Orlion reviewed Dante A Life by R. W. B. Lewis
Review of 'Dante A Life' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Dante: A Life is an informative little biography whose focus is on the historic events surrounding Dante's life and their impact on his literary work (with an emphasis on the Divine Comedy). As a result, this works much better as a companion work to understanding references made in the Divine Comedy then a proper biography. Not much is blatantly shown about Dante the person, and the only sense we have of him as such is mostly through his reactions to events, past and contemporary.
This is important, though, since it reveals Dante as a very flawed person. In fact, one would be considered a creepy stalker if they emulated Dante's actions in today's age. The same goes with Beatrice, it seems as if in life she would have been a very normal girl that reacted to things fairly normally. She was a normal obsession for a regular guy.
Of course, …
Dante: A Life is an informative little biography whose focus is on the historic events surrounding Dante's life and their impact on his literary work (with an emphasis on the Divine Comedy). As a result, this works much better as a companion work to understanding references made in the Divine Comedy then a proper biography. Not much is blatantly shown about Dante the person, and the only sense we have of him as such is mostly through his reactions to events, past and contemporary.
This is important, though, since it reveals Dante as a very flawed person. In fact, one would be considered a creepy stalker if they emulated Dante's actions in today's age. The same goes with Beatrice, it seems as if in life she would have been a very normal girl that reacted to things fairly normally. She was a normal obsession for a regular guy.
Of course, something did happen: an apotheosis in the form of the Divine Comedy turned a competent poet into the Supreme Poet and Beatrice into the form of Divine Wisdom. By reading this book with the Divine Comedy, one gets a clear idea of the transformative nature of literature, and it is no longer a wonder why, without good literature, humanity is only base at its best.