Dante's Inferno

One of the few literary works which has enjoyed a fame that was both immediate and enduring, The Inferno's power has not been lessened or obscured after seven centuries. It confronts the most universal values—good and evil, free will and predestination—while remaining intensely personal and ferociously political, for it was born out of the anguish of a man who saw human life blighted by the injustice and corruption of his times.