The 13th Century Italian poet named Dante Alighieri wrote a poem about an imaginary journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, which is considered perhaps the greatest poem of the Middle Ages. What is the name?

This monumental work by the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri is an epic poem originally titled simply "Commedia," or "Comedy." The "Divine" was added to its title by a later admirer in the 16th century. The poem is split into three distinct parts, or canticles: *Inferno* (Hell), *Purgatorio* (Purgatory), and *Paradiso* (Paradise (Review)). It describes the author’s own fictional journey through these three realms of the afterlife, guided first by the ancient Roman poet Virgil and later by his own idealized love, Beatrice, as he journeys toward God.

Written in the early 14th century, the poem is considered a masterpiece for its complex theology, intricate allegorical structure, and profound human emotion. It had a tremendous impact on culture, helping to establish the Tuscan dialect as the standardized Italian language. Its detailed and terrifying vision of Hell, with its nine concentric circles of escalating punishment, has profoundly influenced Western art and literature for over 700 years, providing a definitive imaginative framework for the Christian afterlife.

While a cornerstone of literature, the poem's connection to the movies category is strong and enduring. The vivid, often grotesque, imagery of the *Inferno* in particular has been a deep well of inspiration for filmmakers. Its visual language for damnation and the underworld can be seen echoed in the hellish landscapes of films like *What Dreams May Come (Review)* and *Event Horizon*. Furthermore, the work has been directly referenced or adapted in movies like the 2016 thriller *Inferno*, which centers on clues hidden within Dante's poem.