THESE CHILLING WORDS are inscribed across the gates of hell in Dante’s Inferno. In that book-length poem, the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) chronicled his own imaginary journey through the underworld. The next two books, Purgatorio and Paradiso, follow Dante through purgatory and into heaven, where he could be reunited with his true love. The trilogy is referred to as The Divine Comedy—although its author called it simply the Commedia (or “Comedy”)—and was revolutionary because Dante wrote it in the spoken Italian dialect of Tuscany, rather than in Latin, the literary language. What do you know about Dante and his divine trilogy? Don’t abandon all hope—just take this quick quiz!
1. In the first two books of The Divine Comedy, who is Dante’s guide?
2. What is the name of the woman whom Dante loves?
3. Did Dante, writing in the early fourteenth century, believe the world was flat?
4. Which artist, known for his surrealist work, created a complete set of illustrations for the three books of The Divine Comedy?
5. Is there a lake of fire in the center of Dante’s hell?
ANSWERS
1. Virgil, the Roman poet who wrote the Aeneid. Virgil leads Dante through hell and purgatory, but they eventually part because, as a pagan, Virgil cannot enter Christian heaven.
2. Beatrice. Though in real life Dante hardly knew Beatrice Porti-nari (and was married to someone else), his idealized love for her inspired much of his writing—including The Divine Comedy, in which she appears as his true love and his guide to heaven.
3. No. Dante (the character) journeys to the center of a globe-shaped earth to get to the deepest reaches of hell, and he climbs up and out to purgatory.
4. Salvador Dalí. Dante’s work has also inspired illustrations by Sandro Botticelli, Gustave Doré, and William Blake, among many others.
5. No. There is a lake of ice.