La Vita Nuova

Preceding the Divine Comedy both chronologically and thematically, La Vita Nuova (‘The New Life’) records – in verse and prose – the story of Dante’s love for Beatrice – from their first encounter, through the several silent years of devotion, till her death in 1290. The work comprises thirty-one poems, each accompanied by Dante’s own commentary analyzing his work – a form known as ‘prosimetrum’. Exemplifying the literary tradition of Dolce Stil Novo (or ‘sweet new style’), the poetry talks about the concept of a ‘Divine Love’ in which the beloved transcends earthly beauty to become almost an angelic figure, capable of guiding her lover along the path of salvation. Unlike the Petrarchan convention of dwelling on the anguish from unrequited longing, Dante’s treatment of courtly love is overwhelmingly reverential towards the lover. Rather than dramatizing his own torment, he dedicates the anthology entirely to the exaltation of the object of his desire, continuing to celebrate Beatrice’s existence even after her sudden death in 1290. This work, with its emphasis on a profound emotional awakening, inaugurated the philosophy that would define Dante’s life’s work and cement his place as the foremost figurehead of Italian literature.