La vita nuova, paperback/dante alighieri

A unique treatise by a poet, written for poets, on the art of poetry The La Vita Nuova is elaborately and symbolically patterned, consisting of a selection of Dantes early poems, interspersed with his own prose commentary.

The poems themselves tell the story of his love for Beatrice, from their first meeting at a May Day party in her fathers house, through Dantes sufferings and his attempts to conceal the true object of his devotion by the use of screen-loves, to his overwhelming grief at her death, ending with the transformative vision of her in heaven.

These are some of the richest love poems in literature and the movement from self-pitying lament to praise for the beloveds beauty and virtue, illustrate the elevating power of love.

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