Dante Alighieri Italian Poet's Biography
Dante Alighieri: Italian Poet's Biography
The Italian poet Dante Alighieri is known worldwide as one of the greatest poets of all time. His works, including La Vita Nuova and La Commedia Divina or The Divine Comedy, have been translated into several different languages and have inspired great artists both of the past and of modern times to create works of their own concerning the Divine Comedy. However, there is much more to be known about Dante. Not only was he a talented poet, he was also a politician, a statesman, a philosopher, a noble, an exile, and a theologian. Dante was a sort of Renaissance man, even before the idea came into being. There are many aspects about Dante’s character, personality, and his life that are worthy of further knowledge and exploration.
Dante Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy in 1265. He states in the Paradisio that he was born when the sun was in Gemini, fixing his birthday between May 18 and June 17 (Gardner 1). When he was just nine years old, an event happened in his life that would forever be the driving force of his existence (Howell 9-10). It was at this time that he met Beatrice, whose name is found in both La Vita Nuova and in The Divine Comedy. She too was only nine years old. They did not have an intimate relationship since for the first nine years he loved her, she never spoke to him. Only when he was nearly eighteen did Beatrice, now grown up into a “marvelous lady,” even bow to him (Walsh 102). Although the two married other people, Beatrice’s death in 1290 at the age of 24 had a profound affect on Dante. As he once said, “The things of the present, with their false pleasure turned my steps aside as soon as your face was hidden.“ (Howell 13). However, he later goes on to say that whatever delinquencies he charged himself were bitterly repented of and nobly atoned for. By 1294, Dante had already completed his La Vita Nuova, a medley of lyric verse and poetic prose, that tells of his love for Beatrice. In it, Dante describes his love for Beatrice as purely spiritual and mystical, showing his philosophical and religious ideals, as well as his thoughts on “Divine Love.” In the Divine Comedy Beatrice holds a very high spiritual position. She is seen as the “blessed soul...