The Inferno

“Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars.” In the year 1300, on the night before Good Friday, Dante loses his way in the woods. Standing in front of a mountain, he is surrounded by three beasts—a lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf. Dante cannot escape. He returns to the dark woods, unable to find a straight way, and runs into the ghost of the great Roman poet Virgil. What happens when, led by Virgil, Dante embarks on his journey to Heaven through Hell? The first part of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem Divine Comedy, Inferno deftly depicts the narrator’s allegorical journey through Hell. Composed spectacularly with rich and vivid imagery, it is considered one of the finest works in the Italian language.