Vol.2 (01) - Dante's "Vita Nuova"

Dante's "Vita Nuova"

Possibly the greatest love poem ever written.

Snippets
Volume 2, Issue 1 (February 14)

The Dual-Language Edition of Dante's Vita Nuova, translated by Anthony Mortimer.

ALMA CLASSICS
ISBN: 978-1-84749-695-9

Prefatory Remarks

⠀ Vita Nuova is a very different work than we may expect from Dante Alighieri, the author of La Commedia. While many consider this work a poem, it is an unusual combination of prose and poetry known as a prosimetrum. The prose sections are written in a manner that suggests Dante does not want to be misinterpreted. In other words, he wants the reader to understand his poems as he meant them, in the same way. As a result, Dante can be a little repetitive in his explanations.

⠀ If one immerses oneself in the Vita Nuova, it is difficult not to feel a strangeness about Dante himself. It is almost as if he sees the entire situation at any given time as though he were viewing it through a crystal ball. He sees the scene and is merely reporting it. In many cases, even when referring to Beatrice, there appears to be a lack of emotion even though he has stated many times of his love for her. In some instances, he comes across as merely reporting.

⠀ It is difficult to determine the accuracy and order of all the poems that appear. Coincidences abound, especially concerning the number nine, but this is still a groundbreaking work and, without a doubt, the precursor to his Comedy, which would much later become known as The Divine Comedy.

Dante's Plan for "Vita Nuova"

⠀ Dante had a definite plan for his poem. His Vita Nuova consisted of thirty-one poems with commentary. The poems were set in the following order:

1. Ten short poems
2. One long canzone
3. Four short poems
4. One long canzone
5. Four short poems
6. One long canzone
7. Ten short poems

⠀ Most of the shorter poems were sonnets. The poems are in the following chapters according to the above groupings:

1. III (sonnet), VII (sonnet), VIII (two sonnets), IX (sonnet), XII (ballata), XIII (sonnet), XIV (sonnet), XV (sonnet), XVI (sonnet)
2. XIX (long canzone)
3. XX (sonnet), XXI (sonnet), XXII (two sonnets)
4. XXIII (long canzone)
5. XXIV (sonnet), XXVI (two sonnets), XXVII (short canzone)
6. XXXI (long canzone)
7. XXXII (sonnet), XXXIII (short canzone), XXXIV (sonnet), XXXV (sonnet), XXXVI (sonnet), XXXVII (sonnet), XXXVIII (sonnet), XXXIX (sonnet), XL (sonnet), XLI (sonnet)

⠀ It should be noted that the significance of the number ten lies in its being the number of perfection, and his reference to the number nine relates to Beatrice. The middle sections, three, four and five add up to nine with the longer canzone being a turning point in this work.

Concerning this Translation

⠀ Regardless of how good the translation, and this one is excellent, one will not feel the full emotion of the poems unless one is familiar with the language. My Italian is reasonable (better than my French), and even though translations of Dante's poetry in this edition are not exactly what you would call literal translations, the translated verses are very natural, capture the meaning well, but do not correspond to the actual form of the poem in English. For most this would be preferable. Other translators have tried to translate the poems into English according to their form, the result generally fares far worse than if it had been written in prose format. The advantage of this edition is that both Italian and English versions are supplied.

⠀ When simply viewing the Italian, we are able to identify the form. In most cases, Dante is using the now known Petrarchan form, and although beautiful in Italian, it is one of the most difficult to reproduce in English due to its strict rime scheme. Dante does use different variations in the sestet. We might also be a little critical of Dante's sonnets because of the way he breaks up the octave and sestet, which do not always agree the way we interpret the structure of a sonnet in English today. However, he did utilize the Italian sonnet which later became known as the Petrarchan sonnet because of the great and expert use by Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca).

Dante's Poems

⠀ We do find some gems in Dante's work which would not be familiar to all formalist poets. The forms used are the Italian sonnet, canzone, ballata (in one instance) and the double sonnet. Double sonnet is a bit of a misnomer for English because it is only twenty verses, not twenty-eight as might be expected by the name. However, we must remember that the forms and styles during Dante's time were, in some ways, experimental and accorded with his language. In fact, Dante's work is very unique and quite new at his time as he moved away from the so-called dolce stil novo (sweet new style).

Dante's Commentary

⠀ The prose sections of Vita Nuova are Dante's explanations and events that have influenced him to write his poems. It is very clear that he did not want to be misunderstood. This need to clarify his work can often bring a more technical aspect to his poetry, and at times, seems out of place or at least unnecessary to the casual reader. On some occasions, one is left wondering why.

Final Comments

⠀ Vita Nuova is not a lengthy work, and it is interesting for a number of reasons. It is a combination of prose and poetry recounting the beginning of his love for Beatrice, her death, and later. The poems themselves are included between events he recalls and the overall narrative. Lastly, Dante's detail in his own analysis of his poems.

⠀ It is difficult to accept that Vita Nuova is strictly autobiographical. However, the sequence that we have certainly indicates something along this line. I would think that all the poems were not written in the order they appear and that a great deal of planning and rewriting occurred, along with the inclusion of poems written later. The final work we have is too perfect to have been constructed chronologically, but this does not take anything away from the work itself.

⠀ Vita Nuova is a wonderful love poem about Dante's love for Beatrice, and we are led through his thoughts and feelings in a way we have not seen before. His work is unique, perhaps a little experimental, but it was certainly something very new. After reading this, you may have a better understanding of his La Commedia.