Product Description

A unique treatise by a poet, written for poets, on the art of poetry, LA VITA NUOVA is elaborately and symbolically patterned, consisting of a selection of Dante's early poems, interspersed with his own prose commentary. The poems themselves tell the story of his love for Beatrice, from their first meeting at a May Day party in her father's house, through Dante's sufferings and his attempts to conceal the true object of his devotion by the use of 'screen-loves', to his overwhelming grief ather death, ending with the transformative vision of her in heaven. These are some of the richest love poems in literature and the movement from self-pitying lament to praise for the beloved's beauty and virtue, illustrate the elevating power of love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #140831 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-29
• Original language: Italian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Book Information
Deeply felt but intellectually disciplined, radiant but analytical, La Vita Nuova reveals Dante's vision in which human love touches that of God's.

Intended as a treatise for fellow poets, it consists of a sequence of astonishing and tender love poems to Beatrice, interspersed with Dante's own commentary explaining the events that went into their making and giving a detailed structural analysis.

Dante chose to speak directly to his audience and write in Italian, and as his love for Beatrice deepened and matured he went on to ignore further the old poetic orthodoxies and write directly from experience. It was in the gradually increasing admittance of reality into the enclosed garden of poetic convention that Dante made his most original and creative discoveries, concludes Barbara Reynolds in her superb introduction. In this way, too, La Vita Nuova represents a turning point in European poetry.

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About the Author
Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265 to a noble but impoverished family. His life was divided by political duties and poetry, the most famous of which - The Divine Comedy and La Vita Nuova - was inspired by his meeting with Bice Portinari, whom he called Beatrice. He died in Ravenna in 1321. Before retiring Barbara Reynolds was Lecturer in Italian at Cambridge University. She holds 3 honorary doctorates & has translated Ariosto's Orlando Furioso for Penguin Classics.

Customer Reviews

A must-read for all
'Vita Nuova' (which means 'new life') is one of Dante's earliest major works. This prose translation by Professor Mark Musa is easy to read, yet accurate and not lacking any rigour. The poet (Dante) describes how he falls in love with this most charming lady, Beatrice, and how he finally gets over her death. The introduction at the beginning of the book illustrates how Dante has meticulously planned the structure of 'Vita Nuovo', and the importance of the number nine and its sole root, three, which is the number of the Christian holy Trinity. Contrary to troubadour love, Dante convincingly reconciles love for a woman and love for God. Read this if you find 'The Divine Comedy' too long to start with, but you'll soon discover that you'll need to purchase the latter, available at Amazon.co.uk, too! It is no wonder that Dante (or more accurately, his works) has been termed the 'fifth Gospel'. A must-read for all, Christians and non-Christians alike.

Medieval Treatsie of Poetry
This is a love song for everlasting youth. A story of pathos. A language of timeless relevance.A treatsie for all poets.A trip to thirteenth century Italy. A doorway to medieval times.

Experience the pangs of first love with literature's most devoted lover: the timeless inspiration of Rossetti, Eliot and Delacroix.

What one experiences in The Vita Nuova is the ordered process of a great poet: the meaning of each poem is deftly explained with clarity, gaining the reader an insight into that most fabled of all European ideals - true love.

Dante's quest for no more than a smile from his fair Beatrice will win the hearts of all who have ever loved dearly.

The book is very strongley worded and is truly stuning
The book is very powerful and needs to be used for somthing like english GCSE's to allow it to truly florish and show its strength. I have never read anything that compairs to it. I would recomend it to anyone who enjoys poetry and litreture that takes you in and makes you read the next pages and then read another just to find out whats next. This is not to be taken lightly!