La Vita Nuova ( Dante ) free essay sample

Examines the poets views on love and creative writing as expressed in his poetry and his relationship with Beatrice. In La Vita Nuova, Dante expresses his views on romantic love and literary creation, arguing essentially that the two are inextricably bound together. This does not mean that as love goes, so necessarily goes literary creation. To the contrary, Dante seems clearly to be saying at times that the most critical periods in his relationship with Beatrice have produced the most passionate and remarkable poetry. The study will argue that the process whereby Dante comes to understand and experience love in a mature, spiritual and transcendent sense is a process which for him requires the recording of his experiences in poetry which crystallizes those experiences for his vigilant examination. Love for Dante is a means of spiritual and creative awakening. To a poet of passion such as Dante, what matters is not a healthy or non-dysfunctional relationship such as might be