This title examines the main themes and issues that run through all of Dante's work, including autobiography, his ideas about writing and his actual practice, his views on humanity and politics, and his understanding of God and the order of the universe. In doing so, it highlights what has made Dante a vital point of reference for modern writers, and at the same time gives due attention to clarifying the mediaeval aspects of his thought for the modern reader and the cultural and political world in which he wrote.