La Vita Nuova

A unique treatise by a poet; written for poets; on the art of poetry; La Vita Nuova is elaborately and symbolically patterned; consisting of a selection of Dante's early poems; interspersed with his own prose commentary. The poems themselves tell the story of his love for Beatrice; from their first meeting at a May Day party in her father's house; through Dante's sufferings and his attempts to conceal the true object of his devotion by the use of 'screen-loves'; to his overwhelming grief at her death; ending with the transformative vision of her in heaven. These are some of the richest love poems in literature and the movement from self-pitying lament to praise for the beloved's beauty and virtue; illustrate the elevating power of love.