Dante was born in Florence in 1256 and died in Ravenna in 1321. He is known for being the author of the Divina Commedia, one of the most fundamental pieces of work in the transition from the medieval way of thinking to the renaissance one.
The Divina Commedia describes the afterlife, divided into three distinct parts or worlds: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Each part consists of 33 chants written in chained tercets of eleven syllables each. In order to get to the 100 chants an introductory one is included.
The book is about the pilgrimage of the author throughout the worlds mentioned above after having got lost in a forest. During his journey through hell and purgatory, Dante is guided by the poet Vergil. However, in the third part, while in Paradise, the poet is accompanied by Beatrice, a lover from his youth.
What makes this book different from everything that came before, is the psychological and autobiographical introspection, which had been non-existent in medieval literature. This the reason why Dante is claimed to be the precursor of renaissance.
The Divina Commedia has had an undeniable influence throughout the history of universal literature, some examples would be the French author Honoré de Balzac and his saga La comédie humaine, the British poet T.S. Elliot and his poem The Waste Land, or the Jewish-Italian author Primo Levi and his work Se questo è un uomo.
So popular Dante became that the adjective “dantesque” was named after him. It is used to refer to and infernal, horrific situation or image.
At LINGUAE you can find several versions of the Divina Commedia.
