Inferno is a fourteenth-century epic poem by Dante Alighieri in which the poet and pilgrim Dante embarks on a spiritual journey.

At the poem’s beginning, Dante is lost in a dark wood, both literally and spiritually. He meets the soul of his poetic idol, the Roman poet Virgil, who agrees to guide him through hell.Dante and Virgil enter hell and explore its nine circles, observing the punishments suffered by the various categories of sinners. At the bottom of the Ninth Circle, Dante and Virgil encounter Lucifer. They climb the devil’s back in order to ascend to Mount Purgatory.