"In 1302 Dante left in exile, accused of graft, embezzlement, opposition to the pope, and disturbance of the peace of Florence. Dante's two greatest works, ' and the Divine Comedy, were both written during his exile. The shock of expulsion from his native city and his bitterness and disappointment forced Dante to reconsider his views on the individual and society, and these two works exhibit a maturity and profundity that is lacking in his early lyric poetry."