2 h 47 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 68 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 68 pagesAbout this book
What if a single greeting could change the way you see the world?
In The New Life (La Vita Nuova), Dante Alighieri gathers poems inside a prose story of his love for Beatrice. It begins with a childhood meeting. Years later, her greeting brings him joy, and his longing becomes a question: what can love mean when it asks for nothing in return?
Dante tells the story behind his verses and explains how they work, inviting you close to the act of writing. A street encounter, questions from a group of ladies, and dreams of Love become parts of his inward journey. Through poetry and prose, he explores praise, grief, beauty, and devotion.
What you’ll discover
- A meeting that lasts Follow the childhood memory of Beatrice that shapes Dante’s love and writing.
- The power of a greeting Discover how one brief encounter fills an ordinary street with deep personal meaning.
- Poems opened from within Read Dante’s own explanations beside his verses, tracing the feelings behind their shape.
- Dreams given poetic form Enter visions where Love appears as a lord and longing finds vivid expression.
- Love beyond its reward Explore a devotion that moves beyond the hope of receiving affection in return.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who love poetry, medieval Italy, or the story of how a great writer began. It also suits anyone curious about love that grows into devotion. If you want fast plot or modern realism, you may find it slow.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A child meets Beatrice and is changed
- A greeting brings joy and a screen
- Praise becomes his new way of writing
- Dreams, visions and the shadow of loss
- A book built from verse and prose
- Love as a path toward something higher
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- 2 h 47 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
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- 6 × 9 in, 68 pages: 6,95 USD when you start free, 12,95 USD on its own.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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The New Life (La Vita Nuova)
by Dante Alighieri· 1294
A young poet traces his love for Beatrice.
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Language: Deutsch
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A child meets Beatrice and is changed
The book opens with a memory. Dante says that when he was nearly nine years old, he first saw a girl of about the same age, whose name was Beatrice. She wore a deep red dress, and he says his whole being trembled at the sight. From that day, he writes, Love ruled his soul.
Dante describes this in the language of medieval science. He speaks of spirits that live in the body, and each one reacts to the sight of her. One spirit trembles, another weeps, and another cries out in wonder. The language sounds odd today, but the point is simple. Her presence changes his body and his mind at once.
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The author
Dante Alighieri
1265–1321 · Medieval Italian poet
Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265. He wrote poetry and works on language, politics, and philosophy. He wrote La Vita Nuova in the 1290s and the Divine Comedy in the early fourteenth century. Exiled from Florence in 1302, he lived elsewhere in Italy and died in Ravenna in 1321.
“Love and the gentle heart are one same thing.”
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Questions about The New Life (La Vita Nuova)
Can I read it free?
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Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is La Vita Nuova about?
It tells how Dante fell in love with Beatrice as a boy and how that love shaped his poetry. It combines about thirty poems with prose that explains when and why each was written.
Who is Beatrice in The New Life?
Beatrice is the woman Dante loves and praises. Tradition identifies her with Beatrice Portinari of Florence, though the book never gives her family name. She appears as a living lady and as a sign of higher goodness.
Why does the number nine appear so often in La Vita Nuova?
Dante links Beatrice with the number nine. He first sees her near the age of nine, and many events follow the same number. He says nine is a miracle number, because its root is three, the number of the Trinity.
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