Dante Alighieri, Vita Nuova [The New Life]

Dino Cervigni (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Ed. by Jo Ann Cavallo, Columbia University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1290 - c. 1294

Places

Italy (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

History and Nature of Work

Completed around 1293-94, the Vita nuova (New Life) is the fruit of Dante’s poetic activity dating as far back as his eighteenth year of age (VN 3.9). The work, in fact, seeks to foreground the youthful author’s position on poetics and conception of life vis-à-vis his predecessors and contemporaries. Called libello — a book or, rather, a little book — the Vita nuova is one of the first books in the Italian vernacular to be assembled by the author, even though no original has come down to us in manuscript form.

In brief, the Vita nuova …

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4073 words

Citation: Cervigni, Dino. "Vita Nuova". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 November 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8640, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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