The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was instrumental in establishing the literature of Italy, and is considered to be among the country's¿national poets¿and the Western world's greatest literary icons. His depictions of¿Hell,¿Purgatory, and¿Heaven¿provided inspiration for the larger body of¿Western art¿and¿literature. He influenced English writers such as¿Geoffrey Chaucer,¿John Milton, and¿Alfred Tennyson, among many others.