Here it is darling!!
Now, what to blog?
My new obsession is Dante's La Vita Nuova.
The passion and love of Dante for the beautiful, and possibly imaginary, Beatrice.
Now ladies and gentlemen, my favorite quote.....
Ego Dominus Tuus
Vide Cor Meum
Joyful Love appeared to me, in his hands he held my heart and in his arms,
my lady lay asleep, wrapped in a veil
He awoke her then,
trembling and obedient she ate that burning heart out of his hand.
Weeping i saw Him then depart from me.
Although you can't really get the full meaning or the full passion or idea he was trying to present or express because obviously he wrote it in Italian, the images are the same.
Even in English the language is beautiful.
In the beginning the reader knows that Beatrice is now dead. This gives Dante the liscence to make her into Divine Love. It also makes the reader wonder if Beatrice was even real or just an image. The Summa was "published" the same year Dante claims he first saw Beatrice at age 9 (a symbolic number and consistently used throughout the entire book) so it gives us reason to doubt whether or not she truly existed.
Either way the images are incredible and you can't help but giggle at Dante the entire time. Men obvioulsy haven't evolved much when it comes to passion and infatuation.
Its kind of cute...kind of ridiculous!
so there is my post!
and we strike the PULISH POST button like it was Amy Klobuchar's big fat nose!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Ecce Deus fortior me qui veniens dominabitur mihi!
Inscribed on the inside of Mrs. AbecedariusRex's ring. Ask her sometime.
So did Beatrice exist? Even if she did, how does D's transformation of her into this quasi-angelic figure change the dialogue of Western Civilization for generations to come? Woman is the reason I get out of hell? Woman is the reason that I can see the light of God? Woman is the reason that I keep going? What does that say about the whole male/female thing? A radical difference from neolithic cultures (and Islam).
I "read" Dante's Divine Comedy recently (listened to it on CD). Erin you are very insightful about man not changing a bit in 500 years, at least not where infatuation and passion are concerned. While I can't dispute "microevolution" I am highly skeptical of any kind of evolution that says the basic nature of man can change through...what, natural selection? Survival of the fittest? Doesn't make sense to me.
Post a Comment