The Divine Comedy is a classic Italian poem by Dante Alighieri. Dante began his work in c. 1308 and completed it in 1320, a year before his death in 1321. The Divine Comedy is widely considered to be the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. It started a new era in world literature, inspired numerous works of art, literature, and cinematography, and also started what is known today as the literary language of Italy.