Dante Alighieri (27 page)

    
Analysis of the
Vita Nuova:
—

    
Part
I. §§ 1-17.—§ 1. (“Proemio”) Introductory, explaining the title of the book (“Incipit Vita Nova”), and the author's purpose.—§ 2. First meeting of Dante with Beatrice (in the spring of 1274), he being nearly nine years old, and she not yet nine.—§ 3. Nine years later (in the spring of 1283), at the ninth hour of the day, Dante for the first time receives a greeting from Beatrice ; his first vision (Love appears to him holding a lady asleep in his arms, and in his hand Dante's heart in flames, of which he gives the lady to eat, and then disappears, bearing her away with him); he describes the vision in the sonnet: “A ciascun' alma presa, e gentil core” (
Son
. i.), which he sends to the most famous poets of the day for interpretation ; he receives a reply among others from Guido Cavalcanti.—§ 4. Dante falls ill through the intensity of his passion for Beatrice; questioned as to the object of his passion he refuses to reply.—§ 5. He dissembles his love for Beatrice under pretence of devotion to another lady.—§ 6. He composes a
serventese
containing the names of the sixty fairest ladies in Florence, among
which that of Beatrice will stand in no other than the ninth place.—§ 7. The lady of his pretended devotion leaves Florence; he laments her departure in a sonnet: “O voi, che per la via d' Amor passate” (
Son
. ii).—§ 8. He writes two sonnets on the death of a beautiful damsel, a friend of Beatrice: “Piangete, amanti, poichè piange Amore” (
Son
. iii); “Morte villana, di pietà nemica” (
Son.
iv.).—§ 9. He is obliged to take a journey out of Florence in the direction taken by the lady of his pretended devotion; his second vision (Love appears to him in the guise of a pilgrim of sorrowful aspect, who calls to him and tells him that he brings back his heart from the keeping of the lady who had possessed it awhile, in order that it may be at the service of another lady; whereafter he vanishes) ; which he describes in the sonnet: “ Cavalcando l' altr' ier per un cammino” (
Son.
v.).—§ 10. Dante's devotion to the second lady occasions remark, and causes Beatrice to deny him her salutation.—§ 11. He describes the marvellous effects on himself of the salutation of Beatrice.—§ 12. Dante's distress at Beatrice's denial to him of her salutation; his third vision, which takes place at the ninth hour of the day (Love appears to him in his sleep, sitting at his bedside, and weeping piteously; Dante questions him as to why Beatrice had denied him her salutation ; Love explains and bids him write a poem which shall make manifest to Beatrice his faithful and unaltered devotion to her; he then disappears and Dante awakes); he composes the ballata: “Ballata io vo' che tu ritrovi Amore” (
Ball
. i.).—§ 13. Dante is assailed by doubts as to whether the lordship of Love is a good thing or the reverse; he describes his doubts in the sonnet: “Tutti li miei pensier parlan d' Amore” (
Son
. vi.).—§ 14. He is conducted by a friend to a marriage-feast where he finds himself in the presence of Beatrice; he is so over-come
by emotion that his confusion is remarked, and the ladies, including Beatrice herself, whisper and mock at him, whereupon his friend, perceiving his distress, leads him away; on his return home he addresses to Beatrice the sonnet: “Coll' altre donne mia vista gabbate” (
Son
. vii.).—§ 15. He is torn between his longing to be in the presence of Beatrice, and his dread of appearing contemptible in her eyes; he addresses to her the sonnet: “ Ciò che m' incontra, nella mente mora” (
Son
. viii).—§ 16. He speaks of the pitiable condition to which he is reduced by the thought of his love; and describes how, though he longs for the sight of Beatrice, he is utterly overcome in her presence; he addresses to her the sonnet: “Spesse fiate vengonmi alla mente” (
Son
. ix.).—§ 17. Having disburdened his heart in the three preceding sonnets, Dante determines to speak of a new matter.

    
Part
II. §§ 18-28.—§ 18. He discourses with certain ladies of his love for Beatrice, and resolves henceforth to devote himself to the theme of her praises.—§ 19. After a period of hesitation, at last one day, while walking beside a stream, his thoughts take shape, and on his return home he composes the canzone: “Donne, ch' avete l' intelletto d' amore” (
Canz
. i).—§ 20. One of his friends, having become acquainted with the canzone, desires him to expound the nature of love, whereon he composes the sonnet: “Amore e 'l cor gentil sono una cosa “(
Son
. x.).—§ 21. He describes in the sonnet, “Negli occhi porta la mia donna Amore” (
Son
. xi.), the effect produced on others by Beatrice.—§ 22. Folco Portinari, the father of Beatrice, dies (31 December, 1289); Dante composes two sonnets: “Voi, che portate la sembianza umile” (
Son
. xii.), and, “Se' tu colui, c' hai trattato sovente” (
Son
. xiii.), treating of the discourse of certain ladies on the subject of Beatrice's grief, and of his grief for her.—§ 23. Dante
falls ill; he has presentiments of the death of Beatrice, and on the ninth day of his illness he has a fourth vision (he dreams that Beatrice is dead, and that he is taken to see her as she lies on her death-bed)
²¹
; on coming to himself again he relates his vision to certain ladies who were at his bedside, and afterwards writes a description of it in the canzone: “Donna pietosa e di novella etate” (
Canz
. ii.).—§ 24. He has a fifth vision (Love comes to him from the dwelling-place of his lady, and bids him bless the day whereon he was possessed by Love; shortly after Beatrice herself appears to him, preceded by Giovanna, the lady of his friend Guido Cavalcanti), which he describes in the sonnet: “Io mi sentii svegliar dentro allo core” (
Son
. xiv.).—§ 25. Dante explains his use of figurative language, which is conceded to poets.—§ 26. Beatrice considered a marvel by all who beheld her; Dante's sonnet on the subject: “Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare” (
Son
. xv.).—§ 27. The praise and honour of Beatrice is reflected on the ladies about her; as is set forth by Dante in the sonnet: “Vede perfettamente ogni salute” (
Son
. xvi.).—§ 28. The effects upon him of his devotion to Beatrice intended to be described in a canzone: “Sì lungamente m' ha tenuto Amore” (
Canz
, iii.), which was left unfinished.

    
Part
III. §§ 29-35.—§ 29. The composition of Dante's projected canzone (
Canz
. iii.) interrupted by the death of Beatrice; of the part played by the number nine in connection with her death.—§ 30. Of the date of the death of Beatrice, which befell on the ninth day, of the ninth month, of the year in which the perfect number (ten) was completed for the ninth time in the century in which she lived, (i.e. 8 June, 1290), according to the Arabian, Syrian and Italian reckonings respectively; of the significance of
the number nine, and of its intimate association with Beatrice.—§ 31. Dante in his desolation addresses a letter, beginning “Quomodo sedet sola civitas,” to the chief personages of the city; his reasons for not transcribing the letter.—§ 32. He vents his grief in a canzone: “Gli occhi dolenti per pietâ del core” (
Canz
. iv.).—§ 33. At the request of a brother of Beatrice, Dante writes the sonnet: “Venite a intender li sospiri miei” (
Son
. xvii.) on her death.—§ 34. Dissatisfied with the sonnet, he composes two stanzas of a canzone: “Quantunque volte lasso! mi rimembra” (
Canz
. v.), on the same subject, which he gives with the sonnet to Beatrice's brother.—§ 35. On the first anniversary of Beatrice's death, while drawing an angel, he is interrupted by visitors, to whom he addresses a sonnet, to which he made two beginnings: “Era venuta nella mente mia” (
Son
. xviii.).

    
Part
IV. §§ 36-39.—§ 36. Dante in deep distress at the thought of the past, beholds a beautiful young lady (“una gentil donna giovane e bella”) regarding him with compassion from a window; he addresses her in a sonnet: “Videro gli occhi miei quanta pietate” (
Son.
xix.).—§ 37. The “donna gentile” continues to show compassion for him; he addresses a second sonnet to her: “Color d' amore, e di pietà sembianti” (
Son
. xx.).—§ 38. He begins to take delight in the sight of the “donna gentile,” and reproaches himself for his inconstancy; he composes a sonnet on the state of his feelings: “L' amaro lagrimar che voi faceste” (
Son
. xxi.).—§ 39. In another sonnet he describes the struggle between his heart and his soul as to this new love: “Gentil pensiero, che parla di vui” (
Son
. xxii.).

    
Part
V. §§ 40-43.—§ 40. While engaged in this struggle Dante has a vision (the sixth) of Beatrice, youthful and clothed in crimson, as when he first saw her, whereon he
repents of his inconstancy and devotes himself solely to the thought of her; he records the reconquest of himself, and the effects of the violence of his weeping at the recollection of his past unworthy passion, in a sonnet: “Lasso! per forza de' molti sospiri” (
Son
. xxiii.).—§ 41. He addresses a sonnet to certain pilgrims on their way through Florence to visit the Veronica at Rome, whom he assumes to be from a far country, as they show no sign of grief in passing through the grieving city: “Deh peregrini, che pensosi andate” (
Son
. xxiv.).—§ 42. In response to a request from two ladies for verses of his, he composes a sonnet describing his condition: “Oltre la spera, che più larga gira” (
Son
. xxv.), which he sends to them, together with the preceding: “Deh peregrini” (
Son
. xxiv.), and another: “Venite a intender” (
Son
. xvii.).—§ 43. After composing this sonnet he has a last vision (the seventh), which makes him resolve to speak no more of Beatrice until he shall be able to say of her what was never said of any woman; he concludes with the prayer that his soul may then be permitted to behold the glory of Beatrice in the presence of the Everlasting God.

    
With the exception of the
Latin Eclogues
and
Letters
, the
Vita Nuova
was the last of Dante's works to be printed. The
editio princeps
, which was printed at Florence, together with fifteen of Dante's
canzoni
, and Boccaccio's
Vita di Dante
, did not appear until 1576, more than a hundred years later than the first edition of the
Divina Commedia
. It was not reprinted for a hundred and fifty years, when it was included by Anton Maria Biscioni, together with the
Convivio
, in his
Prose di Dante Alighieri e di Messer Gio. Boccacci
, published at Florence in 1723. Since that date there have been some five-and-twenty other editions, exclusive of mere reprints. The
editio princeps
, which was issued with the
imprimatur
of the Inquisition, contains a mutilated text, many passages or phrases, which were considered offensive to the Church or to religion, having been altered or suppressed.
²²
A critical edition was published at Florence by Michele Barbi, under the auspices of the
Società Dantesca Italiana
, in 1907.

    
Forty manuscripts of the
Vita Nuova
are known to exist, including three which are incomplete. Of these, eight belong to the fourteenth century, sixteen to the fifteenth, and sixteen to the sixteenth. None of these was executed in Dante's lifetime, the earliest being assigned to about the year 1350, that is about thirty years after Dante's death.
²³

    
Convivio
.—Besides the
Vita Nuova
Dante wrote in Italian prose the philosophical treatise to which he gave the name of
Convivio
²⁴
or Banquet. This work consists of a philosophical commentary, which Dante left incomplete, on three of his canzoni. According to the original scheme it was to have been a commentary on fourteen canzoni,
²⁵
and would have consisted of fifteen books, the first being introductory.

    
Three of these projected books are specifically referred to by Dante, viz. the seventh, in which he was to have treated of temperance
²⁶
; the fourteenth, in which he proposed to treat of justice
²⁷
and allegory
²⁸
; and the fifteenth, in which liberality was to have been treated of.
²⁹

    
Various attempts have been made to identify the remaining eleven canzoni, which were to have been the subject of commentary in the unwritten books, but none of these is wholly satisfactory.
³⁰

    
In its unfinished state the
Convivio
consists of four books, which show a tendency to become more and more prolix as the work proceeds, the fourth book containing thirty chapters, while the first, second, and third contain respectively thirteen, sixteen, and fifteen. The division of the books into chapters was made by Dante himself.
³¹

    
Giovanni Villani in his Florentine chronicle says of this book:—

    
“Dante commenced a commentary on fourteen of his moral canzoni in the vulgar tongue, which is incomplete, save as regards three of them, in consequence of his death. This commentary, to judge by what we have of it, would have been a lofty, beautiful, subtle, and very great work, inasmuch as it is adorned by lofty style, and fine philosophical and astrological discussions.”
³²