Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) was an Italian poet best known for the Divine Comedy, an epic poem written in the Italian vernacular that remains a cornerstone of world literature.

Dante composed the Divine Comedy (often dated c. 1307–1321). The poem is divided into three canticles—Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso—and uses tercet rhyme (terza rima). In the poem Dante is guided by the Roman poet Virgil through the infernal realms and later by Beatrice. Dante wrote in the Tuscan vernacular and is widely regarded as a major figure in the development of the Italian literary language.

Two DeBaser reviews praise Dante's Divine Comedy as a masterpiece of medieval literature, noting its allegory, use of the vernacular, and guiding figures Virgil and Beatrice. Reviewers highlight the work's emotional force, formal innovations (tercets), and enduring relevance. One review gives a date range for composition (1307–1321).

For:students and readers of medieval and Italian literature, poetry lovers, general readers interested in classic epic poetry