Alighieri Dante

1265 - 1321 *

Italian poet, philosopher whose epic poem The Divine Comedy is the greatest and most influential of medieval poetry.

The Divine Comedy is a remarkable work of epic poetry that has had a profound influence on the course of world literature.

One of the greatest works of medieval literature, The Divine Comedy is a journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise; based on the poet's own experience of exile from his home, Florence.

Dante's extraordinary achievement makes the vision of a self-contained universe, founded on the philosophy of his day, completely believable.

All of Dante's work, including his many discussions, assess contemporary theology and ideology comprehensively.

Dante is perhaps the greatest Italian moral philosopher and political thinker of all time.

          Source: LiteratureClassics.com Editorial Team

DANTE, Dante (or Durante) Alighieri (1265—1321), the greatest of Italian poets, was born at Florence about the middle of May 1265. He was descended from an ancient family, but from one which at any rate for several generations had belonged to the burgher and not to the knightly class. His biographers have attempted on very slight grounds to deduce his origin from the Frangipani, one of the oldest senatorial families of Rome. We can affirm with greater certainty that he was connected with the Elisei who took part in the building of Florence under Charles the Great. Dante himself does not, with ... [read entire biography]

          Source: External Publication

This page is maintained by our Editorial Team. Become an Expert and help us build this site!

These essays offer analysis of the author's life and work. Many of them have been submitted by users, and are assigned an editorial rating on a scale from one to five stars to assist you in evaluating their worth. See also: Note on Essays, Editorial Policy.

      -- get a free printed certificate and stand the chance of winning $2000!

Evil and Sin in Dante's Inferno and Goethe's Faust: A Symbolic Comparison -- Dante and Goethe have vastly differing opinions of the nature of life, yet they agree on some important things.
By Chris Warner, Student	Editorial Rating:

      if you know of a site that should be listed here.

Miscellaneous

		Dante and Others -- Noew complete downloadable translations of Dante's works http://www.tonykline.free-online.co.uk Editorial Rating: Number of Visitors: 246 0 users have rated it an average of 0 stars     [rate it]

      to find more by this author and others.

No quotes by this author have been added yet. Our database is growing rapidly -- check back soon!

Additional searches

Dante at Encarta Encyclopedia

Dante at Britannica Encyclopedia

Dante at Xrefer.com

Recommended products

Tired of looking at a monitor? Get a hard copy of Dante at Amazon.com--the world's largest bookstore.

Listen to Dante while driving to work each morning--check out the Audiobooks Bargain Bin at eBay's Half.com.

Interactivity

For general discussions on literature, philosophy, politics and the humanities, visit the Classics Network Forums.

To post a message about Dante specifically, scroll down to the messages section at the bottom of this page.

Contribute

To help us grow, consider submitting your own essays and link suggestions.

If you've studied Dante and want to share your knowledge, become a Classics Network Expert and help us build this site!

* Some dates of birth and death are approximated. If this is the case, see note at the end of biography, above. Dates of birth and death are AD, unless otherwise specified.