The ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature ...

'' has been a source of inspiration for artists, musicians, and authors since its appearance in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Works are included here if they have been described by scholars as relating substantially in their structure or content to the ''Divine Comedy''. The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia) is an Italian narrative poem by

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

, begun 1308 and completed in 1320, a year before his death in 1321. Divided into three parts: ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

'' (Hell), ''

Purgatorio ''Purgatorio'' (; Italian for "Purgatory") is the second part of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', following the '' Inferno'' and preceding the '' Paradiso''. The poem was written in the early 14th century. It is an allegory telling of the climb of D ...

'' (Purgatory), and '' Paradiso'' (Heaven), it is widely considered the pre-eminent work in

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian, including ...

and one of the greatest works of

world literature World literature is used to refer to the total of the world's national literature and the circulation of works into the wider world beyond their country of origin. In the past, it primarily referred to the masterpieces of Western European lit ...

. The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval worldview as it had developed in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

by the 14th century. It helped to establish the

Tuscan language Tuscan ( it, dialetto toscano ; it, vernacolo, label=locally) is a set of Italo-Dalmatian varieties of Romance mainly spoken in Tuscany, Italy. Standard Italian is based on Tuscan, specifically on its Florentine dialect, and it became the ...

, in which it is written, as the standardized

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...

Literature

Medieval

Way-of-salvation-church-militant-triumphant-andrea-di-bonaiuto-1365

* In 1373, a little more than half a century after Dante's death, the Florentine authorities softened their attitude to him and decided to establish a department for the study of the ''Divine Comedy''. Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) was appointed to head the department in October 1373, and he sponsored its organization. In January 1374, Boccaccio wrote and delivered a series of lectures on the ''Comedy''. In addition, Boccaccio is included in the work ''Origine, vita e costumi di Dante Alighieri'', where his treatise ''Trattatello in laude di Dante'' provides a biography of Dante. * Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400) translated, adapted, and explicitly referred to Dante's work. ** "A Complaynt to His Lady," an early short poem, is written in

terza rima ''Terza rima'' (, also , ; ) is a rhyming verse form, in which the poem, or each poem-section, consists of tercets (three line stanzas) with an interlocking three-line rhyme scheme: The last word of the second line in one tercet provides the rh ...

, the rhyme scheme Dante invented for the ''Comedy''. ** ''

Anelida and Arcite ''Anelida and Arcite'' is a 357-line English poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. It tells the story of Anelida, queen of Armenia and her wooing by false Arcite from Thebes, Greece. Although relatively short, it is a poem with a complex structure, with a ...

'' ends with a "" by Anelida, the lover jilted by Arcite; the begins with the phrase "So thirleth with the poynt of remembraunce" and ends with "Hath thirled with the poynt of remembraunce," copied from ''Purgatory'' 12.32, "la punctura di la rimembranza." ** ''

The House of Fame ''The House of Fame'' (''Hous of Fame'' in the original spelling) is a Middle English poem by Geoffrey Chaucer, probably written between 1374 and 1385, making it one of his earlier works. It was most likely written after ''The Book of the Duchess' ...

'', a dream vision in three books in which the narrator is guided through the heavens by an otherworldly guide, has been described as a parody of the ''Comedy''. The narrator echoes ''Inferno'' 2.32 in the poem (2.588–592). ** ''

The Monk's Tale "The Monk's Tale" is one of '' The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Monk's tale to the other pilgrims is a collection of 17 short stories, exempla, on the theme of tragedy. The tragic endings of these historical figures are recounte ...

'' from '' The Canterbury Tales'' describes (in greater and more emphatic detail) the plight of Count Ugolino (''Inferno'', cantos 32 and 33), referring explicitly to Dante's original text in 7.2459–2462. ** The beginning of the last stanza of ''

Troilus and Criseyde ''Troilus and Criseyde'' () is an epic poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which re-tells in Middle English the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Criseyde set against a backdrop of war during the siege of Troy. It was written in '' rime royale'' a ...

'' (5.1863-65) is modelled on ''Paradiso'' 12.28–30.

Early Modern

* John Milton finds various uses for Dante, whose work he knew well: ** Milton refers to Dante's insistence on the separation of worldly and religious power in '' Of Reformation'', where he cites ''Inferno'' 19.115–117. ** Beatrice's condemnation of corrupt and neglectful preachers, ''Paradiso'' 29.107–109 ("so that the wretched sheep, in ignorance, / return from pasture, having fed on wind") is translated and adapted in ''

Lycidas "Lycidas" () is a poem by John Milton, written in 1637 as a pastoral elegy. It first appeared in a 1638 collection of elegies, ''Justa Edouardo King Naufrago'', dedicated to the memory of Edward King, a friend of Milton at Cambridge who dro ...

'' 125–126, "The hungry Sheep look up, and are not fed, / But swoln with wind, and the rank mist they draw," when Milton condemns corrupt clergy.

Nineteenth century

* The title of

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

's work ''

La Comédie humaine LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (the "Human Comedy," 1815–1848) is usually considered a conscious adaptation of Dante's. *

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

, who translated the ''Divine Comedy'' into English, wrote a poem titled "Mezzo Cammin" ("Halfway," 1845), alluding to the first line of the ''Comedy'', and a

sonnet sequence A sonnet sequence is a group of sonnets thematically unified to create a long work, although generally, unlike the stanza, each sonnet so connected can also be read as a meaningful separate unit. The sonnet sequence was a very popular genre during ...

(of six sonnets) under the title "Divina Commedia" (1867); these were published as flyleaves to his translation. *

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

uses a paraphrase of ''Purgatory'' (V, 13) to conclude the preface to the first edition of ''

Das Kapital ''Das Kapital'', also known as ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' or sometimes simply ''Capital'' (german: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie, link=no, ; 1867–1883), is a foundational theoretical text in materialist phi ...

'' (1867), as a kind of motto: "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti" ("follow your own road, and let the people talk"). * Lesya Ukrainka's poem "The Forgotten Shadow" (1898) is a feminist reinterpretation of Dante and Beatrice. The ''forgotten shadow'' in the poem is Gemma Donati, Aligheri's wife.

Twentieth century

* In

E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...

's novel ''

Where Angels Fear to Tread ''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' (1905) is a novel by E. M. Forster. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's ''An Essay on Criticism'': "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread". The BBC adapted the novel for television in 1966 as ...

'' (1905), the character of Gino Carella, upon first introducing himself, quotes the first lines of ''Inferno'' (the novel includes several references to Dante's ''

La Vita Nuova ''La Vita Nuova'' (; Italian for "The New Life") or ''Vita Nova'' (Latin title) is a text by Dante Alighieri published in 1294. It is an expression of the medieval genre of courtly love in a prosimetrum style, a combination of both prose and ve ...

'' as well). * T. S. Eliot cites ''

'', XXVII, 61–66, as an epigraph to "

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", commonly known as "Prufrock", is the first professionally published poem by American-born British poet T. S. Eliot (1888–1965). Eliot began writing "Prufrock" in February 1910, and it was first publishe ...

" (1915). Eliot cites heavily from and alludes to Dante in ''

Prufrock and Other Observations "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", commonly known as "Prufrock", is the first professionally published poem by American-born British poet T. S. Eliot (1888–1965). Eliot began writing "Prufrock" in February 1910, and it was first publishe ...

'' (1917), ''Ara vus prec'' (1920), and ''

The Waste Land ''The Waste Land'' is a poem by T. S. Eliot, widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry. Published in 1922, the 434-line poem first appeared in the United Kingdom in the Octob ...

'' (1922). * Begun in 1916, Ezra Pound's '' Cantos'' take the ''Comedy'' as a model. * Samuel Beckett in his non-fiction essay "Dante... Bruno. Vico.. Joyce", published in ''

Our Exagmination Round His Factification for Incamination of Work in Progress ''Our Exagmination Round His Factification for Incamination of Work in Progress'' is a 1929 collection of critical essays, and two letters, on the subject of James Joyce's book ''Finnegans Wake'', then being published in discrete sections under t ...

'' (1929), compares Joyce's reassessments of the conventions of the English language to Dante's departure from Latin and synthesis of Italian dialects in the ''Divine Comedy''. * Turkish poet Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı's famous poem "Otuz Beş Yaş" (lit. "Thirty Five Years") is beginning with the verses which contains a citation of ''Inferno'': "''Yaş otuz beş! Yolun yarısı eder /

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...

gibi ortasındayız ömrün''" ("Age thirty five! It is half of way / We are in the middle of life like Dante") won the Best Turkish Poem Prize in 1946. *

Primo Levi Primo Michele Levi (; 31 July 1919 – 11 April 1987) was an Italian chemist, partisan, writer, and Jewish Holocaust survivor. He was the author of several books, collections of short stories, essays, poems and one novel. His best-known works ...

cites Dante's ''Divine Comedy'' in the chapter called "Canto of Ulysses" in his novel ''Se questo è un uomo'' (''

If This Is a Man ''If This Is a Man'' ( it, Se questo è un uomo ; United States title: ''Survival in Auschwitz'') is a memoir by Italian Jewish writer Primo Levi, first published in 1947. It describes his arrest as a member of the Italian anti-fascist resis ...

'') (1947), published in the United States as ''Survival in Auschwitz'', and in other parts of this book; the fires of Hell are compared to the "real threat of the fires of the crematorium." * Malcolm Lowry paralleled Dante's descent into hell with Geoffrey Firmin's descent into alcoholism in his epic novel ''

Under the Volcano ''Under the Volcano'' is a novel by English writer Malcolm Lowry (1909–1957) published in 1947. The novel tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British consul in the Mexican city of Quauhnahuac, on the Day of the Dead in Novemb ...

'' (1947). In contrast to the original, Lowry's character explicitly refuses grace and "chooses hell," though Firmin does have a Dr. Vigil as a guide (and his brother, Hugh Firmin, quotes the ''Comedy'' from memory in ch. 6). *

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repres ...

's novel The First Circle (1968) takes its title from the Inferno. Set in a special Gulag for scientists, it parallels Dante's First Circle (Limbo) where virtuous philosophers of antiquity are separated from God and humanity but not punished in any other way. * The seventh and last chapter from Leopoldo Marechal's first novel, Adam Buenosayres, is a parody of the Inferno, entitled "Journey To The Dark City Of Cacodelphia", wherein the titular character meets several of his literary contemporaries (including his guide).*

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

, who wrote extensively about Dante, included two short texts in his '' Dreamtigers'' (''El Hacedor'', 1960): "Paradiso, XXXI, 108" and "Inferno, I, 32," which paraphrase and comment on Dante's lines. * Poet Derek Walcott, in 1949, published ''Epitaph for the Young: XII Cantos'', which he later acknowledged as influenced by Dante. *

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for ''Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyri ...

published his '' Divine Comedies'', a collection of poetry, in 1976; a selection in that volume, "The Book of Ephraim", consists "of conversations held, via the Ouija board, with dead friends and spirits in 'another world.'" * Authors

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are '' Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, '' The Mote in God's E ...

and

Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. In the 1960s ...

wrote a modern sequel to the ''Inferno'', ''

'' (1976), in which a science fiction author dies during a fan convention and finds himself in Hell, where Benito Mussolini functions as his guide. They wrote a subsequent sequel to their own work, '' Escape from Hell'' (2009). * Gloria Naylor's '' Linden Hills'' (1985) uses Dante's ''Inferno'' as a model for the trek made by two young black poets who spend the days before Christmas doing odd jobs in an affluent African American community. The young men soon discover the price paid by the inhabitants of Linden Hills for pursuing the American dream. * Author

Monique Wittig Monique Wittig (; July 13, 1935 – January 3, 2003) was a French author, philosopher and feminist theorist who wrote about abolition of the sex-class system and coined the phrase "heterosexual contract". Her seminal work is titled '' The Strai ...

's ''Virgile, Non'' (published in English as ''Across the Acheron'', 1985) is a lesbian– feminist parody of the ''Divine Comedy'' set in the utopia/dystopia of

second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades. It took place throughout the Western world, and aimed to increase equality for women by building on previous feminist gains. ...

. * Mark E. Rogers used the structure of Dante's hell in his 1998

comedic novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's literary ...

''Samurai Cat Goes to Hell'' (the last in the ''

Samurai Cat Samurai Cat (aka Miaowara Tomokato) is the main character in a series of books by Mark Rogers. To accompany the anachronistic satire, almost every page in each book has a picture painted by Rogers, depicting the events described on that page. Ea ...

'' series), and includes the trope of a gate to hell with an "abandon hope" inscription.

Twenty-first century

* Irish poet

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

published a poem, "A Dream of Solstice", on the front page of the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' (18 January 2000) that begins with a translation o
''Paradiso'' 33.58–61
as "Like somebody who sees things when he's dreaming / And after the dream lives with the aftermath / Of what he felt, no other trace remaining, / So I live now". *

Nick Tosches Nicholas P. Tosches (; October 23, 1949 – October 20, 2019) was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, '' Hellfire'', was praised by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as "the best rock and roll ...

's ''In The Hand of Dante'' (2002) weaves a contemporary tale about the finding of an original manuscript of the ''Divine Comedy'' with an imagined account of Dante's years composing the work. * ''Inferno'' by

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and ''The Investigation'' and hi ...

(written in 1964, published in 2003) is a play inspired by the ''Comedy'', the first part of a planned trilogy. * ''

The Dante Club ''The Dante Club'' is a mystery novel by Matthew Pearl and his debut work, set amidst a series of murders in the American Civil War era. It also concerns a club of poets, including such historical figures as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wen ...

'' is a 2003 novel by

Matthew Pearl Matthew Pearl (born October 2, 1975) is an American novelist and educator. His novels include '' The Dante Club'', '' The Poe Shadow'', '' The Last Dickens'', '' The Technologists'', and '' The Last Bookaneer''. Biography Pearl was born in New Yo ...

that tells the story of various American poets translating ''The Divine Comedy'' in post-

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, who must also investigate murders being committed based on the punishments in the text, due to their desire to protect Dante's reputation and the fact that only they have the necessary expertise to understand the murderer's motivations. * Óscar Esquivias in his trilogy of novels ''Inquietud en el Paraíso'' (2005), ''La ciudad del Gran Rey'' (2006) and ''Viene la noche'' (2007) shows his personal vision of Dante's ''

''. * In the novel ''

The Tenth Circle ''The Tenth Circle'' (2006) is the thirteenth novel by the American author, Jodi Picoult. The novel deals with date rape, and father/daughter relationships. The novel heavily references Dante Alighieri's '' Inferno''. Plot When freshman Trixie ...

'' (2006) by

Jodi Picoult Jodi Lynn Picoult () is an American writer. Picoult has published 28 novels, accompanying short stories, and has also written several issues of Wonder Woman. Approximately 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide, translated into 34 ...

, the main character's comic strip, ''The Tenth Circle'', is based on the ''Inferno'' * Dante himself is a character in ''The Master of Verona'' (2007), a novel by

David Blixt David Blixt (born July 12, 1973, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American author, stage actor, and director living Chicago, Illinois. Blixt currently serves as an Artistic Associate at the Michigan Shakespeare Festival and is the MSF's resident F ...

that combines the people of Dante's time with the characters of Shakespeare's Italian plays. * S.A. Alenthony's novel ''The Infernova'' is a parody of the ''Inferno'' as seen from an atheist's perspective, with Mark Twain acting as the guide.

Visual arts

Sculpture

Zürich - Kunsthaus - Rodin's Höllentor IMG 7384 ShiftN

* Auguste Rodin's sculptural group ''

The Gates of Hell ''The Gates of Hell'' (french: La Porte de l'Enfer) is a monumental bronze sculptural group work by French artist Auguste Rodin that depicts a scene from the '' Inferno'', the first section of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy''. It stands at ...

'' draws heavily on the ''Inferno''. The component sculpture, ''Paolo and Francesca'', represents Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta, whom Dante meets in Canto 5. The version of this sculpture known as '' The Kiss'' shows the book that Paolo and Francesca were reading. Other component sculptures include ''

Ugolino Ugolino is an Italian masculine given name that is a diminutive form of Ugo. It may also refer to: Artists and musicians * Ugolino di Nerio (1280?–1349), Italian painter active in Siena and Florence * Ugolino di Tedice (died after 1277), Italian ...

and his children'' (Canto 33) and ''The Shades'', who originally pointed to the phrase "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'entrate" ("Abandon all hope, ye who enter here") from Canto 3. Sculptures of ''Grief'' and ''Despair'' cannot be assigned to particular sections of the ''Inferno'', but are in keeping with the overall theme. The famous component sculpture ''

The Thinker ''The Thinker'' (french: Le Penseur) is a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin, usually placed on a stone pedestal. The work depicts a nude male figure of heroic size sitting on a rock. He is seen leaning over, his right elbow placed on his left t ...

'', near the top of the gate, and also produced as an independent work, may represent Dante himself. * Timothy Schmalz created a series of 100 sculptures, one for each canto, on the 700th anniversary of the date of Dante’s death.

Illustrations

Giovanni di Paolo Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia (''c.'' 1403–1482) was an Italian painter, working primarily in Siena, becoming a prolific painter and illustrator of manuscripts, including Dante's texts. He was one of the most important painters of the 15th cent ...

illuminated Dante's ''Paradiso'' with 61 miniature tempera paintings in the 1440s. *

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th cent ...

made the most famous set of illustrations during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

for a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

of the ''Divine Comedy'' commissioned by Lorenzo Pierfrancesco de' Medici; Botticelli also designed a series of illustrations for the 1481 edition of the poem. *

Stradanus Stradanus, Johannes Stradanus, Jan van der Straet or Giovanni StradanoMore name variations: Johannes Stradanus, Giovanni della Strada, Johannes della Strada, Giovanni Stradano, Johannes Stradano, Giovanni Stradanus, Johannes Stradanus, Jan van St ...

prepared a series of illustrations of ''Inferno''. * A commentary by ''La Comedia di Dante Alighieri con la nova esposizione'' written by

Alessandro Vellutello Alessandro Vellutello (born 1473) was a Lucchese writer, poet, and scholar active in Venice in the first half of the sixteenth century. Life Born in Lucca, Vellutello moved to Venice permanently in 1525, after fleeing from Milan due to the battl ...

and printed in 1544 by Francesco Marcolini, was illustrated with 87 engravings, possibly by Giovanni Britto. *

John Flaxman John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several ye ...

's set of one hundred and eleven illustrations were influential across Europe on artists such as

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...

and Ingres, because of their radically minimalist style. *

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

planned and executed several

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

illustrations to the ''Divine Comedy'', including '' The Wood of the Self-Murderers: The Harpies and the Suicides''. Though he did not finish the series before his death in 1827, they offer a powerful visual interpretation of the poem. *

Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravin ...

made the most famous illustrations in the 19th century; the plates were drawn in 1857, and published in 1860 with Henry Francis Cary's translation. * Franz von Bayros illustrated a 1921 edition in colour. *

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...

made a series of prints for the ''Comedy'' in 1950–51. * British artist Tom Phillips illustrated his own translation of the ''Inferno'', published in 1985, with four illustrations per canto. File:1K002578 Divine Comedy Giovanni di paolo.jpg, ''Paradiso'': Dante and Beatrice meet Folco of Marseille, who denounces corrupt churchmen.

, 1444–1450 File:Sandro Botticelli - Paradiso, Canto IX.jpg, ''Paradiso'', Canto IX.

, 1485–1490 File:Stradano Inferno Canto 06.jpg, ''Inferno'', Canto VI. Dante and Virgil meet

Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus (; grc-gre, Κέρβερος ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring of the ...

, 1587 File:Gli arroncigliò le impegolate.jpg, ''Gli arroncigliò le impegolate'', ''Inferno'', Canto XXII.

, 1793 File:The Wood of the Self-Murderers.jpg, '' The Wood of the Self-Murderers: The Harpies and the Suicides''.

, 1824–1827

Painting

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

made his name with ''

The Barque of Dante ''The Barque of Dante'' (), also ''Dante and Virgil in Hell'' (''Dante et Virgile aux enfers''), is the first major painting by the French artist Eugène Delacroix, and is a work signalling the shift in the character of narrative painting, from ...

'' (1822), a painting depicting Dante and Virgil crossing the river Styx. *

Joseph Anton Koch Joseph Anton Koch (27 July 1768 – 12 January 1839) was an Austrian painter of Neoclassicism and later the German Romantic movement; he is perhaps the most significant neoclassical landscape painter. Biography The Tyrolese painter was born i ...

illustrated Dante's ''Divine Comedy'' and in the period 1824–1829 painted the four frescoes in the Dante Room of Casa Massimo. *

William-Adolphe Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female ...

, the prolific 19th-century academic artist, painted ''Dante And Virgil In Hell'' in 1850. *

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

, a Pre-Raphaelite, made '' several paintings of the ''Divine Comedy'', including ''Dante's Vision of Rachel and Leah'' (1855, for ''Purgatorio'' XXVII), his largest painting '' Dante's Dream at the Time of the Death of Beatrice'' (1871), and ''

Beata Beatrix ''Beata Beatrix'' is a painting completed in several versions by Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The painting depicts Beatrice Portinari from Dante Alighieri's 1294 poem '' La Vita Nuova'' at the moment of her death. The first vers ...

'' (1872). *

Henry Holiday Henry Holiday (17 June 183915 April 1927) was a British historical genre and landscape painter, stained-glass designer, illustrator, and sculptor. He is part of the Pre-Raphaelite school of art. Life Early years and training Holiday was born ...

is best known for his 1884 painting ''

Dante and Beatrice Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

''. * Graba' made a cycle ''La Divina Commedia'' consisting of 111 paintings in 2003 exhibited in the Art Hall Sint-Pietersabdij in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

. File:Joseph Anton Koch, inferno, 1825-28, 23 dante e virgilio.jpg, ''Dante and Virgil in the Inferno''. Fresco in Casa Massimo,

, 1825-1828 File:Eugène Delacroix - The Barque of Dante.jpg, ''

''.

, 1822 File:Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Dante's Dream at the Time of the Death of Beatrice (1871).jpg, '' Dante's Dream at the Time of the Death of Beatrice'',

, 1871 File:Henry Holiday - Dante meets Beatrice.jpg, ''

''.

, 1884

Architecture

* The Danteum is an unbuilt monument designed by the Italian modernist architect

Giuseppe Terragni Giuseppe Terragni (; 18 April 1904 – 19 July 1943) was an Italian architect who worked primarily under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and pioneered the Italian modern movement under the rubric of Rationalism. His most famous work is the C ...

at the behest of Benito Mussolini's fascist dictatorship. * The

Palacio Barolo Palacio Barolo is a landmark office building, located at 1370 Avenida de Mayo, in the neighborhood of Montserrat, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It stood as Buenos Aires' tallest building for more than a decade until the construction of the Kavanagh Bui ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, completed in 1923, was designed in accordance with the cosmology of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', motivated by Italian architect

Mario Palanti Mario Palanti (September 20, 1885 – September 4, 1978) was an Italian architect who designed important buildings in the capital cities of both Argentina and Uruguay. Life and career Born in 1885 in Milan, Italy, the brother of painter Gius ...

's admiration for Dante.

Performing arts

Dance

* In 2021, the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

put on ''The Dante Project'', choreographed by

Wayne McGregor Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...

to new music composed and conducted by

Thomas Adès Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: '' The Tempest'' (2004), '' ...

, with set and costumes by

Tacita Dean Tacita Charlotte Dean CBE, RA (born 1965) is a British / German visual artist who works primarily in film. She was a nominee for the Turner Prize in 1998, won the Hugo Boss Prize in 2006, and was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 2008. ...

. It was danced by

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

, led by its principal dancer Edward Watson as Dante, in his final appearance after 20 years working with and interpreting McGregor. The music was performed live by an orchestra of 75 musicians. Sarah Crompton called the work "bold, beautiful, emotional and utterly engaging". The dance is in three sections. "Inferno" shows Dante's journey to hell, guided by Virgil, in "remarkably free and inventive" choreography, "rich in feeling". "Purgatorio" shows Dante meeting two incarnations of his young self, and three of the woman he loves, Beatrice. Watson dances with the living Beatrice (Francesca Hayward) "in lovely, poetic flow", and then with the heavenly Beatrice (Sarah Lamb) "all unfolding limbs and ethereal gestures". "Paradiso" has Dante in heaven with the dancers skittering about the stage all in white, in what Crompton calls a mood "of abstracted joy, deep but dazzling".

Opera

* In Claudio Monteverdi's 1607 opera ''

L'Orfeo ''L'Orfeo'' ( SV 318) (), sometimes called ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance/early Baroque ''favola in musica'', or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and ...

'', the title character is bombarded with the famous line "Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate" as he attempts to enter the underworld. Numerous mainly 19th century

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s treat the story of Francesca da Rimini, many of them including those by Pellico (1818), Strepponi (1823), Carlini, Mercadante, Quilici, Generali,

Staffa Staffa ( gd, Stafa, , from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island) is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Vikings gave it this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from ver ...

, Manna, Fournier, Tamburini, Borgatta,

Morlacchi Morlacchi is a family name of Italian origin. It might indicate an ultimate family origin connected with the Morlachs, a Balkan ethnic group which had considerable interaction with Italians (particularly those from the Republic of Venice). It ma ...

, Papparlardo, Nordal, Maglioni, Bellini, DeVasinis, Meiners (1841), Cannetti, Brancaccio, Rolland, Ruggieri, Pinelli, Franchini, Meiners (again, this time in 1860), Gilson, Sescewich, Boullard, Marcarini, Moscuzza, Goetz, Cagnoni, Thomas, Impallomeni, Gilson, Nápravník,

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

(in 1906), Leoni,

Zandonai Riccardo Zandonai (28 May 1883 – 5 June 1944) was an Italian composer. Biography Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria-Hungary. As a young man, he showed such an aptitude for music that he entered the Pesaro Conse ...

(1914, based on the 1901 play by Gabriele D'Annunzio), and Henried (in 1920) all having that same title.

Classical music

By 1995, the ''Divine Comedy'' had been set to music over 120 times;

Gioacchino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

created two such settings. Only 8 of the settings are of the complete ''Commedia'', "the most famous" being

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

's symphony; others have composed music for some of Dante's characters, while yet others have set passages of the ''Commedia'' to music. * Franz Liszt's '' Symphony to Dante's Divina Commedia'' (completed 1856) has two movements: "Inferno" and "Purgatorio." A concluding "Magnificat" is included at the end of the "Purgatorio" movement and replaces the planned third movement, which was to be called "Paradiso" (Liszt was dissuaded by Richard Wagner from his original plan). Liszt also composed a ''

Dante Sonata ''Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata'' (French for ''After a Reading of Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata''; also known as the Dante Sonata) is a piano sonata in one movement, completed by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt in 1849. It was ...

'' (started 1837, completed 1849). * Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky's 1876 '' Francesca da Rimini'' (subtitled "Symphonic Fantasy After Dante") is a symphonic poem based on an episode in the fifth canto of the ''Inferno''. * Henry Barraud's cantata for five voices and 15 instruments, ''La divine comédie'', based on Dante's text, was composed in 1972. * Dutch composer

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

's 2008 film opera in five parts ''La Commedia'' incorporates texts from Vondel and the Old Testament, in addition to ''The Divine Comedy''. The five parts are "The City of Dis, or The Ship of Fools", "Racconto dall'Inferno", "Lucifer", "The Garden of Delights", and "Luce Etterna". * Laudi alla Vergine Maria is Movement 3, for women's voices, of Giuseppe Verdi's Quattro Pezzi Sacri (Four Sacred Pieces, 1888). The text is from the opening lines of Canto 33 of ''Paradiso''.

Popular music

* F. M. Einheit of

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals; guitar; keyboard) and N.U. Unruh ( custom-made instruments; p ...

and Andreas Ammer collaborated on an experimental recording called ''Radio Inferno'', a radio play adaptation of the ''Comedy''. * On his 1992 album ''Façanhas'', Brazilian musician

Arrigo Barnabé Arrigo Barnabé (born September 14, 1951) is a Brazilian musician and actor. His best-known record is perhaps the critically acclaimed ''Clara Crocodilo''. "He wrote the highly successful song "Clara Crocodilo" (with Mário Lúcio Cortes)..." "T ...

set the first 48 lines of the ''

'' (translated to Portuguese by the famous poet

Augusto de Campos Augusto de Campos (born 14 February 1931, São Paulo) is a Brazilian writer who (with his brother Haroldo de Campos) was a founder of the Concrete poetry movement in Brazil. He is also a translator, music critic and visual artist. Work In 1952 ...

) to music. *

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...

has released albums setting all the three parts of ''The Divine Comedy'' to music: ''

'' is a recording of a live performance at the St Marien zu Bernau Cathedral in 2001, and ''

'' and ''Paradiso'' are studio albums from 2004 and 2006 respectively. * German Dark Electro band yelworC has made two albums of a trilogy based on the three

cantica A canticle (from the Latin ''canticulum'', a diminutive of ''canticum'', "song") is a hymn, psalm or other Christian song of praise with lyrics usually taken from biblical or holy texts. Canticles are used in Christian liturgy. Catholic Chur ...

s of the Divine Comedy, ''Trinity'' and ''Icolation''. * Australian goth-electro band the Tenth Stage has a self-titled track (2006) that describes the singer's descent past the nine stages of Dante's poem to a 10th stage of Hell. *

Technical death metal Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Techni ...

guitarist

Fredrik Thordendal Fredrik Thordendal (born 11 February 1970) is a Swedish musician, best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the extreme metal band Meshuggah, of which he is a founding member. Along with Meshuggah's rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagst ...

(from the Swedish Death metal band

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer To ...

) used quotes from the Divine Comedy in the song "Dante's Wild Inferno" from his solo album ''

Sol Niger Within ''Sol Niger Within'' is the first release by Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects, a side project of Meshuggah guitarist Fredrik Thordendal. The album was originally released in 1997 on the Ultimate Audio Entertainment label. The album was remix ...

''. * The song "Canto IV (Limbo)" from

Progressive music Progressive music is music that attempts to expand existing stylistic boundaries associated with specific genres of music. The word comes from the basic concept of "progress", which refers to advancements through accumulation, and is often de ...

group Discipline's album '' Unfolded Like Staircase'' describes the sorrow of those souls who never knew a deity. * Italian

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

band

Metamorfosi Metamorfosi ( el, Μεταμόρφωση, Metamórfosi, transfiguration; before 1957: Koukouvaounes ( el, link=no, Κουκουβάουνες, Koukouváounes) is a suburb in the northern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece, and a municipalit ...

has released two concept albums based on the ''Divine Comedy'', ''Inferno'' (in 1972) and ''Paradiso'' (2004). * Metal band

Iced Earth Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band formed in Tampa, Florida and currently based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer and original drummer ...

's album '' Burnt Offerings'' (1995) contains the epic song "

Dante's Inferno ''Inferno'' (; Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem ''Divine Comedy''. It is followed by ''Purgatorio'' and '' Paradiso''. The ''Inferno'' describes Dante's journey through Hell, gui ...

", over 16 minutes long. * Zao refer to the ''Divine Comedy'' on their 1999 album '' Liberate Te Ex Inferis'', covering the first five circles of the ''Inferno''. *

Punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

singer Mike Watt's third solo album, ''

The Secondman's Middle Stand ''The Secondman's Middle Stand'' was Mike Watt's third solo album and the first full-length recording that he had made under his own name since the release of '' Contemplating The Engine Room'' in 1997. The storyline for the nine-track album par ...

'' (2004), is a concept album that derives its structure from ''The Divine Comedy''. *

Thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...

's tenth album, ''

Dante XXI ''Dante XXI'' is the tenth studio album by the Brazilian metal band Sepultura, released in 2006 through SPV Records. It is a concept album based on the three sections of Dante Alighieri's ''The Divine Comedy''; '' Inferno'' (hell), ''Purgatorio'' ...

'' (2006), is based on ''The Divine Comedy''. * Professor Fate's album ''Inferno'' (2007) was inspired by the ''Comedy''. * The Finnish

magazine ''Colossus'' and

Musea Records Musea Records (slogan: ''Les classiques du futur'', French for "The classics of the future") is a French non-profit organisation, non-profit recording company founded in 1985 by Francis Grosse and Bernard Gueffier in Dombasle-sur-Meurthe, specia ...

produced three multi-disc boxsets dedicated to each of the canticas of the ''Divine Comedy'' – ''Inferno'' (2008), ''Purgatorio'' (2009) and ''Paradiso'' (2010) – with the participation of several bands such as Yesterdays, Little Tragedies, Nathan Mahl and Phideaux. * Austrian gothic metal band Dreams of Sanity's album ''Komödia'' is partially based on ''The Divine Comedy''. * American post-hardcore band

Alesana Alesana ( ) is an American post-hardcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina. The group was founded by Shawn Milke, Dennis Lee and Patrick Thompson during the fall of 2004, and is currently signed to Revival Recordings and Artery Recordings. Ales ...

's fourth album, ''

A Place Where the Sun Is Silent ''A Place Where the Sun Is Silent'' is the fourth studio album by Alesana. It was released through Epitaph Records on October 18, 2011. The album was produced by Kris Crummett, who also worked on '' The Emptiness''. Being the second concept al ...

'', is primarily based on the ''Inferno''. * Mexican death metal band Transmetal released ''El Infierno de Dante'' in 1993. The English version, ''Dante's Inferno'', was released in 1994. * British rapper and saxophonist

Soweto Kinch Soweto Kinch (born 10 January 1978) is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper. Biography Born in 1978 in London, England, to a Barbadian father, playwright Don Kinch, and British-Jamaican actress Yvette Harris, Soweto Kinch began playin ...

's album ''

The Legend of Mike Smith ''The Legend of Mike Smith'' is a 2013 album by Soweto Kinch. Track listing All tracks are written by Soweto Kinch. CD2 starts from track 22. # "The Phone Call" (2:22) # "A Restless Mind" (3:32) # "The Great Commission" (0:16) # "The Dream" (7: ...

'' is based on the ''Inferno'', and includes songs named for the nine circles of hell. *American

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

band

Symphony X Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Micha ...

's 2015 album ''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

'' is based on the ''Inferno''.

Radio

* ''Inferno Revisited'', a modernised interpretation of Dante written by Peter Howell, was first broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

on 17 April 1983. * Between March and April 2014, the BBC adapted ''The Divine Comedy'' for Radio 4, starring

Blake Ritson Blake Adam Ritson (born 14 January 1978) is an English actor and director. Early life Blake was born on 14, June, 1978 in London and attended the Dolphin School in Reading, Berkshire until 1993, before going to St Paul's School in West Londo ...

and

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

playing younger and older versions of Dante.

Film

* The 1911

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

L'Inferno ''L'Inferno'' is a 1911 Italian silent film, loosely adapted from '' Inferno'', the first canticle of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy''. ''L'Inferno'' took over three years to make, and was the first full-length Italian feature film. Plot Da ...

'' was directed by Giuseppe de Liguoro, starring Salvatore Papa. It was released on DVD in 2004, with a soundtrack by

. * The 1924

'', directed by

Henry Otto Henry Otto (August 8, 1877 – August 3, 1952) was an American silent film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. Otto contributed to over 150 films throughout his career working as an actor and a director throughout. He directed many ...

, features the 1911 film, ''

''; the section on the inferno is reduced to a ten-minute segment. * The 1935 motion picture ''

'', directed by Harry Lachman, written by Philip Klein and starring

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

, is about a fairground attraction based on ''Inferno''. The film features a 10-minute fantasy sequence visualizing Dante's ''Inferno''. * Salo4

The 1975

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

film ''

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom ''Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom'' ( it, Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma, billed on-screen ''Pasolini's 120 Days of Sodom'' on English-language prints and commonly referred to as simply ''Salò'' []) is a 1975 horror film, horror art film dir ...

'' is set in four segments inspired by Dante's ''Divine Comedy'': the Anteinferno, the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Shit and the Circle of Blood. *

Stan Brakhage James Stanley Brakhage ( ; January 14, 1933 – March 9, 2003) was an American filmmaker. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th-century experimental film. Over the course of five decades, Brakhage created a larg ...

's eight-minute hand-painted film, '' The Dante Quartet'' (1987), is inspired by the ''

''. *

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are th ...

adapted Cantos I to VIII for BBC Two as ''

A TV Dante ''A TV Dante'' is a 1990 mini-series directed by Tom Phillips and Peter Greenaway. It covers eight of the 34 cantos in Dante Alighieri's ''Inferno'', part of his 14th century epic poem ''Divine Comedy''. Peter Greenaway and Tom Phillips won ...

'' (1987–1990). *

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for '' Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994 ...

planned to create a new trilogy inspired by

's ''The Divine Comedy'' after finishing ''

The Three Colors Trilogy The ''Three Colours'' trilogy (french: Trois couleurs, pl, Trzy kolory) is the collective title of three psychological drama films directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski: '' Three Colours: Blue'' (1993), '' Three Colours: White'' (1994), and '' Thre ...

'' (1993–1994). This intention, however, was abandoned after his death in 1996 until

Tom Tykwer Tom Tykwer (; born 23 May 1965) is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing the thriller films '' Run Lola Run'' (1998), '' Heaven'' (2002), '' Perfume: The Story of a Murderer ...

decided to shoot the film '' Heaven'' in 2002, using Kieslowski's original screenplay. In 2005, Bosnian director

Danis Tanović Danis Tanović (born 20 February 1969) is a Bosnian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for having directed and written the script for the 2001 Bosnian movie ''No Man's Land'' which won him many awards, including an Academy Award f ...

directed '' Hell'' () based on Kieslowski's screenplay sketches. The screenplay was completed by Krzysztof Piesiewicz, Kieslowski's screenwriter. * The motion picture '' Se7en'' (1995) stars Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as two detectives who investigate a series of ritualistic murders inspired by the

seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

. The film makes many references to Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. * Ridley Scott's 2001 film '' Hannibal'' has Hannibal Lecter as a medievalist lecturing on Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', and to some extent echoing the work in his murderous methods. * Jean-Luc Godard's 2004 film '' Notre musique'' is structured in three parts, Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise respectively, alluding to the ''Divine Comedy''. * The film ''

'' (2007) is based on

Sandow Birk Sandow Birk (born 1962 in Detroit) is an American visual artist from Los Angeles whose work deals mainly with contemporary American culture. Seven books have been published on his works and he has made two films. With an emphasis on social issue ...

's contemporary drawings of the ''Divine Comedy''. The film accurately retells the original story, but with the addition of more recent residents of Hell such as

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and Boss Tweed. * The 2014 film " As Above So Below" directed by John Erick Dowdle, is based on Dante Alighieri's Inferno. It is presented as found footage of a documentary crew's experience exploring the

Catacombs of Paris The Catacombs of Paris (french: Catacombes de Paris, ) are underground ossuaries in Paris, France, which hold the remains of more than six million people in a small part of a tunnel network built to consolidate Paris's ancient stone quarries. E ...

and draws inspiration of the nine layers of Hell. * The 2015 Chinese documentary '' Behemoth'' (Chinese: 悲兮魔兽; pinyin: bēixī móshòu), directed by Zhao Liang, is loosely based on Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy'' and is about the environmental, sociological, and public health effects of coal-mining in China and Inner Mongolia. * The 2016 mystery thriller ''

'' makes many references to ''The Divine Comedy'' and to the Divine Comedy Illustrated by Botticelli including hiding a word puzzle in a version of the painting ''Map of Hell'' with the levels of Hell rearranged. There's a clue in an email that refers to a passage from '' Paradiso'' and the virus that serves as the catalyst for the film's plot is named "Inferno." * The 2018 film '' The House That Jack Built'' features Matt Dillon as protagonist Jack, a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who believes that his murders are a piece of art, similarly to the

, and encounters

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

as a

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...

portrayed by

Bruno Ganz Bruno Ganz (; 22 March 1941 – 16 February 2019) was a Swiss actor whose career in German stage, television and film productions spanned nearly 60 years. He was known for his collaborations with the directors Werner Herzog, Éric Rohmer, Franc ...

, who is well known for his role in '' Downfall'' as

, while Jack, after a lengthy conversation with Vergil through the entirety of the film where he expressed his ambitions of becoming an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

despite being an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

that mirrored Romney's and Hitler's political careers despite their backgrounds as businessman and painter, respectively, ends up wearing the red robe of

while unsuccessfully attempting to escape

after rejecting Vergil's advice to follow him in the

since it is the only safe way to reach the desired destination of Paradiso. * The 2020 film ''

Friend of the World ''Friend of the World'' is a 2020 American independent black-and-white film written and directed by Brian Patrick Butler in his feature film debut, starring Nick Young and Alexandra Slade. The surreal experimental film takes place post-apocalyp ...

'' references ''The Divine Comedy'' and begins with a direct quote by

Television

* The 2005 4th season of the BBC drama series '' Messiah: The Harrowing'' focuses on a serial killer who takes inspiration from ''Inferno'' to punish his or her victims. * In the tenth season of ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'', the case in the second episode, "Burn", tracks the actions of a serial killer whose crimes are inspired by the punishment in each circle of Hell. * ''

The Good Place ''The Good Place'' is an American fantasy comedy television series created by Michael Schur. It premiered on NBC on September 19, 2016, and concluded on January 30, 2020, after four seasons and 53 episodes. Although the plot evolves signific ...

'' follows an analogous pattern in its main plot, with its characters ascending from hell, through struggles on earth, and into paradise over the course of the show.

Graphic media

Animations, comics and graphic novels

* Dave Sim's sequel series to his comic ''

Cerebus ''Cerebus'' (; also ''Cerebus the Aardvark'') is a comic book series created by Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim, which ran from December 1977 until March 2004. The title character of the 300-issue series is an anthropomorphic aardvark who takes on ...

'', ''Cerebus in Hell'', satirically utilizes

's engravings for the ''Divine Comedy'' as backgrounds and plot devices. * In the manga series ''

Cesare Cesare, the Italian language, Italian version of the given name Caesar (title), Caesar, may refer to: Given name * Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria (1738–1794), an Italian philosopher and politician * Cesare Airaghi (1840–1896), Italian colonel ...

'' (2005) by

Fuyumi Soryo is a Japanese manga artist. Life Soryo was born in Beppu, Oita, Japan. She is a graduate of the Oita prefectural Geijutsu Midorigaoka High School. She was born into the home of a master of the Kanze school of Noh. In her childhood she liked ...

the ''

'' and the friendship between Alighieri and Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor, is discussed at length. * The short animation, ''

Dante's Hell Animated ''Dante's Hell Animated'' is a 2013 American animated short film produced and directed by Boris Acosta. The story is based on the first part of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy'' – '' Inferno''. Plot This film has two versions, narrated in En ...

'' (2014), featuring

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in '' King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes ...

as Dante, is based on Dino di Durante's original paintings of Dante's Inferno. * ''Dante's Inferno: The Graphic Novel'' (2012) by Joseph Lanzara utilizes the 1857 illustrations by

from the ''Divine Comedy'' in the form of a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

inspired by the poem. * The main antagonists of the manga ''

Fullmetal Alchemist is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. It was serialized in Square Enix's ''shōnen'' manga anthology magazine '' Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' between July 2001 and June 2010; the publisher later collected th ...

'' and

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

'' Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood'' are seven

homunculi A homunculus ( , , ; "little person") is a representation of a small human being, originally depicted as small statues made out of clay. Popularized in sixteenth-century alchemy and nineteenth-century fiction, it has historically referred to the ...

, each named after one of the

Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

with the exception of Father. There were originally eight, but Greed defected due to his avarice. In addition, Lust is killed when

Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once- domesticated animals, the ...

incinerates her beyond her ability to regenerate using flame alchemy, a direct reference to ''Purgatorio''. * IDW Publishing's ''Godzilla in Hell'' miniseries has

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

finding himself in Hell after accidentally destroying the planet in a battle with

SpaceGodzilla is a Godzilla clone kaiju that first appeared in Toho's 1994 film ''Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla'',as the main antagonist. Overview Appearance SpaceGodzilla largely resembles his earthly counterpart, but with several key differences. In addition t ...

and rampaging his way through the levels of Hell to find a way out, destroying the "Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here" sign with his atomic breath, battling demons and manifestations of familiar monsters representing various sins, and turning a version of the Mount of Purgatory made up of monster parts into a battlefield between the forces of Heaven and Hell that want to recruit Godzilla into their ranks. * ''Jimbo in Purgatory: being a mis-recounting of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy'' in pictures and un-numbered footnotes'', a 33-page

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post- underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of '' Arcade: The Com ...

, an adaptation of Dante's ''Purgatorio'' (melded with Boccaccio's ''Decameron'' and a bit of ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''magnum opus ...

,'' John Milton,

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

, and pop culture references). * DC/Vertigo Comics' ''Kid Eternity'' (which premiered in ''Hit Comics'' #25, published by

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...

in December 1942), in which Kid and his companion Jerry Sullivan travel to a Dante-inspired Hell to free a partner of Kid's. The structure of the comic also draws features from Dante's ''Inferno''. * ''Mickey's Inferno'' is a comic book adaptation written by Guido Martina and drawn by Angelo Bioletto featuring Disney characters including Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck published by the then-Italian Disney comic book licensee

Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...

in the monthly ''

Topolino ''Topolino'' (from the Italian name for Mickey Mouse) is an Italian digest-sized comic series featuring Disney comics. The series has had a long running history, first appearing in 1932 as a comics magazine. It is currently published by Panin ...

'' from Oct. 1949 to March 1950. An English-language version appeared in ''

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories ''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', sometimes abbreviated ''WDC&S'', is an American anthology comic book series featuring characters from The Walt Disney Company's films and shorts, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mickey Mouse, Chi ...

'' #666 (March 2006). * Manga series ''

Saint Seiya , also known as ''Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac'' or simply ''Knights of the Zodiac'' (translated from the French title ''Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque''), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It w ...

'' (1986), during the "Hades Inferno" arc, has many characters and structures of Hell based on the circles of Dante, where they're called the Nine Prisons. *

Ty Templeton Tyrone Templeton is a Canadian comic book artist and writer who has drawn a number of mainstream titles, TV-associated titles, and his own series. Career Templeton first received attention for ''Stig's Inferno'' ( Vortex Comics), now a cult fav ...

parodied Dante in his '' Stig's Inferno'' (1985-1986). * Neil Gaiman's '' The Sandman'' comic series features a heavily Dante-inspired Hell, including the Wood of Suicides, the Malebolge, and the City of Dis; Lucifer is imprisoned in Hell. DC/Vertigo Comics's ''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

'', based on characters from ''The Sandman'', features aspects of a Dante-inspired Hell and Heaven, particularly the Primum Mobile and the Nine Sections of Hell. * The visual novel and anime series ''

Umineko no Naku Koro ni is a Japanese dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion. Its first episode debuted at Comiket 72 for Windows on August 17, 2007. The story focuses on a group of eighteen people on a secluded island for a period of two d ...

'' contains several elements from the ''Divine Comedy'', including two characters named Beatrice (as the Golden Witch), Virgilia (as the Endless Witch) and the Stakes (Seven Deadly Sins). ** The anime adaptation has an ending theme entitled ''La Divina Tragedia ~Makyoku~'', named after the title ''La Divina Comedia''. "Makyoku" is the opposite of "Shinkyoku", ''Divine Comedy''s Japanese title. * The Cartoon Network's miniseries ''

Over the Garden Wall ''Over the Garden Wall'' is an American animated television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. The series centers on two half-brothers who travel across a mysterious forest to find their way home, encountering a variet ...

'' corresponds to the structure of the ''Inferno''; it stars a lost poet guided by a woman named Beatrice. * The anime series '' Sin Nanatsu no Taizai'' incorporates elements from the ''Divine Comedy'', including

Cocytus Cocytus or Kokytos ( grc, Κωκυτός, literally "lamentation") is the river of wailing in the underworld in Greek mythology. Cocytus flows into the river Acheron, on the other side of which lies Hades, the underworld, the mythological abo ...

(episode 1), the inscription on the gates (episode 9) and a reenactment of Dante's journey to the lowest level of Hell. * In '' Animamundi: Dark Alchemist'', the main character is guided through the nine circles of Hell towards the end of the game. * The anime ''

Revolutionary Girl Utena is a series created by Be-Papas, an artist collective founded by Kunihiko Ikuhara. The primary entries in the series include a 1996 manga written by Chiho Saito, a 1997 anime television series directed by Ikuhara, and ''Adolescence of Ut ...

'' has a second ending theme song titled "Virtual Star Embryology" that has a stanza that lists the Spheres of Heaven from the third and final part of the ''Divine Comedy''. It lists from the First Sphere: The Moon to the Ninth Sphere: The Primum Mobile.

Video games

Beyond Software Beyond Software was a video game publisher in the UK in the 1980s. It was set up by the EMAP publishing group in 1983 and published numerous titles on the Commodore 64, Dragon 32, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, but met with very little succes ...

wrote ''Dante's Inferno'' in 1986 for the Commodore 64. * ''

'' is a 2010 action-adventure

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by

Visceral Games Visceral Games (formerly EA Redwood Shores) was an American video game developer studio owned by Electronic Arts. The studio is known for the ''Dead Space'' series. History EA Redwood Shores (1998–2009) In 1998, Electronic Arts (EA) moved f ...

and published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

and

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

consoles. The game was also developed by

Artificial Mind and Movement Behaviour Interactive Inc. is a Canadian video game development studio specializing in the production of 2D and 3D action/adventure games for home video game consoles, handheld game consoles, PCs and mobile. Based in Montreal, Canada, the compan ...

for release on the PlayStation Portable. The story is loosely based on Dante's ''Inferno''. ** '' Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic'' is a direct-to-

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

animated film released on February 9, 2010. The film is a spin-off from the above video game. ** ''Dante's Inferno'' is a series of six comic books based on the above video game. Published by

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wild ...

from December 2009 through May 2010, the series was written by

Christos Gage Christos N. Gage is an American screenwriter and comic book writer. He is known for his work on the TV series ''Daredevil'', '' Hawaii Five-0'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' Numbers'' and the films '' The Breed'' and '' Teenage Cavem ...

with art by Diego Latorre. * In the game ''

Devil May Cry is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. Its gameplay consists o ...

'' (2001), the protagonist's name is Dante, his brother is Vergil, and Dante's partner-in-crime's name is Trish, a derivative of the name Beatrice. It uses the nine circles in its world structure, the seven deadly sins, and the parts of the Cocytus (Caina, Antenora and Judecca) in the names of enemies in the fifth game. * ''

Final Fantasy IV known as ''Final Fantasy II'' for its initial North American release, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1991, it is the fourth main insta ...

'' features four Elemental Lords named Rubicante, Scarmiglione, Barbariccia, and Cagnazzo, after members of the Malebranche. A mid-game boss, Calcabrina, also has the name of a Malebranche demon. Also, there exists a superboss in the DS version named Geryon. * '' Halo 3: ODST'' contains many references to the poem. For example, the Rookie is called into Section Nine, which is very icy and cold, similar to the ninth ring of Hell. In addition, the player's guide through the end of the game is called Vergil. Further, there are characters in the game that correspond to each of the sins. * In ''

Persona 3 FES released outside Japan as ''Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3'', is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It is the fourth main installment in the '' Persona'' series, which is part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. Atlus ori ...

'', areas are called Malebolge, Cocytus, Caina, Antenora, Ptolomea, Judecca, and Empyrean. * The 2012 game '' Resident Evil: Revelations'' references Dante's ''Inferno'' extensively, as a bioterrorist organization, "Il Veltro", believes society has degraded into a living version of the nine circles. Verses of the poem are provided at the start of each level. A number of enemies in the game are named after the Malebranche also featured in the poem. The music in the final chapter has a choir eerily singing lines from ''Inferno,'' and the final boss actually quotes it before entering his chamber. *'' Tamashii no Mon Dante no Shinkyoku yori ''(''魂の門ダンテ「神曲」より'' Gate of Souls ~ From Dante's ''Divine Comedy''), a side-scrolling action-adventure game inspired by Dante's ''

'' released on

PC-98 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...

and FM Towns. * The plot of '' Ultrakill'' revolves around machines descending through hell in order to take blood from the souls of the damned. The different layers are named after those seen in ''Inferno'' and many feature punishments similar to those seen in the poem. * In '' Wild Arms 2'', there is a gang called Cocytus, whose members are named Caina, Antenora, Ptolomea, and Judecca. * Korean game studio Project Moon's upcoming game ''Limbus Company'' features a variety of characters based on classical literary figures and characters. Among these characters is Dante, the manager and main playable character of the game.

Card games

* The trading card game ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine between September 1996 and March 2004. The plot follows the story of a boy named Yugi Mutou, w ...

'' released a series of cards known as "Burning Abyss". All cards in the series are based on the eighth circle of Hell and the Malebranche, including Dante, Virgil, and Beatrice.

Tabletop role-playing games

Several aspects of the Divine comedy could have influenced some tabletop role-playing games : the visitation of other worlds, more specifically plane walking through them; a gamified economy of the salvation; and symbolism. * The

tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

'' named some levels of the Nine Hells after locations in Dante's ''Inferno''. The game borrowed the name "malebranche" for one diabolical race, although the original write-up mistranslated that word as "evil horn". ** The

Planescape ''Planescape'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, designed by Zeb Cook, and published in 1994. It crosses numerous planes of existence, encompassing an entire cosmology called the Great Wheel, as de ...

setting, in particular, borrows many elements from the book (some wholesale, some piecemeal), and much of the expanded cosmology, with dimensions for the dead based on alignment and most dimensions having many separate layers, are inspired by those seen in the ''Inferno''. The planecrawling gameplay of Planescape and early setting of D&D could be heavily inspired by the structured travel of Dante through the layers of the planes of the Divine Comedy.

Notes

External links

700 Years of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'' in Art
– documented image collection on

The Public Domain Review ''The Public Domain Review'' is an online journal showcasing works which have entered the public domain. It was co-founded by Jonathan Gray and Adam Green. It was launched on January 1, 2011 to coincide with Public Domain Day. The ''Review'' ...

DivineComedy.digital
– a website cataloging 700 years of the ''Divine Comedy'' {{Divine Comedy navbox Literature in popular culture