A Visualization of Dante's Inferno

The purpose of this dynamically generated VRML visualization of Dante's Inferno is to show the distribution, density, and proximity of various references in Dante's text (such as all mentions of biblical people, or all references to mythical places). In the three-dimensional model of Dante's text, each reference point links back to the SGML-tagged transcription of the Italian text, presented by Dynaweb: in the transcription, you can read the text that constitutes each reference, see that reference in its context, and browse or search the entire text of the Inferno.

Instructions

First, make sure you have a VRML-capable Web browser or a VRML plug-in (if you have NS4.0, one is built in). Now, pick the aspects of the text you'd like to see. The checkboxes on the left let you pick the basic categories of reference you want to see, and these references will be rendered in gray, in the VRML model. Then, pick whatever you want highlighted in color by picking one or more items from each of the lists to the right.

Now (you may have to scroll down a bit) click on the "generate" button, and this introductory page will be replaced with the visualization you've requested. NB: VRML "viewpoints" are defined within the model, one for each Canto, so you can zoom in on a particular part of the poem if you wish.

How does it work?

The form below is connected to a CGI script that reads through the SGML-tagged text and looks for the tags that correspond to the types of references you've asked for. Based on what you've selected, the script then creates a VRML file and sends it back to this window, where you can move around inside it.

Credits

Text markup: Jessica Botta and Bennet Simpson
Design: John Unsworth, Deborah Parker and Dan Ancona
Perl/CGI/VRML: Dan Ancona