Edition |
First Shoemaker and Hoard edition. |
Description |
xiv, 466 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 423-458) and index. |
Summary |
Dante is one of the towering figures of European literature, yet there remain a surprising number of questions about his life and works. Who was Beatrice, really? Who was the leader that would bring peace to the world, as Virgil and Beatrice prophesied in the Commedia? Was De Vulgari Eloquentia truly a treatise on the art of writing? Did he need a medicinal muse? Dante scholar and translator Barbara Reynolds contends the master used cannabis to soar to greater creative heights. Besides proposing a solution to the famous prophecies, this biography contains a provocative new idea in virtually every chapter, offering alternative interpretations of his work. Drawing from a broad array of sources, Reynolds provides a comprehensive analysis of the poet, placing him within the context of his culture and society to deepen our understanding of a complicated man who was irritable, opinionated, and vengeful--and an extraordinary genius.--From publisher description. |
Contents |
The early years -- Dante and Guido Cavalcanti -- Disaster -- The first years of exile -- Language and poetry -- Invitation to a banquet -- Main dishes and trenchers -- The true definition of nobility -- Injustice and avarice -- Dante the showman -- The return of Beatrice -- The story begins -- Limbo -- Francesca da Rimini -- Dante in danger -- Dante the taxonomist -- Creation of character -- Down into the depths -- 'Him of Alagna' -- Virgil and sorcery -- Devil-play -- A den of thieves -- Tongues of fire -- The severed head -- The valley of disease -- Towering giants -- The frozen lake -- Lucifer -- The tragedy of Henry VII -- Better waters -- The morning sun -- From humour to invective -- Close of day and a new dawn -- Pride and humility -- Evil and the freedom of the will -- Love, natural and rational -- The mountain trembles -- Dante and Forese Donati -- Body and soul -- The Christian Sibyl -- Who is Matilda? -- Dante and his patrons -- Prelude to Paradiso -- Beatrice in Heaven -- Propaganda in Paradiso -- The city walls -- Justice unfathomed -- Dante and monasticism -- The theme's great weight -- Faith, hope and love -- Hatred in heaven -- The creation -- The departure of Beatrice -- Approach to the final vision -- The vision of the Trinity. |
Subject |
Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321.
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Authors, Italian -- To 1500 -- Biography.
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ISBN |
1593761244 alkaline paper |
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9781593761240 alkaline paper |
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