• FrontMatter,
• Contents,
• Acknowledgments,
• INTRODUCTION Political Theory and Controversy,
• One. City and Empire in the Comedy,
• Two. Church and State in the Comedy,
• Three. The Corrupt Society: Hell,
• Four. Society in Transition: Purgatory,
• Five. The Ideal Society: Paradise,
• Six. Exchange and Communication, Commerce and Language in the Comedy,
• Index,

Joan Ferrante analyzes the Divine Comedy in terms of public issues, which continued foremost in Dante's thinking after his exile from Florence. Professor Ferrante examines the political concepts of the poem in historical context and in light of the political theory and controversies of the period.
Originally published in 1984.
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