Changes

[[Image:Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_006.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Dante and Virgil are ferried across the River [[Styx]]: ''And thus the good instructor: "Now, my son, / Draws near the city, that of Dis is named"'' (illustration by [[Eugene Delacroix]]).]]

[[Image:Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_006.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Dante and Virgil are ferried across the River [[Styx]]: ''And thus the good instructor: "Now, my son, / Draws near the city, that of Dis is named"'' (illustration by [[Eugene Delacroix]]).]]

'''The Divine Comedy''' is a long-form poem by [[Dante Alighieri]]. Although it is strongly influenced by the poetic epics of the [[Illiad]] and the [[Odyssey]] by [[Homer]], and particularly the [[Aeneid]] by [[Virgil]], its structure is significantly different from anything that had been written before. The basic story details Dante getting lost in a dark forest, and as an act of divine grace to correct his life, embarking on a tour of the afterworld. We are introduced to his benefactor, Beatrice, who may be an allusion to a woman he loved and wrote poetry about, as well as a symbol of wisdom. She sets him under the care of Virgil, who as a wise pagan is confined to Limbo. Virgil is given permission to escort him through all the levels of [[Hell]] and [[Purgatory]]. In [[Heaven|Paradise]], he is reunited with Beatrice as his escort.  

'''The Divine Comedy''' is a long-form poem by [[Dante Alighieri]], which tells the story of a journey through [[Hell]], [[Purgatory]] and [[Heaven]]. Although it is strongly influenced by the poetic epics of the [[Illiad]] and the [[Odyssey]] by [[Homer]], and particularly the [[Aeneid]] by [[Virgil]], its structure is significantly different from anything that had been written before. The basic story details Dante getting lost in a dark forest, and as an act of divine grace to correct his life, embarking on a tour of the afterworld. We are introduced to his benefactor, Beatrice, who may be an allusion to a woman he loved and wrote poetry about, as well as a symbol of wisdom. She sets him under the care of Virgil, who as a wise pagan is confined to Limbo. Virgil is given permission to escort him through all the levels of [[Hell]] and [[Purgatory]]. In [[Heaven|Paradise]], he is reunited with Beatrice as his escort.

== Structure ==

== Structure ==