Dante

by T.S. Eliot

A psycho-analytic interpretation of the life and poetry of the great French symbolist poet. Ilus.

69 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Thomas Stearns Eliot was a poet, dramatist and literary critic. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry." He wrote the poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, and Four Quartets; the plays Murder in the Cathedral and The Cocktail Party; and the essay Tradition and the Individual Talent. Eliot was born an American, moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 (at the age of 25), and became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.S._Eliot

Reviews

[Ray LaManna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dante died 700 years ago today, September 14, 1321. As part of my ongoing of this great poet, I have read this seminal study by another great 20th-century poet, T. S. Eliot. Some very deep insights in this 1929 essay.

[Adriano Bulla]

I do have major issues with this essay; Eliot was a supreme theorist, yet, if I may sat so without being doomed for eternity to the First Ring of Caina, he was a slightly lesser critic. Κυριε ´ελεησπν, et a peccatis meis absolvet.

[Tim Palfreman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short essay, but not an easy read. TS Eliot writes an appreciation of Dante and how to enjoy his poetry, but his style is difficult to follow and his points often seem waffly and weak. He starts with The Divine Comedy, then discusses Vita Nuova.

Despite this, I enjoyed and agreed with his general approach:
1) You don’t have to share Dante’s beliefs to enjoy his poetry
2) The first time you read the Divine Comedy, don’t worry about the details, just enjoy the poetry and get a general overview. This will equip you to understand more of the details on subsequent readings.
3) Read the Divine Comedy before Vita Nuova. The latter will then make more sense, and will inform understanding of the Comedy.
4) Dante is Shakespeare’s equal. Dante explores the heights and depths of humanity, Shakespeare explores its breadth.

Perhaps, as Eliot suggests about reading Dante, I will get more out of this essay on subsequent readings, but I suspect not much more.

[learnedHamster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cautious and rigorous work, truly springing forth from a felt passion and deep felt indebtedness. A lot of reflections on each part of the divine comedy, as well as the particularly striking Cantos on Brunetti, and Ulysses. Much of the strength of this work, I find, lay in situating Dante as a poet, as well as the position of the poet in general, within and from a vastness beyond the traditions of his time, and beyond! Continuous relations to other poets as well, Shakespeare most frequently, whereby Eliot shows in practice his assertion of ‘poetry as the living whole of all poetry ever written’.

As another review pointed out, he specifically orders readers to read the Divine Comedy first, and only afterwards La Vita Nuova. Yes, you may do so in English.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will always have time for a critic who prefers the Paradiso to the Inferno, and there is a lot to enjoy about this essay originally published in a series aimed at the ‘ordinary’ reader. Eliot’s belief that ‘great poetry communicates before it is understood’ underpins his approach, although he seems unable to come to the point about what exactly he thinks makes Dante such a great poet. But this is up with Rupert Brooke’s essay on Donne as an insightful appreciation of one poet by another whose own writing is entirely different.

[Brett Ohler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed reading this essay for many reasons, but most of all the understanding of Eliot I have gained. Reading his writings on his perspectives of Dante’s work is like watching someone speak deeply on a passion. It gives so much insight to the kind of person they are, and it brings joy to see someone speak so enthusiastically about a topic.

[Blunt Of Mercia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful introduction. TLDR. Read him in Italian, don't read Vita Nuova until you have read the divine comedy.

[Harris Silverman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eliot's essays on the Commedia and La Vita Nuova hold some useful insights and thoughts, and give one some ideas about how to think about the poems.

[Green Lion]

Pretty good