The Divine Comedy often strikes the modern reader as a characteristic product of the medieval mindset, focused on eternal damnation and salvation. However, Dante's views on life and religion were liberal by the standards of the Middle Ages. He was prepared to criticize the church and championed the humanist idea that a devout Christian could become absorbed in politics and other worldly pursuits without forfeiting his immortal soul. He was therefore an important influence not only on later Italian and European literature, but on Renaissance political thinkers such as Machiavelli.

One of the key ways in which The Divine Comedy influenced the development of Italian literature was through its use of the Tuscan dialect. Petrarch and Boccaccio later chose to write in the same dialect, shaping the literary language of Italy. Dante's decision to write in the Tuscan vernacular rather than in Latin had a profound effect on Italian literature, and it is fair to say that he played a similar role to that of Chaucer in the development of his national language.

Dante's harrowing descriptions of Hell in the Inferno have influenced literature, the visual arts, and popular culture. Artists from Botticelli to Blake have depicted Dante's vision of eternal torture, and his influence continues to be felt in modern culture, from the poetry of T. S. Eliot to artefacts of popular culture, such as the film Seven and the computer game World of Warcraft.