"Few would argue that this epic by Dante is one of history's greatest literary tomes. Imaginative and allegorical, Dante uses 14,000 lines of verse to describe the Christian afterlife, from Hell, through Purgatory and on to Heaven. Written in the first person, Dante's epic journey lasts from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the year 1300." "Originally titled Commedia by Dante, the work was later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio. Today, The Divine Comedy offers readers an insight into the Western Church from a medieval world perspective. It has served as an inspiration for many other great writers, including Ezra Pound, Samuel Beckett and C.S. Lewis."--Back cover.