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Author photo. Painting by Sandro Botticelli (c. 1495)

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Born Dante Alighieri in the spring of 1265 in Florence, Italy, he was known familiarly as Dante. His family was noble, but not wealthy, and Dante received the education accorded to gentlemen, studying poetry, philosophy, and theology. His first major work was Il Vita Nuova, The New Life. This brief collection of 31 poems, held together by a narrative sequence, celebrates the virtue and honor of Beatrice, Dante's ideal of beauty and purity. Beatrice was modeled after Bice di Folco Portinari, a beautiful woman Dante had met when he was nine years old and had worshipped from afar in spite of his own arranged marriage to Gemma Donati. Il Vita Nuova has a secure place in literary history: its vernacular language and mix of poetry with prose were new; and it serves as an introduction to Dante's masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, in which Beatrice figures prominently. The Divine Comedy is Dante's vision of the afterlife, broken into a trilogy of the Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante is given a guided tour of hell and purgatory by Virgil, the pagan Roman poet whom Dante greatly admired and imitated, and of heaven by Beatrice. The Inferno shows the souls who have been condemned to eternal torment, and included here are not only mythical and historical evil-doers, but Dante's enemies. The Purgatory reveals how souls who are not irreversibly sinful learn to be good through a spiritual purification. And The Paradise depicts further development of the just as they approach God. The Divine Comedy has been influential from Dante's day into modern times. The poem has endured not just because of its beauty and significance, but also because of its richness and piety as well as its occasionally humorous and vulgar treatment of the afterlife. In addition to his writing, Dante was active in politics. In 1302, after two years as a priore, or governor of Florence, he was exiled because of his support for the white guelfi, a moderate political party of which he was a member. After extensive travels, he stayed in Ravenna in 1319, completing The Divine Comedy there, until his death in 1321. (Bowker Author Biography) — biography from The Inferno… (more)
Disambiguation Notice

Since there are other authors called Dante, the works of Dante Alighieri on that author page are now aliased here, instead of the pages being combined.

The Inferno (Author) 22,546 copies, 203 reviews
The Divine Comedy (Author) 20,189 copies, 180 reviews
Purgatorio 6,854 copies, 49 reviews
Paradiso (Author) 5,733 copies, 41 reviews
La Vita Nuova (Author) 2,099 copies, 24 reviews
The Portable Dante 1,260 copies, 8 reviews
Monarchy 357 copies, 3 reviews
Complete Works 203 copies, 3 reviews
Circles of Hell 184 copies, 3 reviews
Convivio 171 copies, 5 reviews
Rime (Autore in relazione) 139 copies, 1 review
The First Three Circles of Hell 123 copies, 1 review
The Vita Nuova and Canzoniere 32 copies, 1 review
Vita Nuova Rime 30 copies
Dante Alighieri 21 copies, 1 review
Epistole 19 copies
Opere minori 15 copies
Il fiore e il detto d'amore 13 copies, 1 review
Strumenti 7 copies
Divina comedia V. II 6 copies, 1 review
Love poems 6 copies
Cantos from Dante's Inferno 4 copies, 1 review
Epistola a Cangrande (Author) 3 copies
The Indispensable Dante (Author) 3 copies
Vingt poèmes 3 copies
Opere 1 (Author) 3 copies
Fiore 3 copies
Le terze rime 2 copies
Convívio 2 copies
Yeni Hayat 2 copies
Commedia / Giorgio Inglese (Author) 2 copies
Convivio 2 copies
Lírica 2 copies
Rimes 1 copy
Vita Nuova 1 copy
PARAJSA 1 copy
FERRI 1 copy
Pokol 1 copy
Vita Nuova 1 copy
Vida Nova 1 copy
Brev 1 copy
Convívio 1 copy
Le Banquet 1 copy
Komedia Hyjnore 1 copy, 1 review
Impyerno 1 copy
The Doré Illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy (Contributor) 522 copies, 4 reviews
Critical Theory Since Plato (Contributor, some editions) 386 copies, 1 review
The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart: A Poetry Anthology (Contributor) 369 copies, 3 reviews
Dante's Divine Comedy: A Graphic Adaptation (Contributor) 269 copies, 32 reviews
The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse (Contributor) 227 copies, 2 reviews
Criticism: Major Statements (Contributor) 209 copies
The Penguin Book of Hell (Contributor) 151 copies, 1 review
The Norton Book of Friendship (Contributor) 92 copies
The Young Inferno (Contributor) 37 copies, 1 review

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Short biography
Dante Alighieri, (May 14/June 13, 1265 – September 13/14[1], 1321), was a Florentine Italian poet. Like many in the Florence of his day, he became involved in the conflict between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions. He fought in the Battle of Campaldino (1289) and held several political offices over the years. His central work, the Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy, originally called "Comedìa"), is composed of three parts: the Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante was exiled from the city he loved, and addressed the pain of his loss in his work.
Disambiguation notice
Since there are other authors called Dante, the works of Dante Alighieri on that author page are now aliased here, instead of the pages being combined.

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La Vita Nuova in Fine Press Forum

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