Arguably the greatest poet in history, Dante Alighieri was born in 1265 in Florence, Italy. Throughout the world, Dante is renowned for his Divine Comedy, an epic poem that depicts the soul's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.

Although many details of Dante's childhood are unknown, we can learn about him through his autobiographical writings, where he describes one of the most important moments in his life. At a party, Dante met the woman he would love all his life, Beatrice Portinari, when he was nine and she was eight. Unfortunately, Dante and Beatrice were unable to marry each other, because they were both entered into separate arranged marriages by their families (the custom at the time). When Beatrice died during childbirth at twenty four years old, Dante vowed to write poems that would praise her virtue. In The New Life, for example, Dante praises Beatrice for renewing his Christian faith.

In addition to being a poet, Dante was also a statesman. To truly understand Dante's life, we must first understand his world. In Dante's 13th-century Florence, Italy didn't exist. Rather, the country was divided into various city-states (each with its own government) which the Pope often attempted to control. Thus, two Florentine political parties arose: the White Guelphs and the Black Guelphs. The White Guelphs opposed the Pope's control of Florence, while the Black Guelphs supported Papal influence. As a leading White Guelph, Dante believed that the Pope should govern spiritual affairs, while the Empire should govern state affairs, following the tradition of ancient Rome. Eventually, the Black Guelphs seized power in Florence, leveraging their power to unjustly accuse Dante (their political rival) of corruption and confiscate his property and wealth. The Black Guelphs then exiled the now-impoverished Dante from Florence, his beloved city, in 1302.

Although his exile left a traumatic mark on his life, it nevertheless allowed him to mature both as a poet and politician. In exile, Dante composed his masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, which describes the autobiographical journey of Dante himself, a Christian pilgrim who undertakes his spiritual journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven to achieve salvation. In The Divine Comedy's beginning, Dante finds himself lost (both spiritually and literally) in a dark forest. Beatrice, Dante's muse who pities him in Heaven, sends the Roman poet Virgil, author of the Aeneid, to rescue Dante and guide him through Hell and Purgatory. Virgil thus guides Dante through Hell, where he will recognize sin, and Purgatory, where he will repent for sin. Once he repents for his sins and becomes blessed, Dante will enter Heaven, where Beatrice herself will guide him. This iconic narrative of The Divine Comedy has inspired figures such as Michelangelo, Geoffrey Chaucer, T.S. Eliot, and more.

Later in exile, Dante also evolved politically, transcending the politics of Florence (in which he had participated) and formulating his own unique convictions. Dante would grow to adopt a traditionalist political position, regarding the unified governance and Christian virtues of ancient Rome as the model for his own age, a discordant 13th-century Italy.

Throughout his life, Dante remained a devout Christian and always dreamed of becoming an honorable and famed poet. To both these ends, he succeeded. Dante's Divine Comedy stands as the most venerated work of Christian literature throughout the world, and his immense influence endures to this day, inspiring people from all walks of life.