The New Life
by Dante Alighieri · Vita nuova
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 1293-1295
- Era
- Medieval
- Form
- Lyric poetry
- Language
- Italian
- Length
- Short · 100 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendVita Nuova, translated by Mark MusaOxford World's Classics, 1992Clear prose with the poems in verse and an introduction that explains the book's structure.
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Dante's early book about his love for Beatrice, whom he first saw when both were nine and who died in 1290 at the age of twenty-four. It gathers thirty-one poems, mostly sonnets, and frames each with a prose account of the occasion that produced it and a short analysis of its parts. The love it describes moves from courtly longing and sickness to a praise that needs nothing back, and after Beatrice's death Dante vows to write of her what has never been written of any woman.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The New Life are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
