Originally published in 1965, the seven essays that are collected in this volume reproduce, with some slight differences in detail, the text of the lectures that were delivered at Cambridge during the Lent term of that year to mark the seventh centenary of the birth of Dante. Each essay elucidates a different aspect of Dante's poetry or thought, the aim being to provide an engaging, yet scholarly, introduction to the nature of his works. This is a highly readable book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in Dante's writings and his broader influence on the development of European literature.