Synopses & Reviews
How did Dante come to create his masterpiece, the
Divine Comedy, a work unrivaled by any of his other writings? In this book, a preeminent Dante scholar analyzes the only real biography of the poet that we have—his body of works—to illuminate this question. Robert Hollander considers Dante’s political writings, commentary, and other poems as well as the
Comedy to construct an intellectual biography of the great poet.
"Hollander's lucid and brilliant discussion . . . is a joy to read."—Bernard Knox, New York Review of Books
Synopsis
The Divine Comedy, completed around 1320, is a supreme work of the imagination. None of Dante's other works, nor even all of his other works taken together, can rival the Comedy. How did the Florentine exile come to create this masterpiece? What steps in his development can explain the making of this extraordinary poem? In this book, a preeminent Dante scholar turns to the poet's body of works -- the only real biography of Dante that we have -- to illuminate these questions. Through an exposition of Dante's other writings, Robert Hollander provides a concise intellectual biography of the writer whom many consider the greatest narrative poet of the modern era.
Hollander writes for those who have already encountered the Comedy, suggesting to these readers how Dante's other works relate to the great poem and inviting them to reread the Comedy with new interest and understanding.
About the Author
Robert Hollander, professor of European literature at Princeton University, is one of only three Americans ever to receive the gold medal of the city of Florence for their efforts on behalf of Dante.