Life of Dante

by Giovanni Boccaccio, Philip H. Wicksteed (Translator)

Overview

Hesperus Press, as suggested by their Latin motto, Et remotissima prope, is dedicated to bringing near what is far—far both in space and time. Works by illustrious authors, often unjustly neglected or simply little known in the English–speaking world, are made accessible through a completely fresh editorial approach or new translations. Through these short classic works, which feature forewords by leading contemporary authors, the modern reader will be introduced to the greatest writers of Europe and America. An elegantly designed series of exceptional books.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781847496638
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	02/01/2009
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.18(w) x 7.77(h) x 0.36(d)

Table of Contents

	Foreword	vii
	Introduction	xi
	Acknowledgements	xvii
	Life of Dante
	Dante Speaks	3
	Life of Dante	5
	Notes	79
	From the Decameron	81
	Notes	89
	Biographical note	91

Editorial Reviews

Four separate, previously published sources make up this intimate portrait of poet Dante: Leonardo Bruni's Life of Dante, extracts from Giovanni Villani's Florentine Chronicles and Filippo Villani's Life of Dante, and documents from a manuscript by Boccaccio (best known for his Decameron). Readers learn via Boccaccio about Dante's unique character and life, from his torments of passionate love and involvement in politics to scholastic enthusiasm and military experience. The poet's banishment from Florence owing to the Guelph's loss of power and his subsequent exile to Ravenna are also recounted with a delicate charm by Boccaccio. While Dante wrote in the vernacular, and not Latin, Bruni claims that Dante's vernacular writing was superior to any other Italian who wrote in the vernacular. Also included is a biography of Boccaccio, 48 years Dante's junior. VERDICT Best suited to scholars of medieval literature and to graduate students studying medieval literature, especially The Divine Comedy.—Bob T. Ivey, Univ. of Memphis\

Library Journal

"Intimate portrait."  —Library Journal

From the Publisher