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Description of  Ancient Flame, The: Dante and the Poets (William and Katherine Devers Series in Dante and Medieval Italian Literature)

While the structure and themes of the Divine Comedy are defined by the narrative of a spiritual pilgrimage guided by Christian truth, Winthrop Wetherbees remarkable new study reveals that Dantes engagement with the great Latin poets Vergil, Ovid, Lucan, and Statius constitutes a second, complementary narrative centered on psychological and artistic self-discovery. This fresh, illuminating approach departs from the usual treatment of classical poets in Dante criticism, which assigns them a merely allegorical function. Their true importance to Dantes project is much greater. As Wetherbee meticulously shows, Dantes use of the poets is grounded in an astute understanding of their historical situation and a deeply sympathetic reading of their poetry. Read more