Behind every great painting, symphony, piece of literature, or other artwork there hides a powerful emotion that fuels the artist from start to completion. When we look at a painting, we are not just seeing colored pigment suspended in oil on a stretched canvas, we are taking a close look into the heart and soul of the creator of that painting. Every piece of art is also a piece of the artist. One need only glance at one of the many self-portraits of Van Gogh to see a glimpse into his life and his inner turmoil. Similarly, one must only read the early and late poetry of Dante to gain insight into his mind, his passions, and, ultimately, his soul, and the way in which he changed throughout his life.
To understand Dante's poetry requires us to understand his motivations. Throughout his life and career, Dante's primary motivation was always love.
Gustave Doré's illustration to Dante's Inferno. P...
English: Dante Alighieri's portrait by Sandro Bott...
Domenico di Michelino, La Divina Commedia di Dante...As Dante grew older, his ideas about love and life changed and these changes are reflected in his poetry. In particular, Dante's ideas of love were focused upon a single person in his life: Beatrice. Dante first saw Beatrice when he was only 9 years old (Dinsmore 69). She became his inspiration for almost every major work he created and he viewed her as his savior, first temporally and later spiritually (Fergusson 165, Inf. II, 109-114). His La Vita Nuova is a collection of poems and prose commentary inspired by Beatrice and collected after her death in 1290. Dante's love, however, was unrequited, as he himself says in a conversation with a lady recounted in La Vita Nuova: "What purpose have you in loving this lady, when you cannot bear her presence? Tell us about it, because surely the purpose of such love must...