno, Canto XVIII (detail) - WGA02855.jpg|thumb|A detail from one of Sandro Botticelli's illustrations for ''Inferno'', Canto XVIII, 1480s. Silverpoint on parchment, completed in pen and ink.]]

The ''Divine Comedy'' was not always as well-regarded as it is today. Although recognized as a masterpiece in the centuries immediately following its publication,<ref>Chaucer wrote in the [http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/chaucer/canterbury/daniel/chapter13.html Monk's Tale], "Redeth the grete poete of Ytaille /
That highte Dant, for he kan al devyse /
Fro point to point; nat o word wol he faille".</ref> the work was largely ignored during the [[Philosophy:Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], with some notable exceptions such as Vittorio Alfieri; Antoine de Rivarol, who translated the ''Inferno'' into French; and [[Biography:Giambattista Vico|Giambattista Vico]], who in the ''Scienza nuova'' and in the ''Giudizio su Dante'' inaugurated what would later become the romantic reappraisal of Dante, juxtaposing him to Homer.<ref>Erich Auerbach, [https://books.google.com/books?id=R_HofoKY87gC&pg=PA101&dq=Vico++Dante&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=OzD6SISdOIm6zAS449X9DA Dante: Poet of the Secular World]. {{ISBN|0-226-03205-1}}.</ref> The ''Comedy'' was "rediscovered" in the English-speaking world by [[Biography:William Blake|William Blake]]&nbsp;– who illustrated several passages of the epic&nbsp;– and the [[Philosophy:Romanticism|Romantic]] writers of the 19th century. Later authors such as [[Biography:T. S. Eliot|T. S. Eliot]], [[Biography:Ezra Pound|Ezra Pound]], [[Biography:Samuel Beckett|Samuel Beckett]], [[Biography:C. S. Lewis|C. S. Lewis]] and [[Biography:James Joyce|James Joyce]] have drawn on it for inspiration. The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was its first American translator,<ref>Irmscher, Christoph. ''Longfellow Redux''. University of Illinois, 2008: 11. {{ISBN|978-0-252-03063-5}}.</ref> and modern poets, including Seamus Heaney,<ref>Seamus Heaney, "Envies and Identifications: Dante and the Modern Poet." The Poet's Dante: Twentieth-Century Responses. Ed. Peter S. Hawkins and Rachel Jacoff. New York: Farrar, 2001. 239–258.</ref> Robert Pinsky, [[Biography:John Ciardi|John Ciardi]], W. S. Merwin, and Stanley Lombardo, have also produced translations of all or parts of the book. In Russia, beyond Pushkin's  translation of a few tercets,<ref>'Dante in Russia' in ''The Dante encyclopedia'' by Richard H. Lansing and Teodolinda Barolini, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vuW4Z7Y79zYC&pg=PA276&lpg=PA276&dq=pushkin+dante&source=bl&ots=Uugj6U3OM2&sig=GZllCG94KqTPPsOwBZwrEmmu-hE&hl=it&ei=lsaGSoL4ENCg_AaoysCOAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=pushkin%20dante&f=false]</ref> Osip Mandelstam's late poetry has been said to bear the mark of a "tormented meditation" on the ''Comedy''.<ref>Glazova, Marina (November 1984). "[https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00832140 Mandel'štam and Dante: The Divine Comedy in Mandel'štam's Poetry of the 1930s]". ''Studies in Soviet Thought''. '''28''' (4).</ref> In 1934, Mandelstam gave a modern reading of the poem in his labyrinthine "Conversation on Dante".<ref>James Fenton, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jul/16/classics.dantealighieri Hell set to music], ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'', {{Nowrap|16 July}} 2005</ref> In T. S. Eliot's estimation, "Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them. There is no third."<ref>T. S. Eliot (1950) "Dante." ''Selected Essays'', pp.&nbsp;199–237. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.</ref> For [[Biography:Jorge Luis Borges|Jorge Luis Borges]] the ''Divine Comedy'' was "the best book literature has achieved".<ref>Jorge Luis Borges, "Selected Non-Fictions". Ed. Eliot Weinberger. Trans. Esther Allen et. al. New York: Viking, 1999. 303.</ref>

===English translations===

New English translations of the ''Divine Comedy'' continue to be published regularly. Notable English translations of the complete poem include the following.<ref>A comprehensive listing and criticism, covering the period 1782–1966, of English translations of at least one of the three ''cantiche'' is given by Gilbert F. Cunningham, ''The Divine Comedy in English: A Critical Bibliography'', 2 vols. (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1965–67), esp. vol.&nbsp;2, pp.&nbsp;5–9.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!'''Year''' !! '''Translator''' !! '''Notes'''
|-
|1805–1814 || Henry Francis Cary || An older translation, widely available [https://web.archive.org/web/19990420170609/http://www.divinecomedy.org/divine_comedy.html online].
|-
|1867 || Henry Wadsworth Longfellow || Unrhymed terzines. The first U.S. translation, raising American interest in the poem. It is still widely available, including online.
|-
|1891–1892 || Charles Eliot Norton || Prose translation used by Great Books of the Western World. Available [http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/n#a778 online] at Project Gutenberg.
|-
|1933–1943 || Laurence Binyon || ''Terza rima''. Translated with assistance from [[Biography:Ezra Pound|Ezra Pound]]
|-
|1949–1962 || [[Biography:Dorothy L. Sayers|Dorothy L. Sayers]] || Translated for Penguin Classics, intended for a wider audience, and completed by Barbara Reynolds.
|-
|1969 || Thomas G. Bergin || Cast in blank verse with illustrations by Leonard Baskin.<ref>Dante Alighieri. Bergin, Thomas G. trans. ''Divine Comedy''. Grossman Publishers; 1st edition (1969) .</ref>
|-
|1954–1970 || [[Biography:John Ciardi|John Ciardi]] || His ''Inferno'' was recorded and released by Folkways Records in 1954.
|-
|1970–1991 || Charles S. Singleton || Literal prose version with extensive commentary; 6 vols.
|-
|1981 || C. H. Sisson || Available in Oxford World's Classics.
|-
|1980–1984 || Allen Mandelbaum || Available [http://www.worldofdante.org/about.html online].
|-
|1967–2002|| Mark Musa || An alternative Penguin Classics version.
|-
|2000–2007|| Robert and Jean Hollander || [http://etcweb.princeton.edu/dante/pdp/ Online] as part of the Princeton Dante Project.
|-
|2002–2004|| Anthony M. Esolen || Modern Library Classics edition.
|-
|2006–2007|| Robin Kirkpatrick || A third Penguin Classics version, replacing Musa's.
|-
|2010|| Burton Raffel || A Northwestern World Classics version.
|-
|2013|| Clive James || A poetic version in quatrains.
|}

A number of other translators, such as Robert Pinsky, have translated the ''Inferno'' only.

==In the arts==
[[File:William Bouguereau - Dante and Virgile - Google Art Project 2.jpg|thumb|left|''Dante and Virgil in Hell'', painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1850)]]
[[File:Rodin TheKiss 20050609.JPG|thumb|upright|Rodin's ''The Kiss'' represents Paolo and Francesca from the ''Inferno''.<ref name="musee">{{Cite book| author=Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette | title=Rodin:The Gates of Hell | location=Paris | publisher=Musée Rodin | year=1999 | isbn=978-2-901428-69-5}}</ref>]]
The ''Divine Comedy'' has been a source of inspiration for countless artists for almost seven centuries. There are many references to Dante's work in literature. In music, Franz Liszt was one of many composers to write works based on the ''Divine Comedy''. In sculpture, the work of Auguste Rodin includes themes from Dante, and many visual artists have illustrated Dante's work, as shown by the examples above. There have also been many references to the ''Divine Comedy'' in cinema, television, digital arts, comics and video games.
{{clear}}

==Gallery==
{{Gallery
|title= Series of woodcuts illustrating Dante's Hell by Antonio Manetti (1423–1497): <br>From ''Dialogo di Antonio Manetti, cittadino fiorentino, circa al sito, forma, et misure dello inferno di Dante Alighieri poeta excellentissimo'' (Florence: F. Giunta, 1510?)
|width=100 | height=150
|align=center
|footer=
|File:Manetti Everything Reduced to One Plan 1506 Cornell CUL PJM 1004 01.jpg|"Everything Reduced to One Plan", 1506
|File:Manetti The Chamber of Hell 1506 Cornell CUL PJM 1004 02.jpg|"The Chamber of Hell", 1506
|File:Manetti Overview of Hell 1506 Cornell CUL PJM 1004 03.jpg|"Overview of Hell", 1506
|File:Manetti_The_First_Five_Circles_1506_Cornell_CUL_PJM_1004_04.jpg|"The First Five Circles", 1506
|File:Manetti Circles Six and Seven 1506 Cornell CUL PJM 1004 05.jpg|"Circles Six and Seven", 1506
|File:Manetti The Lair of Geryon 1506 Cornell CUL PJM 1004 06.jpg|"The Lair of Geryon", 1506 
|File:Manetti The Tomb of Lucifer 1506 Cornell CUL PJM 1004 07.jpg|"The Tomb of Lucifer", 1506
}}

{{Gallery
|title=''La materia della Divina commedia di Dante Alighieri, dichiarata in VI tavole'', by Michelangelo Caetani (1804–1882)
|width=100 | height=150
|align=center
|footer=
|File:Michelangelo Caetani, The Divine Comedy Described in Six Plates, 1855 Cornell CUL PJM 1071 07.jpg|1855 title page  
|File:Michelangelo Caetani, Overview of the Divine Comedy, 1855 Cornell CUL PJM 1071 01.jpg|Plate I: "Overview of the Divine Comedy"
|File:Michelangelo_Caetani_The_Ordering_of_Hell_1855_Cornell_CUL_PJM_1071_02.jpg|Plate II: "The Ordering of Hell"
|File:Michelangelo Caetani, Map of Hell, 1855 Cornell CUL PJM 1071 03.jpg|Plate III: "Map of Hell"
|File:Michelangelo Caetani Cross Section of Hell 1855 Cornell CUL PJM 1071 04.jpg|Plate IV: "Cross Section of Hell"
|File:Michelangelo Caetani, The Ordering of Purgatory, 1855 Cornell CUL PJM 1071 05.jpg|Plate V: "The Ordering of Purgatory"
|File:Michelangelo Caetani, The Ordering of Paradise, 1855 Cornell CUL PJM 1071 06.jpg|Plate VI: "The Ordering of Paradise"

}}

==See also==
* [[Religion:Allegory in the Middle Ages|Allegory in the Middle Ages]]
* [[Unsolved:Book of Arda Viraf|Book of Arda Viraf]]
* List of cultural references in ''Divine Comedy''
* ''[[Astronomy:Paradise Lost|Paradise Lost]]''
*Theological fiction

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book | last=Eiss | first=Harry | year=2017 | title=Seeking God in the Works of T.S. Eliot and Michelangelo | publisher=Cambridge Scholars | location=New Castle upon Tyne |isbn=978-1-44384-390-4|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book | last=Shaw| first=Prue | year=2014 | title=Reading Dante: From Here to Eternity | publisher=Liveright Publishing | location=New York |isbn=978-1-63149-006-4 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book | last=Trone | first=George Andrew | year=2000 | chapter=Exile | title=The Dante Encyclopedia | editor=Richard Lansing| location=London and New York | publisher=Routledge | isbn=978-0-41587-611-7 | ref=harv}}

==Further reading==
* Ziolkowski, Jan M. (2015). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=hk4nDAAAQBAJ Dante and Islam]''. Fordham University Press, New York. {{ISBN|0823263878}}.

==External links==
* [http://etcweb.princeton.edu/dante/index.html Princeton Dante Project] Website that offers the complete text of the ''Divine Comedy'' (and Dante's other works) in Italian and English along with audio accompaniment in both languages. Includes historical and interpretive annotation.
* The ''Comedy'' in English: [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8800 trans. Cary (with Doré's illustrations)] (zipped HTML downloadable from [[Project Gutenberg]]), [https://web.archive.org/web/19990420170609/http://www.divinecomedy.org/divine_comedy.html Cary/Longfellow/Mandelbaum parallel edition], [https://web.archive.org/web/20180414085657/http://italianstudies.org/comedy/index.htm trans. James Finn Cotter]
* {{in lang|it}} Full text of the ''Commedia'': [http://www.letteraturaitaliana.net/pdf/Volume_1/t317.pdf]
* [http://dante.dartmouth.edu/ Dante Dartmouth Project]: Full text of more than 70 Italian, Latin, and English commentaries on the ''Commedia'', ranging in date from 1322 (Iacopo Alighieri) to the 2000s (Robert Hollander)
* [https://archive.org/details/adictionaryprop00toyngoog ''A Dictionary of the Proper Names and Notable Matters in the Works of Dante''] by Paget Toynbee, London, The Clarendon Press (1898).
* Online manuscript codices: [http://amshistorica.unibo.it/170 Phillips 9589]
* [http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/uva-lib:1206446 Images of the 1564 edition of ''Divine Comedy''] First edition to contain both the commentaries by Landino and Vellutello published by Francesco Sansovino
* [http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/alighieri-the-divine-comedy-in-3-vols-langdon-trans bilingual (Italian and English)''Divine Comedy'' in pdf format in Online Library of Liberty]
*[https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/browse-subject More images of the ''Divine Comedy'' by selecting the "Heaven & Hell" subject at the Persuasive Cartography, The PJ Mode Collection], Cornell University Library
*[http://www.mappingdante.com/ Mapping Dante: A Study of Places in the Commedia] Digital interactive map with the geographical references of the ''Divine Comedy''
*[https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/7506 ''La commedia divina''] Digitised copy of a 1497 edition of the ''Divine Comedy'' that includes an original sketch by artist Giorgione, University of Sydney

;Audio
* [http://etcweb.princeton.edu/dante/pdp/audioitl.html Lino Pertile's reading], Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University.
* {{librivox book | dtitle=Divine Comedy |stitle=Divin|author=Dante Alighieri}} {{in lang|en|it}}

{{Dante}}
{{Catholic virtue ethics}}

[[Category:Afterlife|Divine Comedy]]

{{Sourceattribution|Divine Comedy|1}}