Who Was Dante?
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is considered to be one of the most important, inspired writers of the Middle Ages. His main work, the Commedia or the Divine Comedy is a verse work which combines both allegory and the real, in the hopes of promoting a true spiritual path for readers toward redemption and ascension into heaven. Dante’s life is, to many, less interesting than his primary work, but should however be noted before studying the Comedy. Prior to writing the Divine Comedy, Dante wrote the Vita Nuova which chronicles and celebrates his chaste love for Beatrice Portinari, who he first met when he was 10. Beatrice remains Dante’s muse and inspiration for the Divine Comedy, but it is significant to note that the Vita Nuova ends with the lines that Dante will write no more, “until I can write of woman such has never been written before.” Dante was also shaken by Beatrice’s quite early death in 1290 at the age of 24. When Dante wrote the Divine Comedy he had elevated his muse to a state
Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321, was Italy’s greatest poet. His major work, The Divine Comedy, is one of the most important poems in European literature and has inspired countless authors including T S Eliot and Karl Marx. Dante, whose real first name was Durante, was born into a noble, but relatively poor Florentine family.
