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Work #303 · Early (Dante's first major work)

Vita Nuova

Dante Alighieri
c. 1295 · Tuscan Italian
Prosimetric autobiographical narrative — 31 poems with prose commentaries in 42 chapters · Medieval Italian poetry / dolce stil novo

The early life of love for Beatrice — Dante's c. 1295 prosimetric autobiographical work, the prelude to the Divine Comedy

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Vita Nuova (Early (Dante's first major work))
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Singular
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Scripture
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Vita Nuova

The autobiographical time of Dante's development from age nine through Beatrice's death.

Space

Vita Nuova

The Florentine setting; the spiritual-aesthetic space of the dolce stil novo.

Matter

Vita Nuova

The embodied bodies of Dante and Beatrice; the material poems and books.

Observer

Vita Nuova

Dante himself as the singular autobiographical narrator. Personal-providential God as framework.

Energy

Vita Nuova

The energies of love, poetic creation, spiritual aspiration.

Information

Vita Nuova

The integrated poetic-prosaic record preserved in the Vita Nuova.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Vita Nuova

The historical reality of Beatrice (probably Beatrice Portinari, who died young in 1290) has been continuously researched. The relation between the Vita Nuova's love-mysticism and the Comedy's cosmic-theological vision is the central interpretive question. Modern Dante scholarship has substantially complicated the literary-historical understanding of the work.