Dante’s Transformed Love: Musings on the Poet’s Love for Beatrice

'If the Vita Nuova had been the only major work Dante had made, this work alone would have earned him the reputation as a great poet of Western civilization.'

Darrell Falconburg at The Imaginative Conservative.

"In the Vita Nuova, Dante told the story of his admiration for a Florentine woman named Beatrice. When seeing her for the first time at the age of nine, Dante fell in love, and he remained in love for the rest of his life. Years later, Beatrice died at the young age of twenty-four and Dante fell into a deep sadness. Wanting to immortalize the love of his life, Dante composed 31 poems and surrounding commentary in Beatrice’s memory."

See Dante, "On World Government" from De Monarchia in Gateway to the Great Books (10 Vol., 1963) volume 7, and The Divine Comedy in Great Books of the Western World (first edition, 52 Vol., 1952) volume 21, (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 19.