Dante The Poet, the Political Thinker, the Man

by Reynolds, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9781593761240
• ISBN10: 1593761244
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-08-16
• Publisher: Counterpoint

Summary

"Dante is one of the towering figures in world literature, and yet many riddles and questions about his life and work persist. In the first full-length biography of him in more than twenty years, Barbara Reynolds offers remarkable discoveries and unlocks previously hidden secrets. For instance, a fundamental enigma has tantalised readers of the Commedia for seven centuries. Who was the leader prophesied by Virgil and Beatrice to bring peace to the world? Many attempts have been made to identify him, but none has seemed conclusive - until now. As well as proposing a solution to the famous prophecies, this biography contains a new idea in every chapter." "Dr. Reynolds' research suggests: that Beatrice, Dante's great love, was not who most scholars think she was; that Dante may have smoked cannabis to reach new heights of creativity; that Dante was a talented public speaker who created a new form of poetic art, holding his audiences spellbound. But above all, Dr. Reynolds views Dante as one of the greatest radicals of all time. His aim was not to preach an interesting parable about punishments for sin and rewards for virtue. It was to use poetry to change the politics of the age, and unite Europe around the secular authority of an Emperor. To promote this idea, which dominated his writings from his exile onwards, Dante combined it with a dramatic presentation of the Christian belief in Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. Vividly told in the first person, with a colour and immediacy derived from the pop art of street narrators - now made to seem respectable by its use of classical predecessors like Virgil - this extraordinary journey through the three realms was always profoundly political in intent." "Dante here comes alive as never before: irate, opinionated, settling scores - a man of mutifaceted gifts and extraordinary genius, whose role as an interpreter of world history makes him more than ever relevant to the new millennium."--BOOK JACKET.

Author Biography

Dr. Barbara Reynolds, was an an Italian scholar, lexicographer and translator, and Dante expert. A graduate of University College, London, Dr. Reynolds was Lecturer in Italian at Cambridge for twenty-two years and later Reader in Italian Studies at Nottingham. She holds three honorary degrees, and was honored by the republic of Italy for her significant contributions to the field of Italian literature. Her most significant academic achievement may be her general editorship of The Cambridge Italian Dictionary: Vol. 1 (1962) and Vol. 2 (1981).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vii
Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction	xi
The Early Years	1	(17)
Dante and Guido Cavalcanti	18	(15)
Disaster	33	(10)
The First Years of Exile	43	(9)
Language and Poetry	52	(12)
Invitation to a Banquet	64	(11)
Main Dishes and Trenchers	75	(8)
The True Definition of Nobility	83	(12)
Injustice and Avarice	95	(7)
Dante the Showman	102	(8)
The Return of Beatrice	110	(6)
The Story Begins	116	(6)
Limbo	122	(9)
Francesca da Rimini	131	(7)
Dante in Danger	138	(7)
Dante the Taxonomist	145	(5)
Creation of Character	150	(7)
Down into the Depths	157	(8)
`Him of Alagna'	165	(4)
Virgil and Sorcery	169	(6)
Devil-Play	175	(8)
A Den of Thieves	183	(8)
Tongues of Fire	191	(8)
The Severed Head	199	(7)
The Valley of Disease	206	(5)
Towering Giants	211	(6)
The Frozen Lake	217	(10)
Lucifer	227	(7)
The Tragedy of Henry VII	234	(9)
Better Waters	243	(8)
The Morning Sun	251	(7)
From Humour to Invective	258	(7)
Close of Day and a New Dawn	265	(6)
Pride and Humility	271	(7)
Evil and the Freedom of the Will	278	(7)
Love, Natural and Rational	285	(4)
The Mountain Trembles	289	(5)
Dante and Forese Donati	294	(6)
Body and Soul	300	(6)
The Christian Sibyl	306	(11)
Who is Matilda?	317	(7)
Dante and His Patrons	324	(10)
Prelude to Paradise	334	(7)
Beatrice in Heaven	341	(7)
Propaganda in Paradiso	348	(5)
The City Walls	353	(6)
Justice Unfathomed	359	(8)
Dante and Monasticism	367	(5)
The Theme's Great Weight	372	(5)
Faith, Hope and Love	377	(7)
Hatred in Heaven	384	(5)
The Creation	389	(6)
The Departure of Beatrice	395	(5)
Approach to the Final Vision	400	(5)
The Vision of the Trinity	405	(6)
Epilogue	411	(12)
Appendices
Chronology of Dante's Life and Works	418	(2)
Guelfs and Ghibellines	420	(1)
List of Popes in Dante's Lifetime	421	(1)
Holy Roman Emperors Referred to by Dante	421	(1)
The Canzone	421	(2)
Notes	423	(36)
Select Index	459