The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso

About Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (c. 12651321) was a prolific poet born in Florence Italy. Renowned for his epic poem The Divine Comedy he is regarded as one of the central figures of Medieval European literature. A deeply reflective body of work the allegory explores Dantes spiritual journey through Inferno Purgatory and Paradise which draws from Christian theology and philosophy. His vivid descriptions established him as the Father of the modern Italian language as he eschewed Latin in favour of the vernacular Tuscan dialect bringing forth a new era of literature. Gustave Doré (Illustrator): An artist who worked across many media the multi-skilled Gustave Doré remains unequalled as a supremely talented illustrator whose detailed and imaginative engravings for major works of literature from Cervantess Don Quixote to Dantes Divine Comedy and even the Bible have hugely influenced the way we see many cultural and literary characters and still inspire today. Robin Kirkpatrick (Foreword) is Professor emeritus of Italian and English Literatures at the University of Cambridge. He was an undergraduate at Merton College Oxford and has been a Fellow of Robinson College Cambridge since 1978. He has written widely on Dantes work and his verse translation of the Commedia is published by Penguin in a variety of editions. Other of his writings include studies of Renaissance literature and volumes of his own poetry.