La Vita Nuova: Love Poems

Description

La Vita Nuova (The New Life) is Dante's first major work. Set in thirteenth century Florence, Dante describes his love for Beatrice through poems, sonnets and prose. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is the English translation by Dante Gabriel Rossetti which was first published in The Early Italian Poets in 1861 and then reissued in 1874 by Dante and his Circle. It was met with great acclaim acknowledging Rossetti's skill as a meticulous and poetic translator. From the first time the poet sets eyes on Beatrice, he says 'love quite governed my soul' and his devotion to her knows no end. By recalling each meeting with Beatrice, including a rejection by her, this short book is at once a heartfelt account of youthful love and a religious allegory. La Vita Nuova serves as an important precursor to Dante's masterpiece, The Divine Comedy.

Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet born in Florence in the thirteenth century. His major work, The Divine Comedy, is considered to be the greatest literary work in the Italian language. It describes his journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise guided by Virgil and then Beatrice. He was the first writer to eschew Latin and he wrote in modern Italian and in Tuscan dialect. His influence on Italian writers as well as European literature and art is immeasurable.