Dante Alighieri (1265–1321)

Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) was a person who pioneered italian literature through vernacular poetry and religious allegory.

• AKA: Durante degli Alighieri, Supreme Poet, il Sommo Poeta.
• Context:
  • It can range from being a Local Poet to being a World Literature Pioneer, depending on literary influence.
  • It can range from being a Political Exile to being a Cultural Icon, based on historical impact.
  • It can range from being a Vernacular Writer to being a Literary Giant, reflecting artistic evolution.
  • ...
  • It can typically create religious allegory through poetic narrative.
  • It can typically explore theological concepts through literary visualization.
  • It can typically develop italian language through vernacular writing.
  • It can typically blend classical references with christian theology.
  • ...
  • It can often influence western literature through narrative innovation.
  • It can often shape cultural imagination through afterlife depictions.
  • It can often advance poetic forms through terza rima.
  • ...
  • It can develop Literary Works, such as:
    • Major Works:
      • Divine Comedy, which revolutionized religious poetry.
      • La Vita Nuova, which transformed love poetry.
      • De Vulgari Eloquentia, which defended vernacular literature.
    • Poetic Innovations:
      • Terza Rima, creating new rhyme schemes.
      • Dolce Stil Novo, refining love poetry style.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Dante Career Phases, such as:
    • Early Phases, such as:
      • Florentine Poet during political career.
      • Love Poet composing La Vita Nuova.
    • Exile Phases, such as:
      • Wandering Scholar across italian courts.
      • Epic Poet writing Divine Comedy.
  • Dante Literary Innovations, such as:
    • Language Innovations, such as:
      • Using tuscan dialect for serious literature.
      • Developing italian literary language.
    • Poetic Innovations, such as:
      • Creating terza rima for narrative poetry.
      • Blending classical allusions with christian imagery.
  • Dante Influences, such as:
    • Literary Influences, such as:
      • Inspiring Geoffrey Chaucer and John Milton.
      • Shaping western literature through afterlife narrative.
    • Artistic Influences, such as:
      • Inspiring Sandro Botticelli's divine comedy illustrations.
      • Influencing renaissance art through hell depictions.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Petrarch, who focused on lyric poetry rather than epic narrative.
  • Boccaccio, who specialized in prose narrative rather than theological poetry.
  • Latin Poets, who maintained classical language rather than pioneering vernacular literature.
• See: Terza Rima, Sandro Botticelli, Dolce Stil Novo, Middle Ages, Italian Literature, Religious Poetry, Epic Poetry, Vernacular Literature, Florence, Medieval Poetry.

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References

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighieri Retrieved:2016-2-4.
  • Durante degli Alighieri, called Dante (c. 1265–1321), was a major Italian poet of the late Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy, originally called (modern Italian: Commedia) and later christened by Boccaccio, is widely considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. In the late Middle Ages, the overwhelming majority of poetry was written in Latin, and therefore accessible only to affluent and educated audiences. In De vulgari eloquentia (On Eloquence in the Vernacular), however, Dante defended use of the vernacular in literature. He himself would even write in the Tuscan dialect for works such as The New Life (1295) and the aforementioned Divine Comedy ; this choice, although highly unorthodox, set a hugely important precedent that later Italian writers such as Petrarch and Boccaccio would follow. As a result, Dante played an instrumental role in establishing the national language of Italy. Dante's significance also extends past his home country; his depictions of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven have provided inspiration for a large body of Western art, and are cited as an influence on the works of John Milton, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, and Lord Alfred Tennyson, among many others. In addition, the first use of the interlocking three-line rhyme scheme, or the terza rima, is attributed to him. Dante has been called "the Father of the Italian language". In Italy, Dante is often referred to as ("the Supreme Poet") and ' ; he, Petrarch, and Boccaccio are also called "the three fountains" or "the three crowns".

1320

• (Alighieri, 1320) ⇒ Dante Alighieri. (1320). “Divina Commedia."

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