Encyclopedia Britannica

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gtm-homepage-hero-banner-promo" href="/money/journey/new-job-new-life"> <picture style="display:flex;justify-content: center;width:100%;"> <source media="(min-width:1100px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/Britannica-Money-New-Job-NewLife-desktop-2200-200.jpg"> <source media="(min-width:780px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/Britannica-Money-New-Job-NewLife-tablet-1560-100.jpg"> <img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/Britannica-Money-New-Job-NewLife-mobile-720-100.jpg" alt="Banner with text New job new life: Starting out? 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Includes a calculator, parachute, smiling woman, and Learn More button." object-fit: cover; width:100%;"> </picture> </a></DIV><div class="container"> <div class="kic-container qa-contentful1 my-20 "> <div class="label mb-10"> <a href="/on-this-day" > March 25, 2025 </a> </div> <div class="cards3up kic-grid-C2"> <div class="kic-title-container"> <h2 class="display-3 font-serif kic-title mb-15"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Inferno" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Abandon All Hope</a> </h2> <div class="font-serif"> On this day in 1300 the Italian poet <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dante-Alighieri" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Dante Alighieri</a> began his fictional descent into <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/hell" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">hell</a> in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Inferno" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Inferno</em></a>, one of the most <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dante-Alighieri/Legacy-and-influence" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">profoundly influential works</a> in all of Western literature. The first of the three-part <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Divine-Comedy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>The Divine Comedy</em></a> (which also includes <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/purgatory-Roman-Catholicism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Purgatorio</em></a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/heaven" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Paradiso</em></a>), the <em>Inferno</em> not only helped change the language of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/poetry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">poetry</a> but also shaped enduring ideas of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/afterlife-religion" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">afterlife</a>. In Italy today is celebrated as Dantedi, or Dante Day, shining a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Italian-literature/Comic-verse#ref12510" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">spotlight on his timeless work</a>. </div> </div> <div class="card-hero"> <div class="card "> <div class="card-media media-IMAGE"> <a class="position-relative w-100" href="/topic/Ten-Depictions-of-Hell"> <img loading="eager" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/252373-050-0851246F/The-Last-Judgment-fresco-Giotto-detail-hell-Satan-Scrovegni-Chapel-Padua-Italy.jpg?w=380&q=80" alt="The Last Judgment, detail of a fresco cycle by Giotto, c. 1305-06; in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. Depicts Satan, a gigantic blue monster, in Hell grabbing and devouring the damned, sitting on the Leviathan, surrounded by many demons torturing other damned people. Sin Also known as the Arena Chapel. frescoes" class="w-100 h-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body mt-10 p-0"> <a class="font-weight-bold h5" href="/topic/Ten-Depictions-of-Hell">10 Vivid Depictions of Hell</a> <div class="credit mt-5" style="word-break: break-word;">© Antonio Quattrone—Archivio Quattrone/Mondadori Portfolio/Hulton Fine Art Collection/Getty Images</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="card-2"> <div class="card card-horizontal card-sm-vertical"> <div class="card-media media-IMAGE"> <a class="position-relative w-100" href="/topic/The-Divine-Comedy"> <img loading="eager" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/58/139458-050-D6244464/Dante-Virgil-demons-illustration-Hell-Gustave-Dore-1861.jpg?w=325&h=200&c=crop&q=80" alt="Dante Alighieri and Virgil beset by demons on their passage through the 8th circle, 1861. Virgil accompanies Dante through Purgatory and Inferno. From Inferno, first part of Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy) illo by Gustave Dore, 1861. Hell" class="w-100 h-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body mt-10 p-0"> <a class="font-weight-bold h5" href="/topic/The-Divine-Comedy"><i>The Divine Comedy</i>: A Date with the Devil</a> <div class="credit mt-5" style="word-break: break-word;">© Photos.com/Getty Images</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="card-3"> <div class="card card-horizontal card-sm-vertical"> <div class="card-media media-IMAGE"> <a class="position-relative w-100" href="/biography/Dante-Alighieri"> <img loading="eager" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/87/215487-050-5C8027B0/Fresco-Dante-Alighieri-Domenico-di-Michelino-Duomo-Florence-Italy.jpg?w=325&h=200&c=crop&q=80" alt="Part of a fresco showing Dante Alighieri and view of Florence by Domenico di Michelino located at the Duomo (Italy)." class="w-100 h-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body mt-10 p-0"> <a class="font-weight-bold h5" href="/biography/Dante-Alighieri">The Life and Work of Dante Alighieri</a> <div class="credit mt-5" style="word-break: break-word;">© Conde/Dreamstime.com</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="read-more"> <h3>Discover More</h3> <div class="grid"> <div class="col-sm-50 mb-15 mb-sm-0"> <a class="font-16 font-weight-bold" href="/biography/Beatrice-Italian-noble">Who Was the Real Beatrice?</a> </div> <div class="col-sm-50 mb-15 mb-sm-0"> <a class="font-16 font-weight-bold" href="/biography/Dante-Alighieri/Early-life#ref375949"><i>La Vita Nuova</i>: Dante’s Odes to Beatrice, in Prose and Verse</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="kic-right-rail kic-right-rail-C2 font-14"> <div class="feature-block "><div class="oyr-title-container"><h3 class="h2 oyr-title font-serif mb-15"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/taxation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tax Day Is Coming</a> </h3><p class="font-serif mb-20"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/money" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Britannica Money</a> would like to remind all Americans that the clock is ticking toward the April 15 tax filing deadline. Let’s face it: your <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/March-Madness" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">March Madness</a> bracket probably got busted last week, and, despite it being past the vernal <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/equinox-astronomy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">equinox</a>, spring hasn’t quite sprung. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/file-tax-extension" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tax extensions are a double-edged sword</a>, and they don’t really let you off the hook. Plus, if you’re expecting a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/tax-credit-deduction-refund" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">refund</a>, jump the queue and get your money back sooner.</p></div> <a class="oyr-link-title font-weight-bold d-block mb-10" href="/money/cost-to-file-taxes">Tax prep FAQs</a><p class="font-serif mb-20">Whether you <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/cost-to-file-taxes" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">pay a preparer</a> or file your own taxes, know the basics: the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/income-tax-schedule-meaning" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">different forms and schedules</a>, how <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/federal-income-tax-brackets" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">marginal tax rates and tax brackets</a> work, the types of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/what-is-a-tax-credit" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">tax credits for which you may be eligible</a>, and whether you even <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/minimum-income-to-file-taxes" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">need to file this year</a> (not everybody does).</p> <a class="oyr-link-title font-weight-bold d-block mb-10" href="/money/standard-vs-itemize-deductions">No receipts needed?</a><p class="font-serif mb-20">The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 doubled the standard deduction, but it also placed a $10,000 cap on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/state-and-local-tax-deduction" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">state and local tax deductions</a>. Now, fewer than 10 percent of households file an itemized return. The standard deduction is certainly simpler and less cluttered, and there’s less chance for a math error, but you don’t get a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/donating-to-a-501c3-overview" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">tax break for donating to a charitable organization</a>. Many TCJA provisions are set to expire at the end of this year, so the tax code is likely to undergo some important changes by 2026.</p> <a class="oyr-link-title font-weight-bold d-block mb-10" href="/money/what-to-do-with-a-windfall">Refund coming? Be smart.</a><p class="font-serif mb-20">Remember that a refund means you paid in more throughout the year than you owed. So, unless you like having the government hold onto your money, consider changing <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/new-job-paperwork" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">your W-4</a> for next year. And, before you go on a spending spree, think about what your future self would want you to do. If you have <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/payday-loans-title-loans" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">high-interest debt</a>, pay it down. Is <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/emergency-fund-amount" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">your emergency fund</a> adequate? Review the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/what-is-the-50-30-20-rule" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">50-30-20 rule</a> and allocate your windfall among your needs, wants, and wishes.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container trending-content my-40"> <h2 class="mb-15">Popular on <span>Britannica</span></h2> <div class="grid"> <div class="trending-list-container qa-treading-articles col-100 col-md-33 mb-30 mb-md-0"> <div class="Articles border-top-5"></div> <div class="border border-top-0 p-20 py-10 rounded-bl-lg rounded-br-lg"> <h3 class="font-16 text-uppercase mb-15 mb-md-20 d-block">Articles</h3> <ol class="list-none"> <li > <a class="d-block my-10 my-md-15" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/list-of-superheroes-2024795">list of superheroes</a> </li> <li > <a class="d-block my-10 my-md-15" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Dukakis">Michael Dukakis</a> </li> <li > <a class="d-block my-10 my-md-15" 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Policies the Best Solution for Homelessness? </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container qa-featured-games my-40"> <h2 class="mt-20 mb-15 d-inline-block">Featured Games</h2> <a href="/quiz/browse#featured-games" class="font-weight-bold ml-10 font-14">See All</a> <div class="featured-games-container"> <div class="primary-featured-game-card"> <div class="card card-base col-100"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/quordle" class="d-flex position-relative align-items-center justify-content-center" > <div class="w-100"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/kstm/GAME/quordle.jpeg?w=400&h=300&c=crop" alt="Quordle" class="w-100" /> </div> </a> </div> <div class="card-body w-100 "> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/quordle" class="title font-weight-bold font-16">Quordle</a> <div class="m-0 mt-5 description "> Can you solve four words at once? </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured-games-grid"> <div 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alt="The Missing Letter" width="100" height="75" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/missing-letter" >The Missing Letter</a> <div class="font-weight-light font-serif font-14 line-clamp clamp-2 ilf-description">A daily crossword with a twist</div> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal mb-20" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/twofer-goofer"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/kstm/GAME/twofer-goofer.png?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Twofer Goofer" width="100" height="75" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/twofer-goofer" >Twofer Goofer</a> <div class="font-weight-light font-serif 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