Dante

Prior to this biography on Dante, R. W. B. Lewis had established himself as one of the leading authorities on Edith Wharton and had also written a book about Florence. Although he is not widely acknowledged as a Dante scholar, this brief volume is testimony to his obvious love for Florence's greatest poet. Unlike many brief biographies of great literary figures, this is a remarkably balanced account of Dante's life and career. Given the strictures on what can be covered in a small number of pages, other biographers of other writers often focus on an individual's life to the near exclusion of all else, or on the greater cultural context of their work, or on a discussion of the writings, ignoring the writer's world and life. Lewis strikes a marvelous balance between explaining the historical-especially the political-context for Dante's life, in detailing the significant biographical moments that informed his career (including most of what we know about his limited encounters with Beatrice), and the development of his art. Lewis's skill in refusing to neglect any significant aspect of Dante's life and work is laudable. Lewis's narrative progresses chronologically on a number of parallel levels. He reverts on several occasions to Dante's genealogy, on the political situation in Florence in the conflict between the Ghibellines (who favored the claims of the Holy Roman Emperor in Europe) and the Guelphs (who favored the Pope and later split into the Black and White Guelphs, Dante being associated with the latter), Dante's platonic adoration of Beatrice, the development of Dante's poetry, Dante's role in the government of Florence, his eventual banishment from Florence, and the composition and content of his COMEDY. I was especially encouraged by the number of theological figures who were crucial to Dante and essential for understanding the theological structure of the COMEDY. I do have a couple of minor criticisms. One is that Lewis isn't always as sharp in his exposition as he clearly is capable of being. There are also some curiosities, such as his comments near the end identifying Robert Penn Warren as "the most complete man of letters of our time," a good if not great writer whom I believe will be largely forgotten in as little as twenty-five years (one wonders if Warren and Lewis were close friends). There is an annotated biography, but most of the secondary works Lewis discusses are either out of print or not readily available, while many key contemporary texts dealing with Dante are omitted, such as Freccero's THE POETICS OF CONVERSION. And how could any discussion of translations omit Singleton's, which is easily one of the highpoints of Dante scholarship in the past half century? Two other small complaints: no index and no chronology of Dante's life. My own feeling is that there is never justification for not including an index in an academic book; the omission sharply reduces the book's usability. Even in a short biography a

This is one of several volumes in the Penguin Lives Series, each of which written by a distinguished author in her or his own right. Each provides a concise but remarkably comprehensive biography of its subject in combination with a penetrating analysis of the significance of that subject's life and career. I think this is a brilliant concept. My only regret is that even an abbreviated index is not provided. Those who wish to learn more about the given subject are directed to other sources.When preparing to review various volumes in this series, I have struggled with determining what would be of greatest interest and assistance to those who read my reviews. Finally I decided that a few brief excerpts and then some concluding comments of my own would be appropriate.On Dante's masterpiece: "The Commedia, to which the adjective Divina was affixed two centuries afterward, is, all things considered, the greatest single poem ever written; and in one perspective, as has been said, it is autobiographical: the journey of a man to find himself and make himself after having been cruelly mistreated in his homeland. It is also a rhythmic exploration of the entire cultural world Dante had inherited: classical, pre-Christian, Christian, medieval, Tuscan, and emphatically Florentine. And it is the long poetic tribute to Beatrice Portinari which Dante promised, at the end of the Vita Nuova." (pages 12 and 13)On Dante's response to Beatrice's death: He "did more than write an occasional poem of memorial grief; he put together the work to which he gave the title La Vita Nuova di Dante Alighieri. It was essentially an act of compilation, probably begun in 1293 and finished two years later. Dante drew up[ a narrative account of his relationship with Beatrice Portinari, from his first sight of her at the May Day party in 1274 to her death sixteen years later, sprinkling through it the poems -- canzones, sonnets, a ballad -- written to enshrine each successive moment." (page 59)On progression in the Paradiso: In it, "Dante ascends; he does not climb, as in the Purgatorio, but, as he is constantly remarking, is propelled upward with the speed of an arrow. He is swept up through the lower planets -- the Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn; into the Fixed Stars; then upwards to the Primum Mobile, when come all distinctions of space and time, of 'where' and 'when,' through itself beyond space and time; to the Empyrean, the actual and eternal dwelling-place of the Three-in-One God, of the angels and the saints, of the community of the blessed." (page 170)In the concluding portion of his biography, Lewis briefly but eloquently suggests the ubiquitous and energizing presence of Dante in English and American literature, notably in the works of Shelley, Byron, Robert Browning, Rossetti, Emerson, Pound, Eliot, and Warren. According to Lewis, that presence "sparkles and sings and smiles like one of the spirits in Paradise." The same can be said of Lewis' writing style which, in comb

Dante was the poet historian of Florence, its passionate official, and its bitter and frustrated exile. His life became entangled in the old European struggle between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, two names derived from two noble combative houses of Germany, the Welf and Weiblingen. The Guelphs, so long the leaders of Florence, fell to quarreling with each other. In the fall of 1301 war broke out between the White Guelpohs and the Black Guelphs. The Blacks, who favored the nobles over the merchants, summoned Dante to appear to answer charges of corruption during his previous administration. When he failed to show, he was condemned to death. Dante never set foot in Florence again. Dante got his revenge, as writers often do, by writing about his enemies. In this case the writing was the Comedia, subsequently dubbed the Divine Comedy. Having taken two college courses in Dante and one given by Richard Howard, I think there was nothing in this little book that I didn't know or wasn't familiar with. And there was nothing in it that was wrong or controversial. I recommend it as a good way to start your study of Dante and I commend it as a good way to get up to speed on the life and times of the poet that Yeats said started modern poetry.

DANTE by RWB Lewis is my introduction to the Penguin Lives series and if this is representative of the full series, I'm reading every volume. In 205 pages, in graceful prose that never flags, Lewis deftly sketches the life of Dante Alighieri and the times in which he lived, and, very important, offers a reading of his greatest works. The early Florentine Renaissance was a period fraught with political turmoil and Lewis does a good job of sorting out the factions and turns of events and their impact on Dante's life. His rereading of Dante's works is generous--no need to have read the masterpieces recently or perhaps at all to learn from this and gain an appreciation. In fact, this book would make a fine introduction to a study of THE DIVINE COMEDY. Lewis shares his own wonder and pleasure in Dante's work, and when he cites the original Italian lines, to provide an idea of their flavor, he always provides a translation.

A pleasurable biography from beginning to end. The book interweaves literature, love and religion all together in an intelligent understanding of the complexities that shaped this great artist. The book manages to illuminate the known facts of Dante's life and capture key moments in his life. Details vividly his wanderings through Tuscan hills and splendid churches to his days as a young soldier fighting for democracy to his civic leadership and years of exile from the city that would reclaim him a century later. It truly is a masterpiece of self-discovery describing the life and work of one of the world's greatest medieval poets.FinancialNeeds.com