Which medieval epic poem did C.S. Lewis study and write about extensively as a scholar?

The Divine Comedy was a medieval epic poem that C.S. Lewis studied and discussed extensively as a scholar.

Written by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy follows a symbolic journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Lewis admired Dante’s combination of theology, poetry, moral imagination, and carefully structured symbolism.

Lewis’s academic work included studies of medieval and Renaissance literature, and Dante was an important part of that intellectual world. His scholarly interests also included allegory, courtly love, and the development of English literature. These interests influenced both his criticism and his creative writing.

The Divine Comedy is sometimes confused with Beowulf because both are major works commonly taught in medieval-literature courses. Beowulf is an Old English heroic poem, while Dante’s poem was written in Italian and belongs to the late medieval period. Lewis’s academic career covered both medieval and Renaissance English literature, but Dante’s poem was a particularly important influence on his imagination.