- 01The Midlife Crisis and the Dark Forest
- 02The Lost Straight Path
- 03Fear and Confusion in the Wilderness
- 01The Panther Blocking the Ascent
- 02The Lion’s Threatening Presence
- 03The She-Wolf of Insatiable Hunger
- 01Virgil’s Identity as the Mantuan Poet
- 02Virgil’s Warning About the Beast
- 03The Promise of a Future Greyhound Deliverer
The Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri · 1321 · 34 chapters · 24/7 tutor
Moral philosophy, theology, politics, and poetic vision.
34Chapters
102Lessons
306Topics
Certificate of completion included
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
Skills this course leaves you with.
- Analyze the structure and themes of Dante’s Inferno
- Explain the allegorical meaning of major figures such as Virgil, Beatrice, and the three beasts
- Interpret the significance of the circles of Hell and their moral order
- Discuss how the poem engages theology, politics, and moral philosophy
- Identify key characters and episodes from the first fifteen cantos
- Compare Dante’s poetic vision with classical and medieval literary traditions
Curriculum
The full table of contents.
Every chapter, every lesson, every topic — laid out before you enroll. Click any chapter to expand it.
- Chapters
- 34
- Lessons
- 102
- Topics
- 306
- 01Dante Questions His Worthiness
- 02The Comparison to Aeneas and Paul
- 03Virgil’s Initial Response to Hesitation
- 01Beatrice’s Appeal to Virgil
- 02Lucia’s Role in the Intercession
- 03Rachel and the Heavenly Chain of Mercy
- 01Virgil’s Reproof of Cowardice
- 02The Three Blessed Ladies Caring for Dante
- 03Dante’s Return to Resolve
- 01The City of Woe and Eternal Justice
- 02Abandon All Hope
- 03The Meaning of the Gate’s Warning
- 01The Banner of the Uncommitted
- 02The Cowardly Refusal of Celestine V
- 03The Sting of Gadflies and Hornets
- 01The Shore of Acheron
- 02Charon’s Boat and the Damned Souls
- 03The Earthquake, Vermilion Light, and Swoon
- 01The Valley of Sighs Without Torment
- 02The Unbaptized and the Virtuous Pagans
- 03The Absence of Hope in Limbo
- 01Homer as Sovereign Poet
- 02Horace, Ovid, and Lucan
- 03Dante’s Admission into the Poetic Company
- 01The Seven-Walled Castle
- 02Heroes and Rulers of Classical History
- 03The Philosophers in the Meadow
- 01Minos’s Tail as a Measure of Sin
- 02The Second Circle’s Narrower Space
- 03The Condemnation of Carnal Malefactors
- 01The Infernal Hurricane
- 02The Souls Whirled Like Starlings and Cranes
- 03The Endless Restlessness of Lust
- 01Semiramis, Cleopatra, Helen, and Tristan
- 02Francesca’s Story of Lancelot
- 03The Kiss, the Book, and Dante’s Swoon
- 01The Eternal Rain of Hail, Snow, and Black Water
- 02Cerberus as Guardian and Tormentor
- 03The Gluttons Lying Prone in the Mire
- 01Ciacco’s Identity and Punishment
- 02Florence’s Civic Discord
- 03The Three Sparks of Political Corruption
- 01Farinata, Tegghiaio, Rusticucci, Arrigo, and Mosca
- 02The Damned Awaiting the Last Judgment
- 03The Return to the Journey
- 01Plutus’s Cryptic Cry
- 02Virgil’s Rebuke of the Accursed Wolf
- 03The Fall into the Fourth Chasm
- 01The Clash of the Avaricious and Prodigal
- 02The Rolling Burdens of Wealth
- 03The Moral Lesson on Fortune
- 01The Marsh of Styx
- 02The Irascible Fighting in the Mud
- 03The Sullen Beneath the Black Water
- 01The Signal Fires on the Tower
- 02Phlegyas as Ferryman
- 03The Journey Across the Stygian Waters
- 01Filippo Argenti’s Squalid Appearance
- 02Dante’s Rejection of the Wrathful Shade
- 03The Marsh of the Angry Souls
- 01The Fiery Mosques of the City
- 02Virgil’s Failed Appeal at the Gate
- 03Dante Left Waiting Outside Dis
- 01Virgil’s Changed Color and Concern
- 02The Need for Divine Help
- 03The Red-Flaming Tower
- 01The Three Infernal Furies
- 02The Threat of Medusa’s Gaze
- 03Virgil’s Warning to Turn Away
- 01The Heavenly Messenger on the Waters
- 02The Gates of Dis Yielding
- 03The Heresiarchs in the Sixth Circle
- 01The Narrow Path Beside the Tombs
- 02The Burning Sepulchres
- 03The Heretics’ Pride and Suffering
- 01Farinata’s Magnanimous Bearing
- 02The Political Rivalry of Florence
- 03The Fate of the Damned and the Future
- 01Cavalcante’s Concern for His Son
- 02The Damned’s Limited Knowledge of the Future
- 03The Closing of the Portal of the Future
- 01The Ruined Bank and the Lower Abyss
- 02The Need to Pause Before the Stench
- 03The Transition Toward the Lower Circles
- 01Violence Against Neighbor, Self, God, Nature, and Art
- 02The Usurer’s Sin Against Nature
- 03The General Map of Inferno’s Divisions
- 01Anastasius in the Circle of Heresy
- 02The Red City and the Inner Circles
- 03The Descent Toward the Lower Abyss
- 01The Alpine Landslide
- 02The Collapse Before Christ’s Coming
- 03The Entrance to the Seventh Circle
- 01The Minotaur’s Rage
- 02Phlegethon as the River of Blood
- 03The Violent Against Their Neighbors
- 01Chiron, Pholus, and Nessus
- 02The Tyrants Submerged in Blood
- 03Alexander, Dionysius, Azzolino, and Obizzo
- 01The Thorny Forest Without Paths
- 02The Harpies in the Wood
- 03The Trees as the Bodies of the Violent Against Themselves
- 01Pier della Vigna’s Self-Destruction
- 02His Loyalty to Frederick II
- 03His Request for Dante’s Memory
- 01Lano and Jacopo da Sant’ Andrea
- 02The Broken Branch and the Speaking Trunk
- 03The Florentine Wood and the Arno
- 01The Rain of Fire on the Desert
- 02The Transition from the Third to the Second Round
- 03The Violent Against God
- 01Capaneus Defying Jupiter
- 02Virgil’s Rebuke of Pride
- 03The Punishment of the Blasphemer
- 01The Giant Statue with Gold, Silver, Brass, and Iron
- 02The Tears That Become the Rivers
- 03The Source of the Infernal Waters
- 01The Protective Mist from the Brooklet
- 02The Flaming Sand and the Hard Margin
- 03The Need to Keep Moving
- 01Dante’s Respectful Greeting
- 02Brunetto’s Warning About the Fire
- 03The Punishment of the Sodomites
- 01Florentine Factional Conflict
- 02Brunetto’s Prediction of Dante’s Fame
- 03The List of Learned Clerks in Sin
- 01The Sound of Falling Water
- 02The Three Shades Emerging Together
- 03The River of Blood Below
- 01Guidoguerra’s Noble Lineage
- 02Tegghiaio Aldobrandi and Jacopo Rusticucci
- 03The Shame of Florence’s New Inhabitants
- 01Pride and Extravagance in the City
- 02The Need for Civic Virtue
- 03The Journey Continues Along the River
- 01The Monster with the Pointed Tail
- 02The Face of Fraud and the Body of Deceit
- 03Virgil’s Command to Approach Geryon
- 01The Sinners Sitting Beneath the Cliff
- 02The Purses and Heraldic Emblems
- 03The Violence Against Art and Nature
- 01The Fear of Falling Through the Abyss
- 02The Comparison to Phaeton and Icarus
- 03The Flight into Malebolge
- 01The Stone Circle and Central Well
- 02The Ten Bolgias of Fraud
- 03The Demons with Scourges
- 01The First Bolgia of Seducers and Panders
- 02Venedico Caccianemico and Jason
- 03The Second Bolgia of Flatterers
- 01The Bridges and the Hollowed Ridge
- 02The Mould on the Stone Margins
- 03The Deep Bottom of the Malebolge
- 01The Apostolic Rebuke of Corrupt Clergy
- 02The Third Bolgia of Simoniacs
- 03The Prostitution of Holy Things
- 01The Simoniac Pits in the Rock
- 02Nicholas III Mistaken for Boniface VIII
- 03The Punishment of Corrupt Prelates
- 01The Woman on Many Waters
- 02The Beast with Seven Heads and Ten Horns
- 03Dante’s Reproof of the Papacy
- 01The Twentieth Canto’s New Pain
- 02The Heads Twisted Backward
- 03The Tears That Blind the Damned
- 01Amphiarus and Tiresias
- 02Aruns, Manto, and Eryphylus
- 03Michael Scott, Guido Bonatti, and Asdente
- 01Virgil Rebukes Dante’s Pity
- 02The Foundation of Mantua
- 03The River Benaco and Peschiera
- 01The Dark Fissure of Malebolge
- 02The Boiling Pitch as Punishment
- 03The Peculators Hidden Below
- 01The Sinner Carried by the Devils
- 02The Elder of Santa Zita Named
- 03The Devils’ Hooks and Threats
- 01Malacoda’s Deceptive Guidance
- 02The Sixth Arch Shattered
- 03The Route Along the Ruined Bank
- 01The Devils’ Military-Like Movements
- 02The Pitch and the Scorching Heat
- 03The Captive Peculators
- 01Ciampolo’s Trickery
- 02Friar Gomita and Michael Zanche
- 03The Devilish Quarrel Among the Malabranche
- 01The Boiling Pitch as Obstacle
- 02The Devils’ Wings and Hooks
- 03The Flight from the Fifth Bolgia
- 01The Friars’ Silent Journey
- 02The Fable of the Frog and Mouse
- 03The Devils Pursuing the Poets
- 01The Heavy Cloaks of Hypocrisy
- 02The Slow Procession of the Damned
- 03The Crucified Caiaphas
- 01The Jovial Friars of Bologna
- 02The Deceptive Counsel of the Devils
- 03The Departure from the Sixth Bolgia
- 01The Winter Morning in Malebolge
- 02The Climb Toward the Thieves’ Pit
- 03The Dark Wall and the Next Round
- 01Vanni Fucci’s Blasphemous Gesture
- 02The Serpents as Instruments of Theft
- 03The Phoenix Comparison and Prophecy
- 01Pistoia and Florence in Decline
- 02Mars and the Vapors of Val di Magra
- 03The Political Omen for Tuscany
- 01The Serpent Attack on Vanni Fucci
- 02The First Metamorphosis of Thieves
- 03The Blending of Human and Serpent Forms
- 01The Named Florentine Thieves
- 02The Changing Bodies in the Pit
- 03The Theft of Identity Through Metamorphosis
- 01The Repeated Shifting of Forms
- 02Dante’s Bewilderment at the Novelty
- 03The Continuing Horror of the Thieves’ Bolgia
- 01The Shame of Florence’s Citizens in Hell
- 02The Thieves of Florence
- 03The Poet’s Public Rebuke
- 01The Twin Flame of Greek Counselors
- 02Virgil’s Permission to Speak to Them
- 03The Boundary of Hercules’ Pillars
- 01The Speech of the Greek Hero
- 02The Desire to Know and Explore
- 03The Shipwreck Beyond the World’s Limits
- 01The Quiet Flame Returning to Speech
- 02The Soul Concealed Within Fire
- 03The Request to Hear His Story
- 01Romagna’s Political Turmoil
- 02Guido’s Former Reputation as a Strategist
- 03His Entrance into Religious Life
- 01The Pope’s Deceptive Promise of Absolution
- 02The Logic of Sin and Repentance
- 03The Fraud of Spiritual Counsel
- 01The Blood and Wounds of the Ninth Bolgia
- 02The Punishment of the Schismatics
- 03The Devil Who Cleaves Them
- 01Mahomet’s Split Body
- 02Ali and the Religious Schism
- 03Pier da Medicina and Curio
- 01Mosca’s Fatal Saying
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01How many chapters are in the Divine Comedy course?
The Divine Comedy course has 34 chapters, each with its own lessons and topics.
02How many lessons are in the Divine Comedy course?
There are 102 lessons across the course, and you can ask your 24/7 tutor about any of them.
03Can I see what the Divine Comedy course covers before I start?
Yes. The full curriculum is listed on this page, beginning with "Canto I. The Dark Forest. The Hill of Difficulty. The Panther, the Lion, and the Wolf. Virgil.".
04Do I get a certificate for the Divine Comedy course?
Yes. Finishing the course earns a personal Cavua certificate of completion.
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