Those Who By Insight Know What Love Is

1488 Words3 Pages

As any romantic will assert, love is by far the most powerful force known to human hearts and minds. This sentiment is espoused throughout history, almost to the point of cliché. Everyone has heard the optimistic statement, “love conquers all,” and The Beatles are certain, however idyllic it may be, that “all you need is love.” Humanity is convinced that love is unique within human emotion, unequalled in its power to both lift the spirit up in throws of ecstasy, and cast it down in utter despair.

Loves power has suggested to many that it serves as a link to the divine, and that the feeling instilled in man by love comes from the supernatural, be it God or otherwise. In La Vita Nuova Dante Alighieri makes it clear that he believes in the transcendent power and effects of love.

La Vita Nuova is a collection of poetry and prose describing Dante’s love for Beatrice Portinari. Though both Dante and Beatrice married others during the time chronicled in La Vita Nuova, the love he professes for her is pure and all consuming. Indeed, for Dante, Beatrice represents absolute beauty and nobility of spirit. He refers to her as his “most gracious lady,” and she comes to represent the most perfect object of love.

From the very first page Dante shows the reader the immense effect love has on him,

“The moment I saw her I say in all truth that the vital spirit, which dwells in the inmost depths of the heart, began to tremble so violently that I felt the vibration alarmingly in all my pulses, even the weakest of them. As it trembled, it uttered these words: (behold a god more powerful than I who comes to rule over me).” (4)

At the mere sight of Beatrice, Dante is overwhelmed and his own spirit informs him that he is in the presence of a ...

... middle of paper ...

...eral chronicle of Dante’s life. This is not the case, as historical information proves, Dante led a full life separate from his love of Beatrice. This story instead serves as a description of the power that Love wields over the sensitive and romantic. Indeed, Love could wield this power over anyone He chooses, though he chooses only those with the poet’s soul, through which God can speak and tell humanity of the power of Love. God inspires those who are open to him, in a way that they can understand. In the case of Dante, God spoke to him through Love and produced a tale that will convey the same message to all those who are able to hear. Dante was not writing for those without a poet’s mind, a fact he makes clear throughout the text, and the reason for this is evident: they would simply not understand.

Works Cited
La Vita Nuova, Dante Alighieri, Penguin publishing

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