What do you think?
Rate this book
Dante: The Poet, the Political Thinker, the Man
Dante is one of the towering figures in world literature, and yet many riddles and questions about his life and work persist. In the first full-length biography of him in more than twenty years, Barbara Reynolds offers provocative new ideas in every chapter. For example, many have read the Commedia as a lyrical parable about reward and punishment; Reynolds suggests that Dante was arguing against the Pope and for an Emperor as supreme secular authority of medieval Europe. Drawing from an impressive array of sources, Reynolds delivers a comprehensive analysis of the poet, placing him within the context of his culture and society to deepen our understanding of a complicated man who was irritable, opinionated, vengeful, and an extraordinary genius.
466 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
33 people are currently reading
295 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Reynolds
65 books7 followersBarbara Reynolds (13 June 1914 – 29 April 2015) was an English scholar of Italian Studies, lexicographer and translator, wife of the philologist and translator Lewis Thorpe. She has written and edited several books concerning Dorothy Sayers and is president of the Dorothy L Sayers Society. She turned 100 in June 2014.
(from Wikipedia)
(from Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 15, 2016
This book is this perfect companion (well besides Virgil or Beatrice of course) for embarking on your voyage down through the burning heat and chilling cold of Inferno, climbing the perilous mountain of Purgatorio and flying through the heavenly spheres of Paradiso. Reynolds' text is highly readable and rife with examples. She does an outstanding job handling the various aspects that make this such a complex work of literature: the biographies of the folks we meet, the explanation of Dante's philosophy and theology, the architecture and structure of the work, the use of language (Latin, vernacular, other regional accents), the intertextuality - all of these factors come together in this cohesive and compelling biography.
One of the many things I learned in this biography was that the cantos were intended to be sung (thus the word "canto"). I wonder if this has been / is being done today because it would be an entirely different experience to listen to Dante's verses (with subtitles please!) and get a better feel for how this would have sounded.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone that wishes to travel into the Divine Comedy.
One of the many things I learned in this biography was that the cantos were intended to be sung (thus the word "canto"). I wonder if this has been / is being done today because it would be an entirely different experience to listen to Dante's verses (with subtitles please!) and get a better feel for how this would have sounded.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone that wishes to travel into the Divine Comedy.
February 6, 2015
After p. 250
I am determined to complete Dante's Divine Comedy. Apart from the poetry of certain individuals, John Keats, for example, the only poetry that I can read is epic poetry. Homer, Virgil and Milton are miracles. I have made several attempts upon Mt. Inferno, but haven't read beyond the first ten or fifteen cantos of about six or seven translations. So obviously I must be missing something.
I've gotten over/under/around/beyond other obstacles of this kind by reading as many biographies of a poet or novelist as I can tolerate - and I love biography -, and if I find the subject appealing and the biographies fully illuminating of the writer's life and projects, then incomprehension vanishes.
I'm approaching Reynold's biography of Dante from this perspective. As biography Reynold's book is hardly worth the effort of slogging through her tedious writing. And I'm managing only because Dante, it seems to me, survives Reynold's presentation - somehow. And so I persevere.
At End.
When I was tempted to shelve her book (yet once more), I took heart from my recollection that despite the best efforts of Proust's biographers to reduce his life to dinner engagements and the contents of his address book, they couldn't obliterate altogether intriguing impressions of this highly interesting person. In this way they prepared me to read his marvelous novel straight through after twenty years of aborted assaults on Mt. Proust.
I finished Reynold's biography almost with regret. I did wish it longer, but as Reynolds says there are only 423 documents to draw from - a miracle in itself if one considers that Dante died in 1321, but still an insufficient basis for a door-stop of a book.
In any case, quite enlightening, especially when read in conjunction with Eric Auerbach's, Dante: Poet of the Secular World - the first book of my favorite critic/cultural historian.
I am determined to complete Dante's Divine Comedy. Apart from the poetry of certain individuals, John Keats, for example, the only poetry that I can read is epic poetry. Homer, Virgil and Milton are miracles. I have made several attempts upon Mt. Inferno, but haven't read beyond the first ten or fifteen cantos of about six or seven translations. So obviously I must be missing something.
I've gotten over/under/around/beyond other obstacles of this kind by reading as many biographies of a poet or novelist as I can tolerate - and I love biography -, and if I find the subject appealing and the biographies fully illuminating of the writer's life and projects, then incomprehension vanishes.
I'm approaching Reynold's biography of Dante from this perspective. As biography Reynold's book is hardly worth the effort of slogging through her tedious writing. And I'm managing only because Dante, it seems to me, survives Reynold's presentation - somehow. And so I persevere.
At End.
When I was tempted to shelve her book (yet once more), I took heart from my recollection that despite the best efforts of Proust's biographers to reduce his life to dinner engagements and the contents of his address book, they couldn't obliterate altogether intriguing impressions of this highly interesting person. In this way they prepared me to read his marvelous novel straight through after twenty years of aborted assaults on Mt. Proust.
I finished Reynold's biography almost with regret. I did wish it longer, but as Reynolds says there are only 423 documents to draw from - a miracle in itself if one considers that Dante died in 1321, but still an insufficient basis for a door-stop of a book.
In any case, quite enlightening, especially when read in conjunction with Eric Auerbach's, Dante: Poet of the Secular World - the first book of my favorite critic/cultural historian.
April 8, 2021
On page three of Barbara Reynolds' book on Dante we are given the bizarre information that Dante's "cranial capacity was 1,700 cubic centimetres. The weight of his brain has been estimated as a possible 1,470 grams. These measurements suggest that his brain was above average in size and weight". Upon reading this pointless piece of information I should have put the book down (there is minimal evidence brain size correlates to IQ let alone creative ability); unfortunately for me I slogged through the remaining 400-odd pages.
And what a slog they were. Far from a portrait of "The Poet, the Political Thinker, the Man" that the title proclaims, we get a modestly interesting biography embedded within a tedious summary of all his major works, with about half of this book given over to a canto by canto paraphrasing of the Divine Comedy. I cannot overstate how boring this was: I have read the Commedia (as Reynolds slightly pretentiously refers to it throughout); I also read the notes to it that explain who the obscure figures are that Dante refers to. As such, I didn't need a blow-by-blow exegesis. Rather, I had hoped - based not unreasonably on the title - to read an engaging biography of the man perhaps enriched or informed by his writing. I was particularly interested to hear how he was funded (given my total lack of knowledge of the writing profession in the early 14th century) but we only hear a tiny bit about Dante's patrons all the way near the end in chapter 42. In short, instead of giving me more information on Dante the writer ("the Man" etc etc) what I got was an undergraduate textbook.
Unfortunately, Reynolds does not really succeed in delivering a coherent or convincing reading of Dante's works either. Firstly, we are promised significant "discoveries" on the "veltro and the DVX, the first a prophecy by Virgil, the second by Beatrice, of a leader who was to bring peace and order to the world .... by keeping an open mind I have almost by accident, hit upon what I consider are the solutions to both conundrums." Inevitably, for conundrums that have lasted "seven centuries" any novel solution now is highly unlikely to be clearcut otherwise it would have been stumbled upon already. In particular, the 'resolution' of the DVX proposed by Reynolds (essentially that it links to the line number in Inferno of the first prophecy, the veltro) seems to my unacademic eyes less than groundbreaking. But with such lofty promises it is hard not to feel a little let down when you do eventually reach these "solutions". I actually appreciate the boldness to say something new on an old topic but it is ultimately something of an anticlimax.
While this issue at least stems from an attempt to be innovative and novel - and is certainly laudable for that - my next problem with this work is much less so. The author is vastly over attached to her subject and speaks too often, too hyperbolically of the Florentine author. For example, we are routinely treated to descriptions of fairly common literary devices as if they were revelatory. One such instance is in Inferno: "The choreography of these transformations is masterly. Five thieves are identified, all Florentines [list of names]. Hearing the name of one of them, Dante signals to Virgil to listen, laying a finger on his lips, dal mento al naso ("from chin to nose"), a glimpse of a gesture as vivid as if made before our eyes, probably made by the reader, perhaps Dante himself." Is this really such a "vivid" gesture worthy of comment? Such praise of trivial aspects of Dante's verse abounds in this book and gets fairly ridiculous at times. The insistence on quoting the Italian (even for something where the aural effect as here is not relevant) grated after a while, no more so than when no translation was offered.
What makes the unabashed hero-worship of Dante so much more galling is when Reynolds accurately points out a lapse on the author's part but in almost the next sentence still claims he can do no wrong. The best example of this is in Reynolds' criticism of Dante for the vulgar, totally out of character final words given to Beatrice. These are a searing rebuke of the papacy and Pope Boniface VIII in particular which, in Reynolds' words, are "in strident and inexplicable conflict with the idealisation to which [Beatrice's] persona has so recently been exalted." Yet having just called Dante out for this, barely half a page later in describing how Beatrice departs in a symmetric manner to Virgil at the close of the Purgatorio, Reynolds gushes how "this master stroke of balance is once again evidence of the perfect control Dante the writer had over the structure of his narrative. Despite his many misgivings as to the inadequacy of his powers of expression, this he never loses". Having just given Beatrice inappropriately vituperative final words, this is unfortunately ill-timed praise.
Ultimately, Dante: the Poet, the Political Thinker, the Man, is not the book it claims to be. It is a study guide to Dante's works and not an examination of the man himself. As a study guide, Reynolds deserves plaudits for attempting to bring new ideas to what, I can only assume, is a slow moving field (the study of a venerated writer who has been examined forensically for over 700 years). But her almost comical over-effusiveness ultimately veers from charmingly enthusiastic to slightly comic to, in the end, occasionally self-contradictory.
And what a slog they were. Far from a portrait of "The Poet, the Political Thinker, the Man" that the title proclaims, we get a modestly interesting biography embedded within a tedious summary of all his major works, with about half of this book given over to a canto by canto paraphrasing of the Divine Comedy. I cannot overstate how boring this was: I have read the Commedia (as Reynolds slightly pretentiously refers to it throughout); I also read the notes to it that explain who the obscure figures are that Dante refers to. As such, I didn't need a blow-by-blow exegesis. Rather, I had hoped - based not unreasonably on the title - to read an engaging biography of the man perhaps enriched or informed by his writing. I was particularly interested to hear how he was funded (given my total lack of knowledge of the writing profession in the early 14th century) but we only hear a tiny bit about Dante's patrons all the way near the end in chapter 42. In short, instead of giving me more information on Dante the writer ("the Man" etc etc) what I got was an undergraduate textbook.
Unfortunately, Reynolds does not really succeed in delivering a coherent or convincing reading of Dante's works either. Firstly, we are promised significant "discoveries" on the "veltro and the DVX, the first a prophecy by Virgil, the second by Beatrice, of a leader who was to bring peace and order to the world .... by keeping an open mind I have almost by accident, hit upon what I consider are the solutions to both conundrums." Inevitably, for conundrums that have lasted "seven centuries" any novel solution now is highly unlikely to be clearcut otherwise it would have been stumbled upon already. In particular, the 'resolution' of the DVX proposed by Reynolds (essentially that it links to the line number in Inferno of the first prophecy, the veltro) seems to my unacademic eyes less than groundbreaking. But with such lofty promises it is hard not to feel a little let down when you do eventually reach these "solutions". I actually appreciate the boldness to say something new on an old topic but it is ultimately something of an anticlimax.
While this issue at least stems from an attempt to be innovative and novel - and is certainly laudable for that - my next problem with this work is much less so. The author is vastly over attached to her subject and speaks too often, too hyperbolically of the Florentine author. For example, we are routinely treated to descriptions of fairly common literary devices as if they were revelatory. One such instance is in Inferno: "The choreography of these transformations is masterly. Five thieves are identified, all Florentines [list of names]. Hearing the name of one of them, Dante signals to Virgil to listen, laying a finger on his lips, dal mento al naso ("from chin to nose"), a glimpse of a gesture as vivid as if made before our eyes, probably made by the reader, perhaps Dante himself." Is this really such a "vivid" gesture worthy of comment? Such praise of trivial aspects of Dante's verse abounds in this book and gets fairly ridiculous at times. The insistence on quoting the Italian (even for something where the aural effect as here is not relevant) grated after a while, no more so than when no translation was offered.
What makes the unabashed hero-worship of Dante so much more galling is when Reynolds accurately points out a lapse on the author's part but in almost the next sentence still claims he can do no wrong. The best example of this is in Reynolds' criticism of Dante for the vulgar, totally out of character final words given to Beatrice. These are a searing rebuke of the papacy and Pope Boniface VIII in particular which, in Reynolds' words, are "in strident and inexplicable conflict with the idealisation to which [Beatrice's] persona has so recently been exalted." Yet having just called Dante out for this, barely half a page later in describing how Beatrice departs in a symmetric manner to Virgil at the close of the Purgatorio, Reynolds gushes how "this master stroke of balance is once again evidence of the perfect control Dante the writer had over the structure of his narrative. Despite his many misgivings as to the inadequacy of his powers of expression, this he never loses". Having just given Beatrice inappropriately vituperative final words, this is unfortunately ill-timed praise.
Ultimately, Dante: the Poet, the Political Thinker, the Man, is not the book it claims to be. It is a study guide to Dante's works and not an examination of the man himself. As a study guide, Reynolds deserves plaudits for attempting to bring new ideas to what, I can only assume, is a slow moving field (the study of a venerated writer who has been examined forensically for over 700 years). But her almost comical over-effusiveness ultimately veers from charmingly enthusiastic to slightly comic to, in the end, occasionally self-contradictory.
February 27, 2012
An exceptionally clear biography of Dante Alighieri, combined with an examination of his major work, the Divine Comedy. Barbara Reynolds was the personal assistant to Dorothy Sayers during her work on a translation of the Commedia. Sayers died before finishing it and Reynolds completed the translation.
A tremendous amount of scholarship has grown up like a tangled forest around Dante and Reynolds goes some distance in detangling it. The context in which she places Dante is very helpful and illuminates certain aspects of the Commedia. In other ways, she is as traditional as others. While acknowledging that Dante's great work is a layered and complex enterprise, she stops short of detaching it from a traditional reading of an attempt to reconcile the world to a divine vision which Reynolds suggests Dante accepted without much critical assessment.
Still, this is a worthy entry into the scholarship, with a few new insights, and some revelations that contribute positively to a better reading of the Commedia.
A tremendous amount of scholarship has grown up like a tangled forest around Dante and Reynolds goes some distance in detangling it. The context in which she places Dante is very helpful and illuminates certain aspects of the Commedia. In other ways, she is as traditional as others. While acknowledging that Dante's great work is a layered and complex enterprise, she stops short of detaching it from a traditional reading of an attempt to reconcile the world to a divine vision which Reynolds suggests Dante accepted without much critical assessment.
Still, this is a worthy entry into the scholarship, with a few new insights, and some revelations that contribute positively to a better reading of the Commedia.
August 26, 2023
Barbara Reynolds was a close friend of Dorothy Sayers. After Sayers died, Reynolds completed the translation of Paradiso from"The Divine Comedy" that Sayers had been working on. (Sayers had already translated Inferno and Purgatorio) Reynolds was an outstanding scholar herself, and was awarded the silver medal for Services to Italian culture by the government of Italy in 1964.
This book is a compilation of insight and knowledge she gained about Dante from her translation work, as a scholar of Italian works and studies, and her collaboration with Dorothy Sayers. As such, the book is not a heavily footnoted scholarly work..... it is more of a discussion about a very very good friend that she has amazing insights about.
This book is a compilation of insight and knowledge she gained about Dante from her translation work, as a scholar of Italian works and studies, and her collaboration with Dorothy Sayers. As such, the book is not a heavily footnoted scholarly work..... it is more of a discussion about a very very good friend that she has amazing insights about.
March 16, 2015
More of a study of his works than a straight up biography. Worth reading for the great detailed analysis.
Read
June 23, 2023
χρόνος ανάγνωσης κριτικής: 42 δευτερόλεπτα
Αν δεν πήγαινα Ρώμη τον περασμένο Σεπτέμβριο, και δεν αποφασίζαμε
να πάμε και μονοήμερη Φλωρεντία, και δεν έμπαινα στο Παλάτσο Βέκιο,
και δεν έβρεχε έτσι ώστε να μην μπορώ να βγω στον πύργο,
δε θα αγόραζα αυτό το βιβλίο.
Αλλά ήθελα να αγοράσω κάτι από ή για τον Δάντη από την γενέτειρά του.
Και πήρα αυτό νομίζοντας πως ήταν μια καθαρή βιογραφία.
Που δεν ήταν. Και φυσικά με ψειρογράμματα που απεχθάνομαι,
και άχρηστες υποσημειώσεις στο τέλος που επίσης απεχθάνομαι.
Μου πήρε 8 μέρες να διαβάσω 500 παρά κάτι σελίδες.
Ένα βιβλίο που ήταν περισσότερο μια αναλυτική βιογραφία της
Θείας Κωμωδίας παρά της ζωής του Δάντη.
Ένα βιβλίο που ανέλυε τα γραπτά του Δάντη και το ιστορικό υπόβαθρο τους.
Βιογραφήθηκε κι ο Δάντης δε λέω, αλλά περισσότερο έμαθα για τη
Θεία Κωμωδία την οποία διάβασα πέρσι εις διπλούν
(μετάφραση Καζαντζάκη και Kirkpatrick) και τα άλλα του γραπτά
(που εκτός για το γλωσσολογικά ενδιαφέρον De Vulgari Eloquentia
για τα άλλα δεν καίγομαι και τόσο)
Χαίρομαι που το τέλειωσα και έμαθα περισσότερα για τη ζωή
και το έργο του Δάντη όπως επίσης και για τη Θεία Κωμωδία,
αλλά νομίζω για μένα αυτό το κεφάλαιο έκλεισε.
November 25, 2019
Extremely detailed / scholarly biography though most of the text goes to explaining and analysing his major works. Particularly are the references and interactions between the Banquet and the Comedy that are pointed out in this book. I though that the actual time spent on his own life and contemporary political situation could have been worked out in much more detail. After all Dante lived in a crucial period of Italian history.
August 13, 2022
Hoping to become one of the elevated circle, Dante, at the age of about 17, began circulating some of his sonnets, at first anonymously. On receiving replies, he grew bolder and sent other poems to a wider group...Among the poets who replied was Dante of Maiano, who took a coarse, jocose tone and, in a parody of medical advice, told his young namesake to give his testicles a good wash to see if that would clear his head; if not, he suggested he should see a doctor and present a specimen of his urine, thus mockingly diagnosing a pathological sexual condition.
from Chapter 1: The Early Years
Why would someone--like me, for instance--read a 400 page book entitled Dante: The Poet, the Political Thinker, the Man by Barbara Reynolds? Obviously, to learn more about Dante the poet, the thinker, the man. Reynolds strikes off on her own: "Since this book is the result of independent observation, I give no bibliography." She provides some insight into Dante, but she is vague. I wanted some clarity on the Guelf and Ghibelline factions which are explored in the Divine Comedy, wanting insight into exactly what stance did Dante adopt and to better understand how this adoption fit into the social milieu of his time. Reynolds cannot be bothered with that--she relegates a short paragraph in the appendix to the subject which fails to elucidate anything about the subject.
Reynolds read a lot of Dante and his contemporaries, no doubt. She is here to summarize and attempt to stir a little controversy (i.e., could Dante have been on "stimulants" and that's where his visions in Paradiso originate?), but her work is too scant to scratch the surface. Of course, in 400 pages, she is bound to provide some tidbit to titillate or enlighten, but she fails repeatedly to provide any consistent insight into the author or his works.
Reynolds is well-read, talented translator--it shows clearly. This book definitely had potential, but it is squandered in useless summaries and pointless overviews. If, like me, you read The Divine Comedy and want a better grasp of Dante the poet and pilgrim to provide insight into the events of the poem, this is not a good place to start. As it states clearly on the gate of Hell: "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate’"
from Chapter 1: The Early Years
Why would someone--like me, for instance--read a 400 page book entitled Dante: The Poet, the Political Thinker, the Man by Barbara Reynolds? Obviously, to learn more about Dante the poet, the thinker, the man. Reynolds strikes off on her own: "Since this book is the result of independent observation, I give no bibliography." She provides some insight into Dante, but she is vague. I wanted some clarity on the Guelf and Ghibelline factions which are explored in the Divine Comedy, wanting insight into exactly what stance did Dante adopt and to better understand how this adoption fit into the social milieu of his time. Reynolds cannot be bothered with that--she relegates a short paragraph in the appendix to the subject which fails to elucidate anything about the subject.
Reynolds read a lot of Dante and his contemporaries, no doubt. She is here to summarize and attempt to stir a little controversy (i.e., could Dante have been on "stimulants" and that's where his visions in Paradiso originate?), but her work is too scant to scratch the surface. Of course, in 400 pages, she is bound to provide some tidbit to titillate or enlighten, but she fails repeatedly to provide any consistent insight into the author or his works.
Reynolds is well-read, talented translator--it shows clearly. This book definitely had potential, but it is squandered in useless summaries and pointless overviews. If, like me, you read The Divine Comedy and want a better grasp of Dante the poet and pilgrim to provide insight into the events of the poem, this is not a good place to start. As it states clearly on the gate of Hell: "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate’"
June 15, 2020
The blurbs seem to emphasize the most controversial of Barbara Reynolds' speculations on Dante: that he may have had access to hallucinogens (specifically cannabis) during the composition of his mystical masterpiece. This looks like an example of wishful marketing. Reynolds' claims vis-a-vis drug use are as hedged and tentative as they can be. But subjunctive clauses don't move units. Whatever. This is a solid, thorough biography that serves primarily as a canto by canto unpacking of what Dante got up to in the Divine Comedy. Reynolds is well-placed to offer such a work and most of her speculations are amply warranted by extensive evidence. In places where she is necessarily less definitive, she is always careful to address the fact and not hide it. (Too bad the jacket writers couldn't follow her in this.) It's a really useful work to have in hand while teaching the poem. It is comprehensive without being picayune and is blessedly free of jargon. Perhaps the work's greatest defect is the lack of ample scholarly apparatus or a more than cursory index. These facts imply the work is meant for casual readers, but scholars will surely profit much from this work. So it's a shame there isn't a clearer attempt to supply sources and a thorough bibliography.
September 12, 2021
Esperava algo diferente...Biografia baseada em interpretações das obras de Dante, algumas "anedotas" sem fonte. Não recomendaria.
February 28, 2015
I just wrote a long and detailed review of this book--then my finger slipped on the mouse (curse you Apple for this "feature" which has caused me to lose three such reviews), the page backspaced, and I lost it all. I'm too busy to write it all again.
While I love Barbara Reynold's terrific translation and especially her clear and stylistically terrific introductory essay to the Vita Nova, this book is a mess. It will please neither Dante scholars, like me, because it spends 300+ pages synopsizing works we have already read. This watered-down Dante will also probably bore those who have not read the works yet as it takes out much of their color--and it will probably keep them from doing so as this book alone will get them through a course or a cocktail party Dante conversation quite adequately.
It does work, and I actually enjoyed it, as the story of Ms. Reynold's own interior Dante, the man and his work. I, too, have my own interior Dante after 20 years spend reading, studying, and teaching his works. Still, the basic format here, the attempt to reconstruct the man from his works and the details we know of his life, leads to more questions than answers, and, in the end, who cares about the man? It's the work that remains and the work that we read. All the rest is imagination. I would have preferred a slim tome of pointed essays for the many gems of interpretation that this book does hold and been spared the many questions and lengthy quotations and synopses. Beginners: read the works for yourself first and then the critics!
While I love Barbara Reynold's terrific translation and especially her clear and stylistically terrific introductory essay to the Vita Nova, this book is a mess. It will please neither Dante scholars, like me, because it spends 300+ pages synopsizing works we have already read. This watered-down Dante will also probably bore those who have not read the works yet as it takes out much of their color--and it will probably keep them from doing so as this book alone will get them through a course or a cocktail party Dante conversation quite adequately.
It does work, and I actually enjoyed it, as the story of Ms. Reynold's own interior Dante, the man and his work. I, too, have my own interior Dante after 20 years spend reading, studying, and teaching his works. Still, the basic format here, the attempt to reconstruct the man from his works and the details we know of his life, leads to more questions than answers, and, in the end, who cares about the man? It's the work that remains and the work that we read. All the rest is imagination. I would have preferred a slim tome of pointed essays for the many gems of interpretation that this book does hold and been spared the many questions and lengthy quotations and synopses. Beginners: read the works for yourself first and then the critics!
March 24, 2012
This is an excellent book. Although I have skipped and skimmed several chapters, it is a book that I plan to return to, as I have so often returned to Dante's Divina Commedia. Reynold's insights on the life of Dante and the context in which his works were composed are an invaluable resource to anyone interested in Dante or Italian literature. The formation of Dante's character and the process by which he gained the talent and inspiration to write one of the world's greatest works of literature are clearly and eloquently expounded in this biography. This book, like the Divina Commedia itself, has left me to ponder the love of God, and the mutually reinforcing principles of reason and revelation.
January 27, 2015
The problem with the biography is not its insight, it is very insightful. The problem is that so little details are known with certainty about Dante's life. There may also be a problem with the fact that Dante is parochial and small-minded...a genius to be sure but very regional in his thinking and ungenerous to his adversaries.
Barbara Reynolds attempts to downplay the limitations of Dante's character and put the poetry front and center...this she does quite successfully but the malignancy of Dante's character continuous to bleed through the pages/screens.
In the end we may all love the poetry while being contemptuous of the man.
Recommended for all those looking for a good/brilliant biography of Dante and this one is available on Kindle.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Barbara Reynolds attempts to downplay the limitations of Dante's character and put the poetry front and center...this she does quite successfully but the malignancy of Dante's character continuous to bleed through the pages/screens.
In the end we may all love the poetry while being contemptuous of the man.
Recommended for all those looking for a good/brilliant biography of Dante and this one is available on Kindle.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
July 21, 2025
Such a complete biography, detailing Dante's life events, his productions and the scaffolding for its masterpiece trilogy. The kind of book that you don’t want to finish and when you do you feel that Dante is a close one and it would lovely to give him a call and dwell into philosophy and stories. This is the perfect companion for Dante's Commedia, the next book to read after finishing Paradise.
Check my fy full review at https://iamarino.com/dante-the-poet-t...
Check my fy full review at https://iamarino.com/dante-the-poet-t...
Want to read
October 16, 2012Esse foi o livro que dei de presente de aniversário pro Fredão em 2012. O filho dele (Dante) tinha nascido menos de um mês antes e chegado em casa alguns dias antes, depois de uns 20 dias na UTI neo-natal.
February 21, 2014
If you've ever read the Divine Comedy and would like to have a better grasp of the story, this book should definitely suffice your needs. You'll not only have access to lots of information about Dante's life but also to his motives in writing his magnum opus.
September 9, 2009
As our book group plunges into Dante's Comedy, this is proving to be a useful guide.
Want to read
May 3, 2009moving around reading favorite sections, reading now mostly about Beatrice & his exile & beliefs; scholarly, encyclopedic, will be on my list for awhile...
June 19, 2016
An excellent book - one worth reading a few times. This is my second.
March 14, 2016
A definitive study of Dante's life and work.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews