The trip through the afterlife begins with Dante lost in a dark wood, wild beasts blocking his exit. Suddenly a vision of a man appears, the poet Virgil. Virgil tells Dante the only escape is down through Hell.

The Divine Comedy has an amazing cast. The poet Dante freely mixes characters from classical literature, the Bible, and Italian politics in his world of the afterlife. His guide for the first two thirds of the journey is the poet Virgil.

In the second chapter (or Canto), Virgil explains to Dante why he has been picked to take this journey (Dante is starting to get cold feet). Virgil tells Dante that the Virgin Mary has taken pity on Dante in his plight, and she in turn told Saint Lucia to help. Saint Lucia then asked Beatrice (whom Dante loved, more on her later) to intercede. Finally Beatrice travelled down to Hell, grabbed Virgil and told him to be Dante’s guide.

Perhaps a little bureaucratic, but things start picking up very quickly. Finally Dante agrees, and the journey to Hell formally begins. …continue the journey...

Midway in the journey of our life
I came to myself in a dark wood,
for the straight way was lost.

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita.