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Ancient and the modern in Dante's Vita nuova.

Publisher Marquette University Press
Publication Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature
Subject Literature/writing
Format Magazine/Journal
ISSN 0034-4346
Issues per Year 4
Volume 55
Issue 2
Published 2003-01-01

Role Type Name
Person Criticism and interpretation Dante Alighieri
Person Works Dante Alighieri
Author n/a T.A. Hipolito

DANTE'S Vita nuova has long been regarded as a quintessentially medieval work. It was for example a favorite inspiration of idealistic Pre-Raphaelite artists during the second half of the nineteenth century. This essay fully agrees that what Dante called his "little book" is medieval but not that the word medieval implies sedate or picturesque. Instead it describes a kind of thinking that is both ancient and modern, and yet neither one. It is in fact bizarre and shocking and at times even seems insane. During its course, Dante the young lyric poet diverts his profound and frightening...

[This journal article is 10107 words long]

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