Dante+Alighieri-General+Introduction

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was one of the most influential poets of the middle ages. His major poetic work, //The Divine Comedy//, was the first of it's kind. It was published in Italian as opposed to the conventional Latin, and was therefore available to the populous. It spoke to the people of issues related to the nature of good and evil and the role of humanity in the larger scheme of things. In essence, empowering everyone with a sense of personal responsibility in making the world a better place, known as Earthly Paradise, as well as reaching Paradise itself. The long poem is presented in three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso, and tells the tale of a man named Dante, who in order to understand salvation and God is taken on a journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven. Till this day //The Divine Comedy// is taught world-wide as one of the richest and most significant texts of all time.



__Questions:__
 * What language was The Divine Comedy written in?
 * What is personal responsibility?

Vanessa: 1. Italian 2. empowering everyone to make the world a better place.

__Research Options:__
 * Find out the Church's reaction to the Divine Comedy, as well as the people's receptions of it.
 * Give one example of Dante's work in pop-culture.