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Vita Nuova
Vita Nuova (1292-94) is regarded as one of Dante's most profound creations. The thirty-one poems in the first of his major writings are linked by a lyrical prose narrative celebrating and debating the subject of love. Composed upon Dante's meeting with Beatrice and the "Lord of Love," it is a love story set to the task of confirming the "new life" inspired by this meeting. With a critical introduction and explanatory notes, this is a new translation of a supreme work which has been read variously as biography, religious allegory, and a meditation on poetry itself.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1292
About the author
Dante Alighieri
3,929 books5,349 followersDante Alighieri, or simply Dante (May 14/June 13 1265 – September 13/14, 1321), is one of the greatest poets in the Italian language; with the comic story-teller, Boccaccio, and the poet, Petrarch, he forms the classic trio of Italian authors. Dante Alighieri was born in the city-state Florence in 1265. He first saw the woman, or rather the child, who was to become the poetic love of his life when he was almost nine years old and she was some months younger. In fact, Beatrice married another man, Simone di' Bardi, and died when Dante was 25, so their relationship existed almost entirely in Dante's imagination, but she nonetheless plays an extremely important role in his poetry. Dante attributed all the heavenly virtues to her soul and imagined, in his masterpiece The Divine Comedy, that she was his guardian angel who alternately berated and encouraged him on his search for salvation.
Politics as well as love deeply influenced Dante's literary and emotional life. Renaissance Florence was a thriving, but not a peaceful city: different opposing factions continually struggled for dominance there. The Guelfs and the Ghibellines were the two major factions, and in fact that division was important in all of Italy and other countries as well. The Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor were political rivals for much of this time period, and in general the Guelfs were in favor of the Pope, while the Ghibellines supported Imperial power. By 1289 in the battle of Campaldino the Ghibellines largely disappeared from Florence. Peace, however, did not insue. Instead, the Guelf party divided between the Whites and the Blacks (Dante was a White Guelf). The Whites were more opposed to Papal power than the Blacks, and tended to favor the emperor, so in fact the preoccupations of the White Guelfs were much like those of the defeated Ghibellines. In this divisive atmosphere Dante rose to a position of leadership. in 1302, while he was in Rome on a diplomatic mission to the Pope, the Blacks in Florence seized power with the help of the French (and pro-Pope) Charles of Valois. The Blacks exiled Dante, confiscating his goods and condemning him to be burned if he should return to Florence.
Dante never returned to Florence. He wandered from city to city, depending on noble patrons there. Between 1302 and 1304 some attempts were made by the exiled Whites to retrieve their position in Florence, but none of these succeeded and Dante contented himself with hoping for the appearance of a new powerful Holy Roman Emperor who would unite the country and banish strife. Henry VII was elected Emperor in 1308, and indeed laid seige to Florence in 1312, but was defeated, and he died a year later, destroying Dante's hopes. Dante passed from court to court, writing passionate political and moral epistles and finishing his Divine Comedy, which contains the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. He finally died in Ravenna in 1321.
Politics as well as love deeply influenced Dante's literary and emotional life. Renaissance Florence was a thriving, but not a peaceful city: different opposing factions continually struggled for dominance there. The Guelfs and the Ghibellines were the two major factions, and in fact that division was important in all of Italy and other countries as well. The Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor were political rivals for much of this time period, and in general the Guelfs were in favor of the Pope, while the Ghibellines supported Imperial power. By 1289 in the battle of Campaldino the Ghibellines largely disappeared from Florence. Peace, however, did not insue. Instead, the Guelf party divided between the Whites and the Blacks (Dante was a White Guelf). The Whites were more opposed to Papal power than the Blacks, and tended to favor the emperor, so in fact the preoccupations of the White Guelfs were much like those of the defeated Ghibellines. In this divisive atmosphere Dante rose to a position of leadership. in 1302, while he was in Rome on a diplomatic mission to the Pope, the Blacks in Florence seized power with the help of the French (and pro-Pope) Charles of Valois. The Blacks exiled Dante, confiscating his goods and condemning him to be burned if he should return to Florence.
Dante never returned to Florence. He wandered from city to city, depending on noble patrons there. Between 1302 and 1304 some attempts were made by the exiled Whites to retrieve their position in Florence, but none of these succeeded and Dante contented himself with hoping for the appearance of a new powerful Holy Roman Emperor who would unite the country and banish strife. Henry VII was elected Emperor in 1308, and indeed laid seige to Florence in 1312, but was defeated, and he died a year later, destroying Dante's hopes. Dante passed from court to court, writing passionate political and moral epistles and finishing his Divine Comedy, which contains the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. He finally died in Ravenna in 1321.
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January 13, 2024
It is a problematic poetic work, and I think it is necessary to know the author, his life, and his environment to appreciate poetry.
The 13th century is a period of history that I do not know. However, the century is when literature moved away from Latin writing to vulgar languages.
Dante writes this story following his meeting with Beatrice, with whom he falls head over heels in love. Then she dies.
The author alternates songs, sonnets, and dialogue, invoking love and God.
In the second part, less daring and elegant, Dante composes dialogues.
It is a moving collection despite everything.
The 13th century is a period of history that I do not know. However, the century is when literature moved away from Latin writing to vulgar languages.
Dante writes this story following his meeting with Beatrice, with whom he falls head over heels in love. Then she dies.
The author alternates songs, sonnets, and dialogue, invoking love and God.
In the second part, less daring and elegant, Dante composes dialogues.
It is a moving collection despite everything.
May 30, 2021
La Vita Nuova (Latin- Vita Nova) is an expression of love written in both verse and prose. Unlike the typical works in the courtly love genre that were typical of the time, La Vita Nuova strives to mix romantic love with spiritual writing. It takes love poetry and prose on a whole new level. This ambitious task is what set Dante from other writers of similar work. It was a very important work for its time.
It was in the Renaissance that the romantic sonnet expressing amorous suffering gave rise to the individualism in writing. Petrarch is considered by some to be the father of modern literature. His Il Canzionere (Rime sparse or Scattered Rhymes) is a collection of sonnets devoted to the only woman he ever loved. La Vita Nuova is similar in the sense that it was inspired by the only woman Dante Alighieri loved. Both ladies died young and inspired strong sentiments in their admirers, sentiments that were so strong they pushed the European literature in the new direction. It can be challenging to see these works as deeply intimate from today's point of view (when everyone talk about private matters non stop) but there is no doubt they were revolutionary for its time.
Petrarch may be the father of modern literature and sensibility, but Dante on the other hand is known as the father of Italian language. Both of them had a profound influence on both Italian and European literature as a whole. The literature as we know it wouldn't be the same without these two. That is how important they are! So, yes reading them is fundamental for our understanding of the history of literature. Besides, reading Dante is always a good idea, right?
This literary giant never disappoints. This might not be his strongest or best know work, but it is a classic and a worthy one at that. This emotional autobiography might not be what we would consider intimately autobiographical in today's sense of the world. What can be said about La Vita Nuova? It's a peculiar little book, but in a good way. La Vita Nuova (New Life) is an autobiographical (but not in today's sense of the word) account of love at first sight mixed with wonderful sonnets and poetry.
Renaissance (as you perhaps guessed) is one of my favourite art periods, so it is not surprising that I quite enjoyed this book. I can say that I got from it pretty much what I expected. It is a quick and easy read, relatively short( part prose, part poetry) and it speaks mostly about Dante's love for Beatrice. Not the kind of romantic love most of us is used to. Dante's love is connected with spirituality and this mixing of theology with love is something I found to be quite fascinating. Again, this is something that is connected to the Renaissance period but it is worth noting that Dante was one of the firsts to do it.
I think I've read somewhere that Vita Nouva is essential for understanding the context of Dante's later works. I'm not sure that is entirely true. In some sense, it truly is for it is an important book. However, I think you can get a good understanding of Dante just by reading about it. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean you should not read La Vita Nouva. By all means read it. I just don't think that you wouldn't be able to understand Divina Commedia if you don't. However, it will probably make you understand it better.
Beatrice does appear in the Divine Comedy (Divina Commedia) but not until Purgatory is brought into picture. For me, the best part of Divina Commedia is Inferno, so that is perhaps why I didn't focus that much on Beatrice (as a reader). If you ask me, if Dante hadn't written anything but a few the lines of Inferno, he would still achieve something great. I don't regret being forced to read Inferno so many times during my education. In fact, I'm grateful for it. I will probably reread it some day when I get the chance. Back to the subject. There is no Beatrice in Inferno, so that's why I don't see the immediate connection with La Vita Nouva, at any rate she's more interesting in the latter version- even if we see her trough idolized eyes of a man in love. For me this book can stand on its own. Beatrice as the heroine of this book is far more interesting than the angelic vision in the Divine Comedy.
A few more words about this book. It is definitely a work marked by its period, even if it was revolutionary. For example. I have had hard time separating the writing convention from autobiography and I have my doubts- I mean does Dante really has those visions or it is something that writers in the time of Renaissance were supposed to have, a kind of metaphor? What I do believe however is the intensity of his emotions. That part feels genuine.
Dante is a wonderful writer, that's for sure. Frankly, Dante's writing skill always makes me forget that there is (perhaps) an agenda behind things he writes about. Danto is always a hero in his book. Somehow it doesn't bother me that much, even if I can't help noticing how Dante's writing speaks in his favour. I guess that is only human. For example, isn't it convenient that all of his political enemies are in hell? Isn't it convenient how Dante is always the good guy? But then again, do I really care about what kind of person he really was or what precisely happened in the historical time he lived it? It is hard to tell anything for sure and even a flawed person can be a great artist. What remains is art. If I was only after the facts, I wouldn't read literature at all. Art is always the truth, even when it lies. Dante's writing is definitely art and one of the highest kind. To conclude, La Vita Nuova is a beautifully written classic,a Renaissance gem that is worth reading both for its literary quality and its historical significance.
It was in the Renaissance that the romantic sonnet expressing amorous suffering gave rise to the individualism in writing. Petrarch is considered by some to be the father of modern literature. His Il Canzionere (Rime sparse or Scattered Rhymes) is a collection of sonnets devoted to the only woman he ever loved. La Vita Nuova is similar in the sense that it was inspired by the only woman Dante Alighieri loved. Both ladies died young and inspired strong sentiments in their admirers, sentiments that were so strong they pushed the European literature in the new direction. It can be challenging to see these works as deeply intimate from today's point of view (when everyone talk about private matters non stop) but there is no doubt they were revolutionary for its time.
Petrarch may be the father of modern literature and sensibility, but Dante on the other hand is known as the father of Italian language. Both of them had a profound influence on both Italian and European literature as a whole. The literature as we know it wouldn't be the same without these two. That is how important they are! So, yes reading them is fundamental for our understanding of the history of literature. Besides, reading Dante is always a good idea, right?
This literary giant never disappoints. This might not be his strongest or best know work, but it is a classic and a worthy one at that. This emotional autobiography might not be what we would consider intimately autobiographical in today's sense of the world. What can be said about La Vita Nuova? It's a peculiar little book, but in a good way. La Vita Nuova (New Life) is an autobiographical (but not in today's sense of the word) account of love at first sight mixed with wonderful sonnets and poetry.
Renaissance (as you perhaps guessed) is one of my favourite art periods, so it is not surprising that I quite enjoyed this book. I can say that I got from it pretty much what I expected. It is a quick and easy read, relatively short( part prose, part poetry) and it speaks mostly about Dante's love for Beatrice. Not the kind of romantic love most of us is used to. Dante's love is connected with spirituality and this mixing of theology with love is something I found to be quite fascinating. Again, this is something that is connected to the Renaissance period but it is worth noting that Dante was one of the firsts to do it.
I think I've read somewhere that Vita Nouva is essential for understanding the context of Dante's later works. I'm not sure that is entirely true. In some sense, it truly is for it is an important book. However, I think you can get a good understanding of Dante just by reading about it. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean you should not read La Vita Nouva. By all means read it. I just don't think that you wouldn't be able to understand Divina Commedia if you don't. However, it will probably make you understand it better.
Beatrice does appear in the Divine Comedy (Divina Commedia) but not until Purgatory is brought into picture. For me, the best part of Divina Commedia is Inferno, so that is perhaps why I didn't focus that much on Beatrice (as a reader). If you ask me, if Dante hadn't written anything but a few the lines of Inferno, he would still achieve something great. I don't regret being forced to read Inferno so many times during my education. In fact, I'm grateful for it. I will probably reread it some day when I get the chance. Back to the subject. There is no Beatrice in Inferno, so that's why I don't see the immediate connection with La Vita Nouva, at any rate she's more interesting in the latter version- even if we see her trough idolized eyes of a man in love. For me this book can stand on its own. Beatrice as the heroine of this book is far more interesting than the angelic vision in the Divine Comedy.
A few more words about this book. It is definitely a work marked by its period, even if it was revolutionary. For example. I have had hard time separating the writing convention from autobiography and I have my doubts- I mean does Dante really has those visions or it is something that writers in the time of Renaissance were supposed to have, a kind of metaphor? What I do believe however is the intensity of his emotions. That part feels genuine.
Dante is a wonderful writer, that's for sure. Frankly, Dante's writing skill always makes me forget that there is (perhaps) an agenda behind things he writes about. Danto is always a hero in his book. Somehow it doesn't bother me that much, even if I can't help noticing how Dante's writing speaks in his favour. I guess that is only human. For example, isn't it convenient that all of his political enemies are in hell? Isn't it convenient how Dante is always the good guy? But then again, do I really care about what kind of person he really was or what precisely happened in the historical time he lived it? It is hard to tell anything for sure and even a flawed person can be a great artist. What remains is art. If I was only after the facts, I wouldn't read literature at all. Art is always the truth, even when it lies. Dante's writing is definitely art and one of the highest kind. To conclude, La Vita Nuova is a beautifully written classic,a Renaissance gem that is worth reading both for its literary quality and its historical significance.
March 24, 2022
La vida nueva de Dante Alighieri es más de lo mismo que hay escrito en las composiciones de Petrarca, los mismo temas, el mismo dolor y sufrimiento, la misma distancia de un amor que no puede ni será posible. En fin, prueba del amor cortés que se vivió en épocas como la Edad Media y el Renacimiento. Sin embargo, me gustó más que Cancionero porque mezclaba prosa con poesía, lo que la hizo más digerible.
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June 28, 2010It doesn’t much matter what the reality is when you are holding a dialogue in your mind with another part of your mind that has its roots in something that was in fact once real and refuses to depart. In the final analysis one experiences only oneself, and our life is no dream but it ought to become one and perhaps will. A part of us functions in the phantasmagoria which we call the everyday world, but another part holds on to memories and ideals which it instinctively knows are infinitely more enduring than these shadows that pass away from moment to moment. If it’s true that physically we are what we eat, it is even truer that spiritually we are what we once longed for and continue to long for. Yearnings from maybe the distant past that never left us, that continue to be the guiding force in our lives, though we don’t know why, and that refract all of our thoughts down the years. Unresolved issues that have embedded themselves into our psyches like black holes into the fabric of the universe, altering the courses of stars, sucking them in. Dante embodies this sentiment. His brief glimpse of the lovely young Beatrice in a street one day in mediaeval Florence set his mind alight and never left him even in old age. It wasn’t rational, but then what is? Nothing is rational. But it was right. It was absolutely good, and right. It was something that God approved of. Dante lost Beatrice, never even had her, but his memory of her remained the single most important influence on his life and art, and I believe that these glimpses of eternity are the only real blessings we have any right to hope for. They are something solid, worthwhile, good, and pure and abiding, like anchors, like rocks protruding through quicksand or through an avalanche. I could go on forever, but I’m starting to bore myself... We are what we yearn for. Isolating that signal is our main task in life, I think. For some it is faint or non-existent, whilst for others like Dante it is deafening
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January 6, 2018lo so, lo so. opera inedita e inaudita, misto di prosa e poesia, commistione autobiografica fortissima, stile innovativo. eppure questa vita rinnovata (dall’amore) non mi piacque la prima volta e non mi è piaciuta ora.
la trama comunque è presto detta. lui si invaghisce di lei quando ancora gioca coi soldatini di federico barbarossa alla battaglia di legnano. si rivedono da grandi, lei gli sorride e dante si illude, ma per non metterla in imbarazzo manda sms diversivi e pieni di cuoricini ad altre squinzie. errore blu perché hanno amici in comune, beatrice portinari lo viene a sapere da facebook, se la prende e gli fa capire che non gliela dà più. lui ovviamente va in palla (sono 9 anni che le sta dietro, eccheccavolo) quindi camuffa, e non potendo dire che lei ha un pessimo carattere va ripetendo in giro che tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare(va).
poi un brutto giorno lei muore. orrore e raccapriccio. dante supera una brutta depressione, arriva anche ad adocchiare un’altra donna ma non c’è niente da fare: il senso di colpa lo attanaglia e prende la sua decisione. passerà il resto della vita a cantare le lodi di lei.
l’unica cosa stra-positiva è che dopo questo ha scritto la divina commedia.
la trama comunque è presto detta. lui si invaghisce di lei quando ancora gioca coi soldatini di federico barbarossa alla battaglia di legnano. si rivedono da grandi, lei gli sorride e dante si illude, ma per non metterla in imbarazzo manda sms diversivi e pieni di cuoricini ad altre squinzie. errore blu perché hanno amici in comune, beatrice portinari lo viene a sapere da facebook, se la prende e gli fa capire che non gliela dà più. lui ovviamente va in palla (sono 9 anni che le sta dietro, eccheccavolo) quindi camuffa, e non potendo dire che lei ha un pessimo carattere va ripetendo in giro che tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare(va).
poi un brutto giorno lei muore. orrore e raccapriccio. dante supera una brutta depressione, arriva anche ad adocchiare un’altra donna ma non c’è niente da fare: il senso di colpa lo attanaglia e prende la sua decisione. passerà il resto della vita a cantare le lodi di lei.
l’unica cosa stra-positiva è che dopo questo ha scritto la divina commedia.
November 22, 2022
I remember reading, somewhere, that to understand the Divine Comedy one simply must read La Vita Nuova. Though such categorical statements are almost always empty pomposity, this assertion nonetheless lived on in my memory and, eventually, led me here. I do see why the statement was made. So much of Dante’s great poem consists of a marriage of the personal and the cosmic, of the romantic and the divine, of the contemporary and the historical; and we can see the beginning of this impulse in this little book of poems.
This is very much a young man’s book—Dante’s The Sorrows of Young Werther. But of course, Dante was a very different man than Goethe, and his culture of courtly love bear little resemblance with the Sturm und Drang of the Romantic age. Thus, a story that could have been a tragic tale of heartrending sorrow, told in gushing prose, becomes a carefully anatomized series of events recounted in meticulous sonnets. Dante’s love for Beatrice—so idealized and stereotyped as to be bloodless—is sublimated into a kind of personal religion, which was certainly a bold idea.
Amusingly, Dante felt the need to pause and analyze every one of his poems before moving on to the next section of his story, which gives this book a curiously detached and academic feel. Perhaps as a budding author, he wished to demonstrate his poetic virtuosity. In any case, to a modern reader, the emotional whiplash of moving from intimate confession, to rhetorical melodrama, to dry dissection, makes the book more of a historical artifact rather than a living pleasure—which is certainly not the case for his masterpiece.
This is very much a young man’s book—Dante’s The Sorrows of Young Werther. But of course, Dante was a very different man than Goethe, and his culture of courtly love bear little resemblance with the Sturm und Drang of the Romantic age. Thus, a story that could have been a tragic tale of heartrending sorrow, told in gushing prose, becomes a carefully anatomized series of events recounted in meticulous sonnets. Dante’s love for Beatrice—so idealized and stereotyped as to be bloodless—is sublimated into a kind of personal religion, which was certainly a bold idea.
Amusingly, Dante felt the need to pause and analyze every one of his poems before moving on to the next section of his story, which gives this book a curiously detached and academic feel. Perhaps as a budding author, he wished to demonstrate his poetic virtuosity. In any case, to a modern reader, the emotional whiplash of moving from intimate confession, to rhetorical melodrama, to dry dissection, makes the book more of a historical artifact rather than a living pleasure—which is certainly not the case for his masterpiece.
March 6, 2018
La Vita Nuova an unusual book: written in alternating prose and poetry, it is part ode, part autobiography, part literary analysis, part metaphysical exploration. It is historically important as it provides much of the background to Dante’s life, especially his relationship with his distant love and muse, Beatrice.
My attempt to brush up on my Italian with this dual-language edition of the book was a bit of a failure. While the language has remained incredibly static over the past 700 years, Dante’s Italian is different enough to be a challenge to my moderate abilities. Additionally, his prose style is quite complex, employing long sentences with cascading dependent clauses, and his poetry takes many freedoms with the language, such as inversion of word order and a lot of elided letters, all of which make it difficult to follow.
I would, however, still recommend this dual-language edition to anyone reading La Vita Nuova, even if they have no understanding of Italian. The poems must be read in Italian, even if one relies on the English translations for the meaning. Italian is a language that is made for poetry. Of course the gendering and inflection allow rhymes to flow much more easily than in English, but simply the sound, the cadence of Dante’s metre (which I always naturally read with a lowering of pitch on the final syllable), takes on this wonderful, lugubrious tone, which you just can’t get in English.
My attempt to brush up on my Italian with this dual-language edition of the book was a bit of a failure. While the language has remained incredibly static over the past 700 years, Dante’s Italian is different enough to be a challenge to my moderate abilities. Additionally, his prose style is quite complex, employing long sentences with cascading dependent clauses, and his poetry takes many freedoms with the language, such as inversion of word order and a lot of elided letters, all of which make it difficult to follow.
I would, however, still recommend this dual-language edition to anyone reading La Vita Nuova, even if they have no understanding of Italian. The poems must be read in Italian, even if one relies on the English translations for the meaning. Italian is a language that is made for poetry. Of course the gendering and inflection allow rhymes to flow much more easily than in English, but simply the sound, the cadence of Dante’s metre (which I always naturally read with a lowering of pitch on the final syllable), takes on this wonderful, lugubrious tone, which you just can’t get in English.
March 3, 2022
Crazy. Crazy how a 28 year old could have written this, and how you can already see the power of the mind behind the Divine Comedy between these lines. His flawless memory allowed him to infuse his writing with multiple layers, so that a superficial reading doesn’t even begin to make justice to this book.
What remains unclear is whether Beatrice was actually a woman in the flesh or not. Everything in this book is SO internalized and abstract. What seems to be lacking is any hint or a tiny detail that would stick out as extraordinarily specific and therefore “real” (like, for example, many practical details in the gospel stick out in a way that makes any doubts about the existence of Jesus of Nazareth seem foolish). There is a disturbing absence of these details, aside from the color of her dress, that could also easily be purely a symbol.
On the other hand, the numerology and symbolic elements (i.e. BEATR-IX = 9) would almost convince me that Beatrice was a complete fabrication, and that Dante is ONLY talking about philosophy and himself.
The ending of the book is more than epic. It’s shocking. He writes (I’m paraphrasing): “Now, since I don’t feel like I’m ready to write the greatest poem ever written in history, I’m going to study desperately for a few years, then I’m going to write it.”.
And that’s exactly what he did.
What remains unclear is whether Beatrice was actually a woman in the flesh or not. Everything in this book is SO internalized and abstract. What seems to be lacking is any hint or a tiny detail that would stick out as extraordinarily specific and therefore “real” (like, for example, many practical details in the gospel stick out in a way that makes any doubts about the existence of Jesus of Nazareth seem foolish). There is a disturbing absence of these details, aside from the color of her dress, that could also easily be purely a symbol.
On the other hand, the numerology and symbolic elements (i.e. BEATR-IX = 9) would almost convince me that Beatrice was a complete fabrication, and that Dante is ONLY talking about philosophy and himself.
The ending of the book is more than epic. It’s shocking. He writes (I’m paraphrasing): “Now, since I don’t feel like I’m ready to write the greatest poem ever written in history, I’m going to study desperately for a few years, then I’m going to write it.”.
And that’s exactly what he did.
June 6, 2015
Foreword to the Revised Edition
Chronology
Introduction & Notes
Further Reading
A Note on the Translation & Notes
La Vita Nuova
--I
--II
--III
--First Sonnet
--IV
--V
--VI
--VII
--Second Sonnet (double)
--VIII
--Third Sonnet
--Fourth Sonnet (double)
--IX
--Fifth Sonnet
--X
--XI
--XII
--Ballad
--XIII
--Sixth Sonnet
--XIV
--Seventh Sonnet
--XV
--Eighth Sonnet
--XVI
--Ninth Sonnet
--XVII
--XVIII
--XIX
--First Canzone
--XX
--Tenth Sonnet
--XXI
--Eleventh Sonnet
--XXII
--Twelfth Sonnet
--Thirteenth Sonnet
--XXIII
--Second Canzone
--XXIV
--Fourteenth Sonnet
--XXV
--XXVI
--Fifteenth Sonnet
--Sixteenth Sonnet
--XXVII
--Third Canzone (unfinished; one stanza only)
--XXVIII
--XXIX
--XXX
--XXXI
--Fourth Canzone
--XXXII
--Seventeenth Sonnet
--XXXIII
--Fifth Canzone (two stanzas only, but complete)
--XXXIV
--Eighteenth Sonnet (with two beginnings)
--XXXV
--Nineteenth Sonnet
--XXXVI
--Twentieth Sonnet
--XXXVII
--Twenty-first Sonnet
--XXXVIII
--Twenty-second Sonnet
--XXXIX
--Twenty-third Sonnet
--XL
--Twenty-fourth Sonnet
--XLI
--Twenty-fifth Sonnet
--XLII
Notes
Index of First Lines of Poems
Chronology
Introduction & Notes
Further Reading
A Note on the Translation & Notes
La Vita Nuova
--I
--II
--III
--First Sonnet
--IV
--V
--VI
--VII
--Second Sonnet (double)
--VIII
--Third Sonnet
--Fourth Sonnet (double)
--IX
--Fifth Sonnet
--X
--XI
--XII
--Ballad
--XIII
--Sixth Sonnet
--XIV
--Seventh Sonnet
--XV
--Eighth Sonnet
--XVI
--Ninth Sonnet
--XVII
--XVIII
--XIX
--First Canzone
--XX
--Tenth Sonnet
--XXI
--Eleventh Sonnet
--XXII
--Twelfth Sonnet
--Thirteenth Sonnet
--XXIII
--Second Canzone
--XXIV
--Fourteenth Sonnet
--XXV
--XXVI
--Fifteenth Sonnet
--Sixteenth Sonnet
--XXVII
--Third Canzone (unfinished; one stanza only)
--XXVIII
--XXIX
--XXX
--XXXI
--Fourth Canzone
--XXXII
--Seventeenth Sonnet
--XXXIII
--Fifth Canzone (two stanzas only, but complete)
--XXXIV
--Eighteenth Sonnet (with two beginnings)
--XXXV
--Nineteenth Sonnet
--XXXVI
--Twentieth Sonnet
--XXXVII
--Twenty-first Sonnet
--XXXVIII
--Twenty-second Sonnet
--XXXIX
--Twenty-third Sonnet
--XL
--Twenty-fourth Sonnet
--XLI
--Twenty-fifth Sonnet
--XLII
Notes
Index of First Lines of Poems
March 18, 2023
✍️“In quella parte del libro de la mia memoria, dinanzi a la quale poco si potrebbe leggere, si trova una rubrica la quale dice: Incipit vita nova. Sotto la quale rubrica io trovo scritte le parole le quali è mio intendimento d'asemplare in questo libello; e se non tutte, almeno la loro sentenzia.”
Tutti almeno una volta hanno letto o ascoltato a scuola questo famosissimo incipit. Incipit che per quanto sia famoso non si fà alcun riferimento all'amore o alla figura femminile. Ma continuando a leggere l'incipit è presente una dichiarazione poetica, che si offre sul rapporto di tipo testuale preciso tra libro e libello. Si tratta di un rapporto che viene proposto ai lettori per il tramite di immagini e figurazioni e non in termini astratti. Sicuramente si fa riferimento all'incontro con una figura femminile che altro non è Beatrice.
Vita Nova è la prima opera di Dante scritta durante la giovinezza e può essere considerata il "romanzo" autobiografico in cui si celebra l'amore per Beatrice, presentata con tutte le caratteristiche dello stilnovismo dantesco.
Un’opera innovativa dal punto di vista stilistico e del genere, infatti è un prosimetro strutturato in 42 capitoli in prosa e 31 testi poetici collegati in una storia omogenea, che spiega una serie di testi poetici composti in tempi differenti.
Il titolo è emblematico, in quanto l'autore richiama gli eventi passati della sua vita nova, così definita perchè da un lato è sinonimo di gioventù e costituisce un riferimento biografico-cronologico, e dall'altro perchè rinvia al rinnovamento spirituale e poetico avvenuto tramite l'incontro con Beatrice. L'opera non si chiude ma continua con la morte.
Un’opera davvero emozionante, ben scritta e quindi super scorrevole che si legge tutta d’un fiato.
Tutti almeno una volta hanno letto o ascoltato a scuola questo famosissimo incipit. Incipit che per quanto sia famoso non si fà alcun riferimento all'amore o alla figura femminile. Ma continuando a leggere l'incipit è presente una dichiarazione poetica, che si offre sul rapporto di tipo testuale preciso tra libro e libello. Si tratta di un rapporto che viene proposto ai lettori per il tramite di immagini e figurazioni e non in termini astratti. Sicuramente si fa riferimento all'incontro con una figura femminile che altro non è Beatrice.
Vita Nova è la prima opera di Dante scritta durante la giovinezza e può essere considerata il "romanzo" autobiografico in cui si celebra l'amore per Beatrice, presentata con tutte le caratteristiche dello stilnovismo dantesco.
Un’opera innovativa dal punto di vista stilistico e del genere, infatti è un prosimetro strutturato in 42 capitoli in prosa e 31 testi poetici collegati in una storia omogenea, che spiega una serie di testi poetici composti in tempi differenti.
Il titolo è emblematico, in quanto l'autore richiama gli eventi passati della sua vita nova, così definita perchè da un lato è sinonimo di gioventù e costituisce un riferimento biografico-cronologico, e dall'altro perchè rinvia al rinnovamento spirituale e poetico avvenuto tramite l'incontro con Beatrice. L'opera non si chiude ma continua con la morte.
Un’opera davvero emozionante, ben scritta e quindi super scorrevole che si legge tutta d’un fiato.
November 5, 2019
A little 13th-century intensity here:
"...she turned her eyes to where I was standing faint-hearted and, with that indescribable graciousness for which she is rewarded in the eternal life, she greeted me so miraculously that I seemed at that moment to behold the entire range of possible bliss. ... I became so ecstatic that, like a drunken man, I turned away from everyone ..."After this image, Dante tells us his 18-year-old self runs off to his bedroom and...well, has a vision. This is Dante's first published work, written presumably over several years, a mixture of supposedly autobiographical prose and poems he wrote at the time he's covering, in the moment. He claims these poems were passed around his home of Florence, and so already well known. For a text full of some formal turgid prose, it's surprisingly light and attractive and I found myself fully engaged right at the beginning. And then, as that feeling fades, I remained quite fascinated by the mixture of prose and poetry. It's a beautiful work about love, if the love of a self-obsessed stalker.
Dante, who was married at age 11 and would have begun living with his wife as a couple around age 20, captures here his obsession with the divinely beautiful Beatrice, his neighbor in the close quarters of 13th-century Florence. He falls for her at age nine (he was less than a year older then she was), and then much more deeply at age 18, to the point that the sight of her sets him into something of an ecstatic breakdown. He craves her sight, seeks it out, and then embarrasses himself, once collapsing against a nearby wall. He puts it all down, including conversations with other women who are confused by his obvious obsession, and ask questions he can't really answer. Then captures it again in poetic form.
"O voi che per la via d'Amor passate,The ladies' questions leave him stuck in a conundrum, finally giving voice to his feeling in a canto that begins famously, "Donne ch'avete intelletto d'amore,", or roughly he addresses "Ladies who have intelligence of love". The lost young Dante claims to be taken over by the god of love, Amore, even has he acknowledges this god is only something created in his mind, a manifestation of his feeling, longing and obsession. Within this state, having said barely a word to his Beatrice, he learns of her death at age 25, the age the real Beatrice died in a Florence epidemic. Dante, who tells us heaven longed for her, goes silent on his initial reaction, then captures his extreme self-pity. It's both moving and ridiculous. He ends it in a kind of failure, claiming he will try to capture Beatrice again in a better way. "there came to me a miraculous vision in which I saw things that made me resolve to say no more about this blessèd one until I would be capable of writing about her in a nobler way." He will make good on this.
attendete e guardate
s'elli è dolore alcun, quanto 'l mio, grave;
O ye who travel on the road of Love, pause here and look about for any man whose grief surpasses mine."
I enjoyed this but it was hard to read without wondering about this Dante. Of course, he's a stalker and one imagines a very irritated Beatrice feeling very harassed. And of course, he sounds self-destructive. What would his wife think? (She's not mentioned in any of his writing). If you believe R.W.B. Lewis writing in 2001, and I think most traditional critics, this is a pure and honest autobiographical work of one deeply in love and trying to capture his feelings. Mark Musa, my translator here, felt quite differently in 1973 (and probably 1957 too). He sees Dante as a sophisticated writer, putting on believable and moving fictional story, flavored with decent but limited poetry, but that was carefully designed to undermine itself. That is, first, don't believe any of this. And second, Dante has read his Ovid. He's not building on the dolce stil novo (sweet new style), but undermining it. He's captured himself as a ridiculous, mockable, self-obsessed young man. Musa sums it up this way:
"The Vita Nuova is a cruel book. Cruel, that is, in the treatment of the human type represented by the protagonist (Dante). In the picture of the lover there is offered a condemnation of the vice of emotional self-indulgence and an exposure of its destructive effects on a man‘s integrity."Musa, if you buy into him, writes an excellent essay and picks up on a humor and complexity. It seems very obvious, and quite something, once he points it out. (Lewis maybe lacked the right sense of humor). I should add, on a practical note, that Musa's old book is also very nice in hardcover, and I appreciated that it includes the original Italian of all the poetry.
Dante's book, of course, can be read in several ways and leaves itself open to the times and mentality of the reader. And it should probably be read as the reader likes. Dive in and enjoy the feeling, intensity and tragedy of the text, or sit back and think about the poet's other ways of disarming his readers and critics. Recommended to anyone curious as I think it will reward.
-----------------------------------------------
52. Dante's 'Vita Nuova' : A Translation and an Essay by Mark Musa
published: 1293 ?
translation, essays: 1957 & 1973
format: 214 page hardcover
acquired: Library
read: Oct 20 – Nov 1
time reading: 11 hr 14 min, 3.2 min/page
rating: 4
October 3, 2020
A book of poems (with commetary) for a girl Dante first saw when he was 9, follows the history of the love from that moment until the few months after her death. Both married someone else (neither marriage is mentioned in the story), but Beatrice's impact on him would spark first ideas for his best known book, "The Divine Comedy", which was begun a few years after this book.
This book is a mix of story, poems, and commentary on the poems. Many of the poems were written while she was still alive, the first ones begun when he was 17. Some of the poems were sent or given to other people, and Dante belonged to a group of poets, of which Guido Cavalcanti's support and friendship was the most important. I was a bit surprised at how small the age difference between Dante and Beatrice was - less than a year. Her own feelings towards Dante were of much milder type, but she never responded to him so harshly as to blow his passionate love towards her away.
The book is arranged in certain numerical pattern (Dante talks about the number 9, in the text), and the explanation of the poems talks about where each part of the poem starts, and what occurs in each part. Part of the way the explanation happens after the poem, then it changes to happening before the poem. My favorite chapters were XIX and XXIII.
Dante is not shy in expressing what moods he felt during the time: his tears especially occur regularly, especially after her death. Sometimes his moods show so clearly that others find it funny, or alarming, depending on the situation. The latter type occurs at least in the scene where he is really ill from pleurisy or pneumonia, and his emotions alarm the women caring for her, including his stepsister. By the way, the momet of her death, and reactions right after are skipped; they must've been too emotional to write about (not even with a poem).
It takes him a while to get back his emotional balance, but the lady in the window looking him sympathetically, which he mentions, and watching a group of pilgrims traveling through the city - Dante mentions three types of pilgrims, including the "romeo", which I found interesting - show him reaching it, and putting writing about Beatrice on pause soon after that, knowing he'd return to her and her memory eventually.
The poems seemed to grow in quality as I read them, and the commentaries etc. in between didn't bother me, but brought the story along quite nicely and steadily. It is a quick read, but I think one might also take it slowly, and enjoy each poem, tasting what it was like for him to love such a lovely lady with a life much shorter but with big impact not only on him and those who knew her in real life, but for so many reading about her after, here and in the Divine Comedy.
This book is a mix of story, poems, and commentary on the poems. Many of the poems were written while she was still alive, the first ones begun when he was 17. Some of the poems were sent or given to other people, and Dante belonged to a group of poets, of which Guido Cavalcanti's support and friendship was the most important. I was a bit surprised at how small the age difference between Dante and Beatrice was - less than a year. Her own feelings towards Dante were of much milder type, but she never responded to him so harshly as to blow his passionate love towards her away.
The book is arranged in certain numerical pattern (Dante talks about the number 9, in the text), and the explanation of the poems talks about where each part of the poem starts, and what occurs in each part. Part of the way the explanation happens after the poem, then it changes to happening before the poem. My favorite chapters were XIX and XXIII.
Dante is not shy in expressing what moods he felt during the time: his tears especially occur regularly, especially after her death. Sometimes his moods show so clearly that others find it funny, or alarming, depending on the situation. The latter type occurs at least in the scene where he is really ill from pleurisy or pneumonia, and his emotions alarm the women caring for her, including his stepsister. By the way, the momet of her death, and reactions right after are skipped; they must've been too emotional to write about (not even with a poem).
It takes him a while to get back his emotional balance, but the lady in the window looking him sympathetically, which he mentions, and watching a group of pilgrims traveling through the city - Dante mentions three types of pilgrims, including the "romeo", which I found interesting - show him reaching it, and putting writing about Beatrice on pause soon after that, knowing he'd return to her and her memory eventually.
The poems seemed to grow in quality as I read them, and the commentaries etc. in between didn't bother me, but brought the story along quite nicely and steadily. It is a quick read, but I think one might also take it slowly, and enjoy each poem, tasting what it was like for him to love such a lovely lady with a life much shorter but with big impact not only on him and those who knew her in real life, but for so many reading about her after, here and in the Divine Comedy.
May 6, 2020
From XXXI -
My sighs give me deep anguish
When thought in the deep mind
Brings me that which has cut my heart.
And often thinking on death
Comes to me a desire of it so sweet
That it changes the color of my face
When the thought of her becomes fixed
Pain attacks me from every side
That I recover myself through the pain I feel
And I become such
That shame drives me from the company.
Then weeping alone in my sorrow
I call Beatrice & I say Art thou too dead
And whilst I call her I am consoled
With weeping & with sighing
My heart pines away wherever I am,
So that it wearies whoever sees it
And what has been my life since
My lady went into the new world
No tongue can tell
And yet, o my Ladies, though I should desire it,
I should not know how to tell you what I am
Bitter life has so afflicted me
And it is so injured
That every man seems to say to me, I abandon you
Seeing my fainting
But be it as it may, my Lady sees it
And I hope yet a reward from her
My pious canzone now go lamenting
And find the dames & the damsels
Unto whom thy sisters
Were wont to carry joy
And thou who art a daughter of sorrow
Go disconsolate & stand with them
Sad that Beatrice more beautiful than all
Is gone to the feet of the Lord
And has left love with me lamenting.
My sighs give me deep anguish
When thought in the deep mind
Brings me that which has cut my heart.
And often thinking on death
Comes to me a desire of it so sweet
That it changes the color of my face
When the thought of her becomes fixed
Pain attacks me from every side
That I recover myself through the pain I feel
And I become such
That shame drives me from the company.
Then weeping alone in my sorrow
I call Beatrice & I say Art thou too dead
And whilst I call her I am consoled
With weeping & with sighing
My heart pines away wherever I am,
So that it wearies whoever sees it
And what has been my life since
My lady went into the new world
No tongue can tell
And yet, o my Ladies, though I should desire it,
I should not know how to tell you what I am
Bitter life has so afflicted me
And it is so injured
That every man seems to say to me, I abandon you
Seeing my fainting
But be it as it may, my Lady sees it
And I hope yet a reward from her
My pious canzone now go lamenting
And find the dames & the damsels
Unto whom thy sisters
Were wont to carry joy
And thou who art a daughter of sorrow
Go disconsolate & stand with them
Sad that Beatrice more beautiful than all
Is gone to the feet of the Lord
And has left love with me lamenting.
September 21, 2022
YouTube kanalımda İtalyan Edebiyatı'na başlangıç yapabileceğiniz kitap önerilerimden bahsettim: https://youtu.be/nTxrw0TosEg
İlahi Komedya'nın altyapısının anlaşılabilmesi için okunması gereken en önemli kitaplardan biri olan Yeni Hayat, Dante'nin biricik aşkı Beatrice için hissettiği dizelerden oluşuyor. Bunu Şükrü Erbaş'ın Hatice Erbaş için yazdığı Yaşıyoruz Sessizce kitabına, yine aynı şekilde Petrarca'nın da Laura için yazdığı Canzoniere kitabına benzetiyorum. Bu kitaplar bir kafede buluşup konuşsaydı çok kaliteli bir muhabbet olurdu...
İlahi Komedya'nın altyapısının anlaşılabilmesi için okunması gereken en önemli kitaplardan biri olan Yeni Hayat, Dante'nin biricik aşkı Beatrice için hissettiği dizelerden oluşuyor. Bunu Şükrü Erbaş'ın Hatice Erbaş için yazdığı Yaşıyoruz Sessizce kitabına, yine aynı şekilde Petrarca'nın da Laura için yazdığı Canzoniere kitabına benzetiyorum. Bu kitaplar bir kafede buluşup konuşsaydı çok kaliteli bir muhabbet olurdu...
March 17, 2024
Das scheint ja ein sehr innovatives Werk gewesen zu sein. Dante, der mit der Struktur und Form über die höfische Liebe hinaus in einen selbstreflexiven Rahmen übergehen konnte, um seiner Liebe Ausdruck zu verleihen.
Ich bin allerdings auf die Länge des Textes nicht all zu fine mit der Dimension der Spiritualität, die diese idealisierte Liebe auferlegt bekommt. Mir ist schon klar, dass er so die Inommunakbilität umgeht und über die Visionen und Träume von Eros, seiner Liebe eine transformative Kraft, bzw. einen angemessenen Rahmen gibt (der schicklich war).
Neben dem christlichen Konzept, Eros als Symbol aus der Mythologie zu integrieren ist schon ne coole Verflechtung der Traditionen und religiösen Entwicklungsgeschichte.
„Sie heißt liebe, weil sie so sehr mir gleicht“
Das ist ja so nen Satz, den man zunächst mit Stirnrunzeln aufnimmt, weil man weiß, die spricht kein Wort mit ihm. Der kennt die überhaupt nicht. Woher will der denn wissen, dass sie ihm gleicht?
Ja, und da komme ich nicht drumrum zu vermuten, dass es Dante hier um seine Beziehung zum Göttlichen geht. Es ist die Erfahrung der Liebe selbst, die er in Beatrice spiegelt. Der Mann ist halt fromm bis auf die Unterhose.
Für mich ein reines Vorbereitungsbuch auf Der Pole
Ich bin allerdings auf die Länge des Textes nicht all zu fine mit der Dimension der Spiritualität, die diese idealisierte Liebe auferlegt bekommt. Mir ist schon klar, dass er so die Inommunakbilität umgeht und über die Visionen und Träume von Eros, seiner Liebe eine transformative Kraft, bzw. einen angemessenen Rahmen gibt (der schicklich war).
Neben dem christlichen Konzept, Eros als Symbol aus der Mythologie zu integrieren ist schon ne coole Verflechtung der Traditionen und religiösen Entwicklungsgeschichte.
„Sie heißt liebe, weil sie so sehr mir gleicht“
Das ist ja so nen Satz, den man zunächst mit Stirnrunzeln aufnimmt, weil man weiß, die spricht kein Wort mit ihm. Der kennt die überhaupt nicht. Woher will der denn wissen, dass sie ihm gleicht?
Ja, und da komme ich nicht drumrum zu vermuten, dass es Dante hier um seine Beziehung zum Göttlichen geht. Es ist die Erfahrung der Liebe selbst, die er in Beatrice spiegelt. Der Mann ist halt fromm bis auf die Unterhose.
Für mich ein reines Vorbereitungsbuch auf Der Pole
December 19, 2022
GUÍA PARA CORAZONES ATORMENTADOS
Dante fue el primero que comenzó ha hablar como poeta vulgar porque deseaba hacer entender sus palabras a su dama, que al parecer le resultaba bastante difícil entender los versos latinos. Porque el amor es antes que cualquier cosa, anterior incluso a la tradición trovadoresca, a la lírica siciliana, a los grandes poetas latinos, al trobar clus… siguiendo esa máxima, Dante construye un texto revolucionario, mezcla de narrativa, poesía y metaliteratura: la Vida Nueva.
A partir de ahora, en las rimas de Dante encontramos una imagen femenina que se apodera de la mente, que la invade, y la palabra se sacraliza como culto religioso a la mujer. Esa mujer será Beatriz, en un texto que narra el enamoramiento del poeta, la pérdida de la amada y la preparación para una sacralización o santificación del personaje de Beatriz que llegará en el Paraíso de la Divina Comedia. En ese sentido, el libro no es más que una preparación, un adelanto del sistema, de la interpretación de la vida, del esquema de valores físico y psicológicos que Dante expondrá en la Comedia y cuyo cimiento es Beatriz.
Dante vio a Beatriz con nueve años –la numerología es fundamental en el libro- y ya no volvió a verla hasta nueve años después. Inmediatamente, se convierte en el ser más importante de su vida, porque al encontrarla de nuevo, y cruzar la mirada, cambió la historia de la literatura y también nuestros corazones.
La muerte de Beatriz, anunciada en un poema premonitorio que describe un sueño asaz inquietante –el tema mítico religioso del corazón devorado por amor-, convierte a Dante en un ascético, ya que su amor se ha desvinculado del objeto físico para convertirse en algo idealizado. En ese sentido, a nuevos sentimientos, a nuevo objeto sobre el que centrarse, nuevas estructuras, y prosas y versos.
Nuevos versos, sí, y tal circunstancia era conocida por Dante, sabedor del camino que estaba abriendo. Por eso, en uno de los aspectos más llamativos del libro, se detiene, tras cada poema, a comentar y explicar, incluso en la división por partes y en la materia que trata, su obra, introduciendo una función metaliteraria harto sorprendente que, por cierto, también se encontraba presente en las églogas pastoriles de Virgilio –si bien la referencia metaliteraria era aquí de otra manera-.
La Vida Nueva legitima la fusión entre poesía amorosa o erótica y la experiencia mística o religiosa y, en efecto, esa sublimación del ser querido recorrerá desde entonces toda la poesía hasta nuestros días, como si la persona amada se tratase de un nuevo Cristo redentor, sentando las bases de la conocida como “hipérbole sacro-profana”.
La Vida Nueva o, tal y cómo aparece en el texto, Incipit Vita Nova, es el significado que el amor produce en el amante, la revolución interior, pero va más allá en este caso, porque la vida de Dante ya no será igual después de la muerte de Beatriz. La novedad se balancea entre lo sagrado y lo profano y todo el libro es un intento de altarización o pedestalización de Beatriz –fallecida antes de la escritura del libro, que actúa como un libro de memorias-. Sin embargo, Dante necesita aún pulir estilo y temas, y abandona la Vida Nueva con la promesa de que escribirá de nuevo sobre Beatriz, “acerca de ella lo que nunca fue dicho acerca de ninguna”. Abre así una línea directa que entroncará con el gran poema a Beatriz, la Divina Comedia.
De entre las rimas que aparecen en el libro señalaré algunos poemas que me han gustado o llamado la atención por uno u otro aspecto. En este sentido “Puesto que llora Amor, llorad amantes”, el ejemplo de balada estilnovista, “Balada, quiero que busques a Amor” –el poema como mensajero de Dante en pos de encontrar a la amada y revelársele-, “A la mente me viene con frecuencia”, con los expresivos versos “un palpitar mi corazón sacude/que hace partir el alma de los pulsos”, o “Damas que sois en amor entendidas”, con la perla de la siguiente interrogación retórica: “¿Algo mortal/cómo puede ser tan hermoso y puro?”.
Beatriz, muriendo, asume el significado de un ente trascendente y divino, como Dante demuestra en la extensa composición “Por la piedad del corazón, los tristes”, con una tirada de versos que ponen de manifiesto la realidad mística y los motivos del tránsito de Beatriz: “Beatriz al alto cielo se ha marchado,/al reino en el que tienen paz los ángeles,/y con ellos está, y os ha dejado:/no nos la arrebataron los calores,/ni los hielos como hace con las otras,/más sólo fue su gran benignidad;/porque de su humildad pasó a los cielos/el resplandor con tanto poderío,/que al eterno Señor asombrar hizo,/tal que un dulce deseo/lo alcanzó de llamar perfección tanta;/y la hizo venir a sí de acá,/porque veía que esta odiosa vida/de tan preciada cosa no era digna”.
Beatriz es llamada a los cielos por el propio Dios porque no era digna de una vida terrena repleta de inmundicias. El camino para la Divina Comedia acababa de abrirse. Para fortuna nuestra.
Dante estremece, inquieta y perturba, penetra en la cabeza como un luminoso gota a gota. Un texto muy necesario para quienes atravesamos momentos tan duros y tan dificultosos.
Dante fue el primero que comenzó ha hablar como poeta vulgar porque deseaba hacer entender sus palabras a su dama, que al parecer le resultaba bastante difícil entender los versos latinos. Porque el amor es antes que cualquier cosa, anterior incluso a la tradición trovadoresca, a la lírica siciliana, a los grandes poetas latinos, al trobar clus… siguiendo esa máxima, Dante construye un texto revolucionario, mezcla de narrativa, poesía y metaliteratura: la Vida Nueva.
A partir de ahora, en las rimas de Dante encontramos una imagen femenina que se apodera de la mente, que la invade, y la palabra se sacraliza como culto religioso a la mujer. Esa mujer será Beatriz, en un texto que narra el enamoramiento del poeta, la pérdida de la amada y la preparación para una sacralización o santificación del personaje de Beatriz que llegará en el Paraíso de la Divina Comedia. En ese sentido, el libro no es más que una preparación, un adelanto del sistema, de la interpretación de la vida, del esquema de valores físico y psicológicos que Dante expondrá en la Comedia y cuyo cimiento es Beatriz.
Dante vio a Beatriz con nueve años –la numerología es fundamental en el libro- y ya no volvió a verla hasta nueve años después. Inmediatamente, se convierte en el ser más importante de su vida, porque al encontrarla de nuevo, y cruzar la mirada, cambió la historia de la literatura y también nuestros corazones.
La muerte de Beatriz, anunciada en un poema premonitorio que describe un sueño asaz inquietante –el tema mítico religioso del corazón devorado por amor-, convierte a Dante en un ascético, ya que su amor se ha desvinculado del objeto físico para convertirse en algo idealizado. En ese sentido, a nuevos sentimientos, a nuevo objeto sobre el que centrarse, nuevas estructuras, y prosas y versos.
Nuevos versos, sí, y tal circunstancia era conocida por Dante, sabedor del camino que estaba abriendo. Por eso, en uno de los aspectos más llamativos del libro, se detiene, tras cada poema, a comentar y explicar, incluso en la división por partes y en la materia que trata, su obra, introduciendo una función metaliteraria harto sorprendente que, por cierto, también se encontraba presente en las églogas pastoriles de Virgilio –si bien la referencia metaliteraria era aquí de otra manera-.
La Vida Nueva legitima la fusión entre poesía amorosa o erótica y la experiencia mística o religiosa y, en efecto, esa sublimación del ser querido recorrerá desde entonces toda la poesía hasta nuestros días, como si la persona amada se tratase de un nuevo Cristo redentor, sentando las bases de la conocida como “hipérbole sacro-profana”.
La Vida Nueva o, tal y cómo aparece en el texto, Incipit Vita Nova, es el significado que el amor produce en el amante, la revolución interior, pero va más allá en este caso, porque la vida de Dante ya no será igual después de la muerte de Beatriz. La novedad se balancea entre lo sagrado y lo profano y todo el libro es un intento de altarización o pedestalización de Beatriz –fallecida antes de la escritura del libro, que actúa como un libro de memorias-. Sin embargo, Dante necesita aún pulir estilo y temas, y abandona la Vida Nueva con la promesa de que escribirá de nuevo sobre Beatriz, “acerca de ella lo que nunca fue dicho acerca de ninguna”. Abre así una línea directa que entroncará con el gran poema a Beatriz, la Divina Comedia.
De entre las rimas que aparecen en el libro señalaré algunos poemas que me han gustado o llamado la atención por uno u otro aspecto. En este sentido “Puesto que llora Amor, llorad amantes”, el ejemplo de balada estilnovista, “Balada, quiero que busques a Amor” –el poema como mensajero de Dante en pos de encontrar a la amada y revelársele-, “A la mente me viene con frecuencia”, con los expresivos versos “un palpitar mi corazón sacude/que hace partir el alma de los pulsos”, o “Damas que sois en amor entendidas”, con la perla de la siguiente interrogación retórica: “¿Algo mortal/cómo puede ser tan hermoso y puro?”.
Beatriz, muriendo, asume el significado de un ente trascendente y divino, como Dante demuestra en la extensa composición “Por la piedad del corazón, los tristes”, con una tirada de versos que ponen de manifiesto la realidad mística y los motivos del tránsito de Beatriz: “Beatriz al alto cielo se ha marchado,/al reino en el que tienen paz los ángeles,/y con ellos está, y os ha dejado:/no nos la arrebataron los calores,/ni los hielos como hace con las otras,/más sólo fue su gran benignidad;/porque de su humildad pasó a los cielos/el resplandor con tanto poderío,/que al eterno Señor asombrar hizo,/tal que un dulce deseo/lo alcanzó de llamar perfección tanta;/y la hizo venir a sí de acá,/porque veía que esta odiosa vida/de tan preciada cosa no era digna”.
Beatriz es llamada a los cielos por el propio Dios porque no era digna de una vida terrena repleta de inmundicias. El camino para la Divina Comedia acababa de abrirse. Para fortuna nuestra.
Dante estremece, inquieta y perturba, penetra en la cabeza como un luminoso gota a gota. Un texto muy necesario para quienes atravesamos momentos tan duros y tan dificultosos.
June 15, 2018
Who knew a 13th century Italian poet could be so relatable
February 22, 2021
Que pequeno livrinho, tão belo e interessante! Nele, Dante conta-nos a história do seu amor por Beatriz (sim, essa mesmo! a Beatriz da Divina Comédia!!!). A história de um amor tão nobre quanto trágico e que teve início quando Dante tinha...nove anos!
Que curioso foi acompanhar a vida de Dante, este notável poeta e cavaleiro do século XIII/XIV. Foi uma sensação inexplicável e diferente ouvir esta voz de há tantos séculos atrás contar-me a sua vida, desde os seus aspectos mais públicos, onde ele se encontrava com amigos ou vislumbrava a sua dama, aos mais íntimos, dos seus sonhos, emoções e angústias mais profundas.
O livro é dividido em capítulos compostos por prosa e por verso. A maioria dos capítulos tem a seguinte estrutura: começa por um trecho de prosa, onde Dante narra a sua vida; segue-se um trecho poético inspirado normalmente pelos acontecimentos autobiográficos que acabaram de ser narrados; e por fim um último trecho em prosa em que Dante nos explica o conteúdo dos seus versos. Esta estrutura híbrida, de prosa e poesia é muito interessante e faz com que entendamos os poemas na sua plenitude. Contudo, para mim, a explicação do conteúdo dos versos no final dos capítulos, apesar de preciosa, cortou-me um pouco o prazer da leitura, por prejudicar a fluidez da história em si mesma. Para mim essas explicações funcionaram como um balde de água fria jogado sobre as acesas emoções que acabavam de ser expostas.
Este amor de Dante por Beatriz, ou melhor de Dante pela sua idealização de Beatriz, é algo tão fora do nosso tempo, tão diferente, que talvez tenha sido por isso mesmo, tão impressionante para mim. Não é que o tema do amor cortês, esse amor puro e platónico de um cavaleiro pela sua dama, seja um tema novo para mim, mas até agora havia-me surgido sempre enquanto ficção e nunca neste registo autobiográfico.
A verdade é que Dante conseguiu enlevar-me com a sua história exagerada e exasperada, mistica e supersticiosa, mágica, religiosa e profundamente trágica, mas que consegue cristalizar no tempo este amor idealizado, tão puro, nobre e sublime, quase transcendente.
Entendo melhor também depois desta leitura, a presença de Beatriz no Inferno de Dante, única parte da Divina Comédia que li até ao momento A Divina Comédia - O Inferno. Tenho na estante a obra completa (Inferno,Purgatório e Paraíso) Divina Comédia, mas estou a aguardar para ver se encontro uma outra edição, pois preferia ler numa edição em português de Portugal.
Cheguei à leitura do Vida Nova de Dante Alighieri "por causa" dos seguintes livros:
A vida era assim em Middlemarch - onde Vida Nova foi referido
O Retrato de Dorian Gray, Contos Exemplares, Fahrenheit 451, Frankenstein e O Vira-Pautas - onde Dante foi mencionado
The Collector - onde o amor de Dante por Beatriz foi referido nesta passagem: The only unusual thing about him - how he loves me. Ordinary New People couldn´t love anything as he loves me. That is blindly. Absolutely. Like Dante and Beatrice."
Mau Tempo no Canal -Vita Nuova foi directamente identificado nesta passagem: "O dr. Luis da Rosa oferecera-lhe uma velha edição da Vita Nuova, com um comentário decifrado a poder de dicionário nas férias do seu segundo ano de Coimbra. Como Dante em Beatriz, ele reparara em Margarida pela primeira vez na missa, nas Angústias, tinha ela uns quinze anos. No Dante eram nove, mas o número simbólico era três: nove e três doze, e três quinze..."
Com este livro Dante também me deixou referências para leituras futuras (os três mencionados na página 62 desta edição):
Eneida - já anteriormente referido como não podia deixar de ser e também já na minha estante, será uma das minhas próximas leituras.
Arte Poética - que também já fazia parte da minha tbr
Remédios Contra o Amor - livro que ainda não fazia parte das minhas intenções de leitura.
Que curioso foi acompanhar a vida de Dante, este notável poeta e cavaleiro do século XIII/XIV. Foi uma sensação inexplicável e diferente ouvir esta voz de há tantos séculos atrás contar-me a sua vida, desde os seus aspectos mais públicos, onde ele se encontrava com amigos ou vislumbrava a sua dama, aos mais íntimos, dos seus sonhos, emoções e angústias mais profundas.
O livro é dividido em capítulos compostos por prosa e por verso. A maioria dos capítulos tem a seguinte estrutura: começa por um trecho de prosa, onde Dante narra a sua vida; segue-se um trecho poético inspirado normalmente pelos acontecimentos autobiográficos que acabaram de ser narrados; e por fim um último trecho em prosa em que Dante nos explica o conteúdo dos seus versos. Esta estrutura híbrida, de prosa e poesia é muito interessante e faz com que entendamos os poemas na sua plenitude. Contudo, para mim, a explicação do conteúdo dos versos no final dos capítulos, apesar de preciosa, cortou-me um pouco o prazer da leitura, por prejudicar a fluidez da história em si mesma. Para mim essas explicações funcionaram como um balde de água fria jogado sobre as acesas emoções que acabavam de ser expostas.
Este amor de Dante por Beatriz, ou melhor de Dante pela sua idealização de Beatriz, é algo tão fora do nosso tempo, tão diferente, que talvez tenha sido por isso mesmo, tão impressionante para mim. Não é que o tema do amor cortês, esse amor puro e platónico de um cavaleiro pela sua dama, seja um tema novo para mim, mas até agora havia-me surgido sempre enquanto ficção e nunca neste registo autobiográfico.
A verdade é que Dante conseguiu enlevar-me com a sua história exagerada e exasperada, mistica e supersticiosa, mágica, religiosa e profundamente trágica, mas que consegue cristalizar no tempo este amor idealizado, tão puro, nobre e sublime, quase transcendente.
Entendo melhor também depois desta leitura, a presença de Beatriz no Inferno de Dante, única parte da Divina Comédia que li até ao momento A Divina Comédia - O Inferno. Tenho na estante a obra completa (Inferno,Purgatório e Paraíso) Divina Comédia, mas estou a aguardar para ver se encontro uma outra edição, pois preferia ler numa edição em português de Portugal.
Cheguei à leitura do Vida Nova de Dante Alighieri "por causa" dos seguintes livros:
A vida era assim em Middlemarch - onde Vida Nova foi referido
O Retrato de Dorian Gray, Contos Exemplares, Fahrenheit 451, Frankenstein e O Vira-Pautas - onde Dante foi mencionado
The Collector - onde o amor de Dante por Beatriz foi referido nesta passagem: The only unusual thing about him - how he loves me. Ordinary New People couldn´t love anything as he loves me. That is blindly. Absolutely. Like Dante and Beatrice."
Mau Tempo no Canal -Vita Nuova foi directamente identificado nesta passagem: "O dr. Luis da Rosa oferecera-lhe uma velha edição da Vita Nuova, com um comentário decifrado a poder de dicionário nas férias do seu segundo ano de Coimbra. Como Dante em Beatriz, ele reparara em Margarida pela primeira vez na missa, nas Angústias, tinha ela uns quinze anos. No Dante eram nove, mas o número simbólico era três: nove e três doze, e três quinze..."
Com este livro Dante também me deixou referências para leituras futuras (os três mencionados na página 62 desta edição):
Eneida - já anteriormente referido como não podia deixar de ser e também já na minha estante, será uma das minhas próximas leituras.
Arte Poética - que também já fazia parte da minha tbr
Remédios Contra o Amor - livro que ainda não fazia parte das minhas intenções de leitura.
May 16, 2021
I'm not saying he was very silly, but one of us was very silly, and it wasn't me.
March 1, 2021
Aizpildīju robu klasiskajā izglītībā, lai gan droši vien šie soneti kaut kad jaunībā ir lasīti. Ko lai saka - labai dzejai neko ļaunu nenodarīs pat laiks. Ikviens mīlas pārpilns jauns cilvēks te varētu atrast, ko iedvesmoties un izsamist. Vai norakstīt priekš vēstulēm.
August 9, 2022
„Vita Nova“ odiše potpuno drugačijom atmosferom nego Komedija, i drugačija joj je namena, a opet je potonja u prvoj nagoveštena. U „Komediji“, bez obzira na njenu kompleksnost, fanatično uživam u svakom pevanju, sa svakim ponovnim čitanjem i primećujem i otkrivam nove stvari. Prosimetrum mi nije toliko bliska forma, jer sam poprilično neosvešćen za sonetičnu poeziju, ali budući da je sadržaj i način na koji ga je Dante doneo u „Vita Nova“ poprilično značajan kao autobiografski, potrudio sam se da pronađem sve prevode od 1965. kada je prvi put prevedena, pa do poslednjeg, 2006. Taj prvi, hrvatski prevod Gjorgja Ivankovića na ovim prostorima, za moj ukus je poprilično suv. Prevod Tonka Maroevića i Mirka Tomasovića, takođe hrvatski, u okviru Danteovih sabranih dela (Dante Djela 1) mi je poetičniji i milozvučniji, dok mi je ovaj poslednji, blaženopočivšeg našeg danteologa Kolje Mićevića negde između prva dva – s tom razlikom što je Mićević, budući da je i „Komediju“ prvi put kod nas preveo u skoro identičnoj metrici kao original, svoj prevod obogatio svežim komentarima i objašnjenima u fusnotama, kojih u prethodnim prevodima nije bilo u takvom kvalitetu. Sonete i prozu u „Vita Nova“, Dante je pisao i sakupljao otprilike jednu deceniju, tako da je delo objavljeno kad mu je bilo 27 godina (1292. godine). Kao i „Komedija“, pisano je na pučkom, ergo narodnom jeziku što je za to vreme bilo poprilično neobično, da se neko usudi da umesto na latinskom, piše govornim dijalektom. Metafora i alegorija je i u ovoj zbirci na pretek, kao i u „Komediji“, ali to je i tipično za bilo koje srednjovekovno delo. Beatriče (jedan od hrvatskih prevoda transkribuje njeno ime u Blaženka, a drugi daje objašnjenje o značenju imena) je upoznao kad mu je bilo devet godina i prošlo je još toliko dok nisu ostvarili neki zapaženiji kontakt. Poetične su njegove ljubavne patnje i emotivno sazrevanje koje iznosi u svojim sonetima, a više nego interesantne njegove metaforične poveznice sa Amorom, kojeg pušta da mu bude gospodar i da ga vodi zaslepljenog kroz maštanja o Beatriče. Nema mnogo detalja o njihovoj interakciji (niti bih to očekivao u ovakvom delu), ali je svaki emotivni naboj hiperbolisan višestruko. Smrt Beatričinog oca i njene družbenice, a nakon toga njegovo snoviđenje i predskazanje njene smrti posebno jak su deo zbirke. Kao i mala filozofska rasprava o jeziku na kome treba da se književnost stvara. Takođe, specifičan je i način na koji Dante žali Beatriče (slikajući anđeoska lica u pesku) i stepen uzvišenosti njegove ljubavi koju prema njoj oseća, čak i kada, pred kraj zbirke, upoznaje svoju buduću suprugu koja će mu podariti tri sina. Poslednji segment zbirke jeste Danteov oproštajni zavet u kome predskazuje rađanje njegovog najuzvišenijeg dela – „Komedije“, koju će početi da piše par godina kasnije:
„I tako, ako bude volja onoga po kojemu sve stvari žive da moj život potraje još nekoliko godina, nadam se da ću o njoj kazati što nikad ni o jednoj drugoj ženi nije bilo rečeno. A onda, neka po milosti onoga što je gospodar plemenitosti moja duša otiđe da vidi slavu svoje gospe, to jest one blagoslovljene Beatrice, koja u slavi gleda lice onoga qui est per omnia secula benedictus“ (prevod Gjorgja Ivanovića, 1965.).
„... tako da se nadam, ako se svidi onomu od kojega sve stvari proistječu, da mi život potraje još nekoliko godina, da ću reći o njoj što nikada ni o jednoj nije bilo izrečeno. Neka mi, zatim, podade onaj što je kralj milosti da se moja duša preseli gledati slavu svoje gospoje, to jest blagoslovljene Beatrice, koja u vječnoj slavi gleda lice onoga qui est per omnia secula benedictus“ (prevod Tonka Maroevića i Mirka Tomasovića, 1976.).
„I tako, ukoliko to bude hteo Onaj po kome žive sve stvari, da moj život potraje još koje leto, nadam se reći o njoj ono što nije rečeno o nijednoj drugoj. A nakon toga, ako takva bude volja Onoga koji je gospodar sve čestitosti, neka se moja duša vine da posmatra slavu svoje gospe, što znači te blažene Beatriče, koja u velikoj slavi posmatra lik Onoga qui est per omnia secula benedictus“ (prevod Kolje Mićevića, 2006.).
„I tako, ako bude volja onoga po kojemu sve stvari žive da moj život potraje još nekoliko godina, nadam se da ću o njoj kazati što nikad ni o jednoj drugoj ženi nije bilo rečeno. A onda, neka po milosti onoga što je gospodar plemenitosti moja duša otiđe da vidi slavu svoje gospe, to jest one blagoslovljene Beatrice, koja u slavi gleda lice onoga qui est per omnia secula benedictus“ (prevod Gjorgja Ivanovića, 1965.).
„... tako da se nadam, ako se svidi onomu od kojega sve stvari proistječu, da mi život potraje još nekoliko godina, da ću reći o njoj što nikada ni o jednoj nije bilo izrečeno. Neka mi, zatim, podade onaj što je kralj milosti da se moja duša preseli gledati slavu svoje gospoje, to jest blagoslovljene Beatrice, koja u vječnoj slavi gleda lice onoga qui est per omnia secula benedictus“ (prevod Tonka Maroevića i Mirka Tomasovića, 1976.).
„I tako, ukoliko to bude hteo Onaj po kome žive sve stvari, da moj život potraje još koje leto, nadam se reći o njoj ono što nije rečeno o nijednoj drugoj. A nakon toga, ako takva bude volja Onoga koji je gospodar sve čestitosti, neka se moja duša vine da posmatra slavu svoje gospe, što znači te blažene Beatriče, koja u velikoj slavi posmatra lik Onoga qui est per omnia secula benedictus“ (prevod Kolje Mićevića, 2006.).
January 12, 2011
True love is theological. This is the conclusion one reaches while reading this early work of the writer of the Divine Comedy. Dante Alighieri wrote La Vita Nuova at the age of twenty-six, shortly after the death of his beloved Beatrice.
On the surface this book is simply a collection of love poetry, displaying all the conventions of courtly love. Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Boy is too overcome with a sense of his own unworthiness to ever speak to girl. Girl dies. The end. However, below the surface, this book is a profound reflection on the nature of love and of how human love can lead us to Divine Love. Indeed, Dante becomes a servant of Divine Love throughout the book as he meditates on Beatrice and mourns for Beatrice. In the quality of perfection which she possesses, a quality that is actually a result of Dante’s love for her, Dante sees an image of salvation itself and gives himself wholeheartedly to it. When, in one poem, Dante writes that the inhabitants of heaven plead for God to call Beatrice to join them, God responds:
My well-beloved, suffer that in peace
Your hope remain, while so My pleasure is,
There where one dwells who dreads the loss of her;
And who in Hell unto the doom’d shall say,
‘I have look’d on that for which God’s chosen pray.’
The Church at the time clearly had some problems with this imagery, and tried to censor Dante’s book by removing from it all the theological language. Gone were the references to salvation and benediction from Beatrice. Gone were the overtones of Dante’s encounter with Beatrice and her friend Joan, wherein Dante saw Joan as John the Baptist, the forerunner, and Beatrice as the Mother of Love. Either Dante did not experience these things, in which case he was an over-amorous young man writing blasphemies, or he did experience an unusual mystical vision which should not be tainted by connection with a mere human. However, Charles Williams, scholar and friend of C. S. Lewis, maintains that Dante’s experience was real and not at all unusual. It was the experience of love that all young men encounter when they meet that one girl for the first time. It is the experience of courtship, the thrill of passion, the agony of waiting to hear from the beloved again. Dante truly saw that human love is an image of Divine Love, and that through faithfulness in love, we may progress to faithfulness to Love. This is all fleshed out more fully in the Divine Comedy, where the love of Beatrice very literally leads Dante to heaven.
For those interested in Dante or in the Divine Comedy, I wholeheartedly recommend a study of La Vita Nuova.
On the surface this book is simply a collection of love poetry, displaying all the conventions of courtly love. Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Boy is too overcome with a sense of his own unworthiness to ever speak to girl. Girl dies. The end. However, below the surface, this book is a profound reflection on the nature of love and of how human love can lead us to Divine Love. Indeed, Dante becomes a servant of Divine Love throughout the book as he meditates on Beatrice and mourns for Beatrice. In the quality of perfection which she possesses, a quality that is actually a result of Dante’s love for her, Dante sees an image of salvation itself and gives himself wholeheartedly to it. When, in one poem, Dante writes that the inhabitants of heaven plead for God to call Beatrice to join them, God responds:
My well-beloved, suffer that in peace
Your hope remain, while so My pleasure is,
There where one dwells who dreads the loss of her;
And who in Hell unto the doom’d shall say,
‘I have look’d on that for which God’s chosen pray.’
The Church at the time clearly had some problems with this imagery, and tried to censor Dante’s book by removing from it all the theological language. Gone were the references to salvation and benediction from Beatrice. Gone were the overtones of Dante’s encounter with Beatrice and her friend Joan, wherein Dante saw Joan as John the Baptist, the forerunner, and Beatrice as the Mother of Love. Either Dante did not experience these things, in which case he was an over-amorous young man writing blasphemies, or he did experience an unusual mystical vision which should not be tainted by connection with a mere human. However, Charles Williams, scholar and friend of C. S. Lewis, maintains that Dante’s experience was real and not at all unusual. It was the experience of love that all young men encounter when they meet that one girl for the first time. It is the experience of courtship, the thrill of passion, the agony of waiting to hear from the beloved again. Dante truly saw that human love is an image of Divine Love, and that through faithfulness in love, we may progress to faithfulness to Love. This is all fleshed out more fully in the Divine Comedy, where the love of Beatrice very literally leads Dante to heaven.
For those interested in Dante or in the Divine Comedy, I wholeheartedly recommend a study of La Vita Nuova.
March 6, 2018
Most won't agree but I consider La Vita Nuova Dante's greatest work. The combination of poetry and prose comes as a welcome suprise and it helps us to better understand what Dante went through and what events inspired him. The biggest obstacle between La Vita Nuova and its readers is the way Dante analyses each poem afterward, explaining their parts and themes. I am not a fan of that either, it takes away some of the intimacy we can see and feel throughout the book. But it is a book for poets by a poet, so I can forgive that quite easily. And if we take that away, what remains is raw, pure, profound and very human story of a poor soul that will never get the only thing it longs for. We see the way he changes and his love changes. We witness his joy, his guilt, his grief and his seeking of the divine, giving us a new appreciation for Dante's journey in Divina Comedia where he is reunited with Beatrice and she leads him to their Lord.
It isn't perfect, after all it's Dante's first work and we can see him trying out different styles. However, it is exactly what it needs to be, what Dante needed it to be.
"Knowest thou not, thy most excellent lady hath quitted this mortal sphere?"
It isn't perfect, after all it's Dante's first work and we can see him trying out different styles. However, it is exactly what it needs to be, what Dante needed it to be.
"Knowest thou not, thy most excellent lady hath quitted this mortal sphere?"
June 5, 2007
This short little work is well worth reading if you want to know more about the origins of Dante's love affair with Beatrice - or, more accurately, if you want to read about the edited representation of the origins of his love which Dante presents. In many ways, this is my least favourite of Dante's works. Although to his contemporaries, Dante's inclusion of commentary upon the poems was revolutionary, to modern eyes, they appear rather trite and self-evident ("The first section of the poem appears on this line... the second section of the poem appears on this line"). As well as that, I am much less able to sympathise or empathise with Dante's love for Beatrice in this work. Dante's feelings for her seem even more obsessive in this work than in the Commedia. Frankly, by the end of it, I'm kind of urging Beatrice to get the medieval version of a restraining order - and that's not really the reaction you're supposed to get from what is supposedly one of the greatest collections of love poetry of all times.
October 5, 2020
ℂ𝔢𝔣𝔞 𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔞 𝔟𝔦𝔯 𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔫 𝔞𝔥 𝔟𝔞𝔥𝔰̡𝔢𝔡𝔢𝔯,
ℤ𝔦𝔥𝔫𝔦𝔪𝔦𝔫 𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔫 ⲕ𝔲𝑦𝔲𝔰𝔲 𝔟𝔲 𝔟𝔞𝔥𝔱𝔰⍳𝑧𝔞
𝕂𝔞𝔩𝔟𝔦𝔫𝔦 ⲕ⍳𝔯𝔞𝔫 𝔬 ⲕ𝔞𝔡⍳𝔫⍳ 𝔥𝔞𝔱⍳𝔯𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔱⍳𝔤̀⍳𝔫𝔡𝔞.
ℕ𝔢 𝑧𝔞𝔪𝔞𝔫 ⲕ𝔦 𝔡𝔲𝔯𝔲𝔭 𝔬̋𝔩𝔲̋𝔪𝔲̋ 𝔡𝔲̋𝔰̡𝔲̋𝔫𝔲̋𝔯𝔲̋𝔪,
𝕚𝔠̧𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔫 𝔟𝔦𝔯 𝔫𝔢𝑧𝔦𝔥 𝔞𝔯𝑧𝔲 𝔡𝔬𝔩𝔲𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔯,
𝕍𝔢 𝔠̧𝔢𝔥𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔫 𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔦 𝔡𝔞𝔥𝔦 𝔡𝔢𝔤̀𝔦𝔰̡𝔱𝔦𝔯𝔦𝔯.
𝔹𝔲 𝔡𝔲̋𝔰̡𝔲̋𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝑧𝔦𝔥𝔫𝔦𝔪𝔡𝔢 𝑦𝔢𝔯 𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔢,
𝔸𝔤̀𝔯⍳𝔩𝔞𝔯 𝔰𝔞𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔫⍳𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔦𝔯 𝑦𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔢,
𝔹𝔦𝔯 𝔞𝔠⍳ 𝔤𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔯 𝔡𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔲̋𝔪 𝔟𝔢𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔦𝔪𝔦,
𝕍𝔢 𝔬 𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔞 𝔬̋𝑦𝔩𝔢 𝔟𝔦𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔢 𝔰𝔬ⲕ𝔞𝔯 ⲕ𝔦,
𝔸𝔫𝔠𝔞ⲕ 𝔲𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔠̧ 𝔡𝔦𝔤̀𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝑦⍳𝔯⍳𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔫𝔦.
𝔸𝔤̀𝔩𝔞𝔡⍳𝔤̀⍳𝔪𝔡𝔞 ⲕ𝔢𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔩𝔢 𝑦𝔞𝔩𝔫⍳𝑧ⲕ𝔢𝔫,
🙶𝕊𝔬̋𝑦𝔩𝔢, 𝔰𝔢𝔫 𝔪𝔦𝔰𝔦𝔫 𝔤𝔢𝔯𝔠̧𝔢ⲕ𝔱𝔢𝔫 𝔬̋𝔩𝔢𝔫‽🙷
𝔻𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔪 𝔅𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔢’𝑦𝔢, 𝔟𝔦𝔯 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔠̧𝔞 𝔥𝔲𝑧𝔲𝔯 𝔦𝔠̧𝔦𝔫.
Sayın okuyucular, yoldaşlarım, ey cemaat-i goodreads, çevirmen takdimi beni ağlattı.
Anlatıcam...
Fatihcim Demirci diyor ki “Metnin Türkçe’ye çevrilmesi süreci (için) …bahsetmem gereken birkaç husus vardır: Evvela, kitapta İtalyanca olan her şeyi Türkçeye çevirdim ve Latince olan her şeyi olduğu gibi bırakarak kitabın sonundaki notlarda izah ettim. Aynı şekilde metinde tekrar eden veya birbirinden ayrışan ifadeleri yazarın tercihlerine göre gruplandırdım ve cümlelerin mevcut halinin yazarın meramını daha iyi naklettiğini düşündüğüm için cümleleri bölmeye veya birleştirmeye girişmedim, mümkün olduğu kadar cümle cümle çevirmeye çalıştım. Bu yüzden cümlelerin sıralanışında ve bazen de bazı sözlerin yinelenişinde tuhaflık görenler olabilir, bunlar yazarın tercihi olduğu için aynı şekilde aktarmayı tercih ettim. …metinde sıkça görülecek olan eski kelimeler ve günümüzde yalnızca kitaplarda bulunabilecek bağlaçlar metnin yazıldığı zaman da (13. yüzyıl) göz önünde bulundurularak verdiği veya vermeye çalıştığını zannettiğim manayı verebilmek için kullanılmıştır… …özgün metindeki mensur kısımlar tek paragraf halindeydi, ben okumayı kolaylaştırmak için paragraflara böldüm.
Eserdeki manzum kısımlar ise, …şiir çevirisinin ne kadar sağlıklı olacağı sorununun bir diğer kurbanı olacaktır. …Bu yüzden, sonelerde de, baladlarda da hece ölçüsü ve kâfiye ölçüsüne sadık kalmak imkânsız olduğu için, tek keyfi müdahalemi noktalama işaretleriyle oynamakla sınırlı tutarak kitaptaki şiirleri pek basit kafiyelerle ve mısra uzunluğunu koruyacak şekilde de olsa tercüme etmeye cüret ettim."
Bir de kitabın ilk çeviri olan Işık Saatçıoğlu’nun çevirisinde kimsenin kullanmadığı kelimeleri kullanmadığını söylüyor, da, kesp etmek, tecessüm, cünum, mugayir, tezyif, müsekkin, iğva gibi kelimeleri kullanmış kendisi; sanırım yukarıda bahsettiği sebepten ötürü, yazıldığı dönemi yansıtabilmesi için.
Bilen bilir, mesela Plath’ın Ariel'inde, ya da Yesenin'in Sönüyor Al Kanatları Günbatımının'da neler çektim, neler söyledim. Sonuçta ben gibi düşünen bir çevirmen duymak, bunları duymak… Ağlıyorum ulan.
Tabii bu tercih, özellikle soneleri/baladları/şarkıları biraz yavan, basit ve sıkıcı yapmış sanki (ᴀꜱʟᴀ ᴍᴇᴍɴᴜᴍ ᴏʟᴍᴜʏᴏʀᴜᴍ ᴏʟᴀᴍɪʏᴏʀᴜᴍ ᴀꜱʟᴀ) ama bence bunun suçu sadece çevirideki tercih değil, Dante’ye de bok atıyorum çünkü ben süperim.
Bu kitap, Dante’nin Beatrice’ye yazdığı soneleri toplayıp kitaplaştırdığı haliymiş. Sadece soneler/baladlar/şarkılar yok; Dante başta, yazdığı metnin hikayesini veriyor, daha sonra da metninin açıklamasını.
Enteresan bence.
Sonuçta, Dante & Beatrice aşk��nı Dante penceresinden görebiliyoruz.
Geri planını anlattığı metinlerdeki referanslar, mecazlar ve imgelerden çok daha zevk aldım. Ben seviyorum dini şeylerin edebiyata karıştırılmasını. Sonuçta ‘𝕛𝕖𝕤𝕦𝕤 𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤’ diyoruz.
Balla kesiyorum pekmez gibi yorumumu, ben hep ‘ulan bunlar niye kavuşamamış?’ derim. Kitabı okuyunca da aynı şeyi sorgulamaya devam ettim. Bu konuya bir forum kullanıcısı şahane bir yorum getirmiş, demiş ki “Dante de Beatrice de başkalarıyla sözlülerdi, o dönemin toplum ve siyasi yapısının birlikteliğe bakışı vb. sebebiyle Beatrice evlilik değil aşktı; görev değil ilhamdı. Bu yüzden de onu idealize etti” diyor. Ki zaten Dante’nin ‘Dolce Stil Novo’ akımının en iyi temsilcisi oluşu da bu yüzden. Bu akım, ‘Tatlı Yeni Üslup’ der ki aşk soylu ruhta var olabilir, ve insanı en üst düzeye taşıyan güçtür; kadın ise tanrıya giden köpr��, ve bir melek figürüdür (wiki :))).
- Gustave Doré'nin İlahi Komedya için yaptığı gravür çalışmalarından 'Mars', 1861–1868
Zaten Dante’nin Bölüm XXV’de (s.79) söylediklerine bakılırsa –avam şairler ile şuara¹– ve her ne kadar dediğinden bir şey anlamasam da sanıyorum basitime kaçan bu soneler/baladlar o yüzyıl için oldukça taşaklı şiirler; bir de akımın temsilcisi olduğunu düşünürsek. Ama benim 13. yy edebiyatı hakkında dahi fikrim olmadığı için bir şey diyememekteyim.
Kitabın başlarında 9 rakamı ile bir münasebetimizin olduğunu sezmiştim, çünkü Dante sezdirmişti ve not almıştım. Bunu açıkladığı Bölüm XXIX (s.91) resmen kalbimi okşayarak parçaladı. Çünkü dokuz rakamı benim ikinci rakamımdır. Ki şuraya da bağlamak için diyorum, bu açıklaması Dante’nin, gerçekten de aşkını yalnızca cismani değil ruhani boyutta da, hatta daha çok ruhani boyutta varlığına işlediğini gösteriyor (bilmiyorum tabii o yy.da meşk olayları nasıl yazılıyordu, bağışlayın).
Bu arada, yapılagelmiş Dante & Beatrice resimleri serpiştirilmiş aralara, kitabın sonunda sonelerin İtalyancaları var. Bi’ kez dönüp bakmadım :( çünkü :( italyanca :( bilmiyom :(
dante biraz da basiretsiz olabilir mi acaba? ya da edebiyat olsun diye tumblr boy tripleri fln...
xoxoxo
iko
1. Dante'nin avam şairlerden ayırdığı şair tayfasını fatihcim 'şairler' diye çeviriyor, yani 'şairler' ve 'avam şairler' karşılaştırması oluyor, ama pasajın devamında şuara kelimesini de kullanmış sevgili fatihcim, o yüzden size aktarırken ben şuarayı münasip gördüm, çünkü ben süperim, öyle ki şuara kelimesini yetmişüçüncü öğrenişim.
March 8, 2017
In a nutshell:
I didn't love Dante that much when I read his Divine Comedy months ago. I didn't see him as great and inspiring as other people see him! Now, with this short book about his one and only love: Beatrice, I enjoyed it a little bit. But I don't think it's as good as I expected - or hoped!
It was a good read. Just good. Not THAT good!
In a nutshell:
I didn't love Dante that much when I read his Divine Comedy months ago. I didn't see him as great and inspiring as other people see him! Now, with this short book about his one and only love: Beatrice, I enjoyed it a little bit. But I don't think it's as good as I expected - or hoped!
It was a good read. Just good. Not THAT good!
April 13, 2021
13. yy’da yazılmış bu “deneysel” eseri okumak bana zevk vermedi açıkçası. Dante’yi takdir ediyorum etmesine ama sonelere eşlik eden düzyazı, kitapla arama mesafe koyuyormuş gibi hissettim.
January 18, 2021
Chi è poeta? Chi va seguendo un solco già tracciato o chi osa scartare di lato trovando una nuova via? Come esprime la sua sensibilità il poeta? Attingendo dal mero dato biografico, dal colmo delle sue impressioni o rinnovando le stesse per superare se stesso, la propria finitudine, il proprio ego? Come si realizza infine la sua sicurezza espressiva? Sigillando il ricordo, elaborandolo o facendone ancora materia di nuova e rinnovata ispirazione? Dante, delle due possibilità, ha sempre scelto la seconda e questo prosimetro , il primo in campo lirico in lingua volgare italiana, è la summa di una capacità innovativa, sua cifra contenutistica ed espressiva caratterizzante, in continua tensione, tesa a raggiungere una perfetta sintesi tra istanze culturali vigenti e profonda consapevolezza di sé.
Stupisce la “Vita nova”, per il candore biografico, per la suggestione onirica che la attraversa, per il finale aperto. Finale che promette, riconoscendo un limite momentaneo, di giungere ad una capacità lirica ancora più netta, più cristallina, dignitosa al pari dell’oggetto di cui ancora tratterà: “io spero di dire di lei quello che mai non fue detto d’alcuna”. Stupisce anche perché qui è già contenuta una vasta gamma di liriche esteticamente perfette, una per tutte la celebre “Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare” , capaci di inframmezzare una narrazione piacevole quanto un romanzo, complessa come una filosofia, intensa come una rappresentazione visiva.
L’uomo contemporaneo non può privarsi di questa visione e non sarà scevro dalle suggestioni che l’opera ha saputo ispirare alle più intelligenti e raffinate voci culturali delle epoche passate.
Stupisce la “Vita nova”, per il candore biografico, per la suggestione onirica che la attraversa, per il finale aperto. Finale che promette, riconoscendo un limite momentaneo, di giungere ad una capacità lirica ancora più netta, più cristallina, dignitosa al pari dell’oggetto di cui ancora tratterà: “io spero di dire di lei quello che mai non fue detto d’alcuna”. Stupisce anche perché qui è già contenuta una vasta gamma di liriche esteticamente perfette, una per tutte la celebre “Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare” , capaci di inframmezzare una narrazione piacevole quanto un romanzo, complessa come una filosofia, intensa come una rappresentazione visiva.
L’uomo contemporaneo non può privarsi di questa visione e non sarà scevro dalle suggestioni che l’opera ha saputo ispirare alle più intelligenti e raffinate voci culturali delle epoche passate.
December 18, 2021
Read in a mixed Italian-Dutch edition. Mixture of prose and poetry, in analogy with Boethius. Some gems of love poetry, but generally much groans and moans focused on the author, and way too much affectionate for my taste.
April 18, 2020
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Evrendeki tüm yıldızları verebilirim bu kitaba.
Dante’nin benim için değeri çok fazla ve farklı.
Onun duyguları, aşkını yaşayış ve içselleştiriş tarzı beni mest eden ve belki de aşkına aşık olmama sebep olan yegâne şey.
•
Kitapta Dante’nin Beatrice ile tanışma, ona aşık olma ve ölümünden sonraki yas tutma sürecini okuyoruz.
Dante’nin yazdığı soneler ve bu sonelerin açıklamaları etrafında ilerliyor kitap. Ki Dante’nin yalnızca iki kez gördüğü güzeller güzeli kadın Beatrice’i, bu kadar ilahi bir şekilde sevmesi hayran kalınasıydı.
Okuduğum tüm kitaplarında onu Cennet’e ulaştıran da huzura götüren de yine Beatrice elbette.
Ki ilahi komedyanın araf kısmından sonrasında da Cennette ona eşlik eden sevgili Beatrice’iydi.
•
Kitapta yer alan ünlü ressamlar tarafından yapılmış Dante-Beatrice resimlerinin kopyaları hayran kalınası. Hepsinin küçük kartpostallarını ve çıktılarını sakladığım düşünülürse nasıl mutlu olduğum anlaşılabilir 🔥❤️
Bunlar arasında en sevdiklerim ve bana Dante ile Beatrice’in varlığını hissettirebilen resimler Henry Holiday ve Dante Gabriel Rosetti’nin resimleriydi.
Kitabın her sayfasında Sanat’a doyduğumu ve sanatın zirvesindeki tatminkârlığı hissettim.
•
Ben Dedalus’tan çıkan çevirisini okudum. Ama bulabilirsem bir de Latince aslından okumak istiyorum. Özellikle ara ara verilen Latince deyimler de okuma serüvenimi canlandırıp, heyecanlanmama sebep oldu.
Sanat, edebiyat ve Dante’nin ilahi aşkıyla donanmış bu kitabı ruhunu doyurmaya ihtiyacı olan herkese gözüm kapalı öneririm.
Evrendeki tüm yıldızları verebilirim bu kitaba.
Dante’nin benim için değeri çok fazla ve farklı.
Onun duyguları, aşkını yaşayış ve içselleştiriş tarzı beni mest eden ve belki de aşkına aşık olmama sebep olan yegâne şey.
•
Kitapta Dante’nin Beatrice ile tanışma, ona aşık olma ve ölümünden sonraki yas tutma sürecini okuyoruz.
Dante’nin yazdığı soneler ve bu sonelerin açıklamaları etrafında ilerliyor kitap. Ki Dante’nin yalnızca iki kez gördüğü güzeller güzeli kadın Beatrice’i, bu kadar ilahi bir şekilde sevmesi hayran kalınasıydı.
Okuduğum tüm kitaplarında onu Cennet’e ulaştıran da huzura götüren de yine Beatrice elbette.
Ki ilahi komedyanın araf kısmından sonrasında da Cennette ona eşlik eden sevgili Beatrice’iydi.
•
Kitapta yer alan ünlü ressamlar tarafından yapılmış Dante-Beatrice resimlerinin kopyaları hayran kalınası. Hepsinin küçük kartpostallarını ve çıktılarını sakladığım düşünülürse nasıl mutlu olduğum anlaşılabilir 🔥❤️
Bunlar arasında en sevdiklerim ve bana Dante ile Beatrice’in varlığını hissettirebilen resimler Henry Holiday ve Dante Gabriel Rosetti’nin resimleriydi.
Kitabın her sayfasında Sanat’a doyduğumu ve sanatın zirvesindeki tatminkârlığı hissettim.
•
Ben Dedalus’tan çıkan çevirisini okudum. Ama bulabilirsem bir de Latince aslından okumak istiyorum. Özellikle ara ara verilen Latince deyimler de okuma serüvenimi canlandırıp, heyecanlanmama sebep oldu.
Sanat, edebiyat ve Dante’nin ilahi aşkıyla donanmış bu kitabı ruhunu doyurmaya ihtiyacı olan herkese gözüm kapalı öneririm.
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