Dante's Lyric Poetry

by Dante Alighieri

  If the fourth stanza anticipates aspects of Inferno and echoes the story in the Gospels about the death of Christ, the fifth anticipates aspects of Purgatorio and Paradiso, echoing, among other biblical passages, a psalm: the beginning of the fifth stranza, “Levava li occhi miei [I lifted up my eyes]” (57), repeats the beginning of Psalm 120, “Levavi oculos meos in montes,” a verse translated in Paradiso 25.38. Raising his gaze, the poet sees “li angeli che tornavan suso in cielo,/e una nuvoletta avean davanti,/dopo la qual gridavan tutti: Osanna [the angels, …/ascending in the sky, returning home,/together with a little cloud in front,/behind which they were crying out ‘Hosanna’]” (59–61), in a scene that “is like a combination of Christ’s Ascension … and the Assumption” (Gorni, VN, p. 137). As for the angels who shout Osanna (the verb gridare, to shout, is used in a similarly theologized context in Donne ch’avete), De Robertis recalls that Osanna “resonates in Scripture only for the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem” (VN, p. 164), while Gorni specifies that the verse that follows in the Gospels, “Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini [Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord]” (Matt. 21:9, Mark 11:9–10, John 12:13), “is then significantly recited in Purgatorio 30.19, ‘Tutti dicean: Benedictus qui venis!’ in the moment in which Beatrice reappears” (Gorni, VN, p. 137).

  In sum, Donna pietosa functions as an incubator of fundamental aspects of the Commedia, among which the analogy between madonna and Christ and the capacity of the poet to perceive a truth invisible to eyes that perceive only quotidian reality.

  However, while Beatrice in the Commedia is never represented in her earthly form, the canzone Donna pietosa concludes its visionary sequence with the representation of “my dead lady”: “madonna morta.” After the ascent of the angels into heaven, Dante writes that Love “mi condusse a veder madonna morta [led me to see my lady’s lifeless form]” (66); here begins the vision that inspired the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The stanza that begins with the poet’s gaze lifted towards the sky, following the upward flight of the angels – “Levava li occhi miei bagnati in pianti,/e vedea, che parean pioggia di manna,/li angeli che tornavan suso in cielo,/e una nuvoletta avean davanti [I lifted up my eyes, still wet with tears,/and saw the angels, like a mist of manna,/ascending in the sky, returning home,/together with a little cloud in front]” (57–60) – concludes with the vision of the dead lady, covered by a veil. In Purgatorio Dante fuses the angels and the veil in the apparition of a resurgent Beatrice covered by a “candido vel [white veil]” (Purg. 30.31; this veil recalls the “bianco velo” of VN XXIII.8 [14.8]) and triumphant in a cloud of angelic flowers:

  così dentro una nuvola di fiori

  che da le mani angeliche saliva

  e ricadeva in giù dentro e di fori,

  sovra candido vel cinta d’uliva

  donna m’apparve, sotto verde manto

  vestita di color di fiamma viva.

  (Purg. 30.28–33)

  [thus inside a cloud of flowers that from the angelic hands rose and fell back down inside and outside, over a white veil crowned with olive a woman appeared to me, under a green mantle dressed in the colour of living flame.]

  The last two stanzas of Donna pietosa alternate between sky and earth, between the gaze raised upward and the gaze turned downward. The sixth and last stanza continues the scene of “madonna morta” with which the preceding stanza had concluded, passing to the reaction of the poet who sees “in lei tanta umiltà formata [such humility in her / incarnate]” (72) and to his invocation of Death. Then, when he is alone, after having completed the funeral rites (the pronounced narrative flow of the canzone follows every movement of the protagonist), Dante again raises his gaze. This is the first time that Dante follows his lady to heaven with his thoughts, as he will later do in the sonnet Oltra la spera: “e quand’io era solo,/dicea, guardando verso l’alto / regno:/‘Beato, anima bella, chi te vede!’ [And when I was alone / I said, while looking toward the realm above:/‘Whoever sees you, lovely soul, is blessed!’]” (81–3).

  In the vision narrated in the canzone, therefore, Dante inserts another virtually visionary act: the desire to see the “anima bella” of his lady in heaven. In line 83 of Donna pietosa, “Beato, anima bella, chi te vede!,” Dante imagines the act of seeing the beatified lady and the beatifying consequences of such a sight: he imagines the beatitude – the adjective beato is a signal that we are, at least etymologically and potentially, in the presence of the beatrice – which will be the consequence of seeing his lady in paradise. In this way, Dante anticipates much of his poetic future and renews the oldest motif of the Italian lyric: we recall the sonnet Io m’aggio posto in core a Dio servire by Giacomo da Lentini, which concludes with the verse “veggendo la mia donna in ghiora stare [to see my love in glory’s realm].” But here, in the highly complex structure of Donna pietosa, the gaze of the reader is brought back one last time to earth, and we find ourselves again in a Florentine room with a poet who breaks the enchantment, saying to the ladies around him: “Voi mi chiamaste allor, vostra merzede [Then, by your mercy, you called out to me]” (84).

  40 (B XX; FB 40; VN XXIII.17–28 [14.17–28])

  Donna pietosa e di novella etate, adorna assai di gentilezze umane,

  A lady youthful and compassionate, so well adorned with human gentleness,

  3

  ch’era là ’v’io chiamava spesso Morte, veggendo li occhi miei pien di pietate, e ascoltando le parole vane,

  who heard me, nearby, often call on Death, and seeing my anguished eyes so full of tears and hearing all the ravings of my speech,

  6

  si mosse con paura a pianger forte. E altre donne, che si fuoro accorte di me per quella che meco piangia, fecer lei partir via,

  began to weep most bitterly with fear. And other ladies, learning of my plight because of her who wept there by my side, sent her away

  10

  e appressarsi per farmi sentire. Qual dicea: “Non dormire”, e qual dicea: “Perché sì ti sconforte?”. Allor lassai la nova fantasia,

  and came to aid in my recovery. One said: “Wake up!” Another asked: “Why are you so distraught?” I then forsook my strange imaginings

  14

  chiamando il nome de la donna mia.

  as I was calling out my lady’s name.

  Era la voce mia sì dolorosa e rotta sì da l’angoscia del pianto,

  My voice was so afflicted by my pain and broken by the anguish of my tears

  17

  ch’io solo intesi il nome nel mio core; e con tutta la vista vergognosa ch’era nel viso mio giunta cotanto,

  that my heart only heard her spoken name. And yet in spite of all the shame I felt, which had appeared so plainly on my face,

  20

  mi fece verso lor volgere Amore. Elli era tale a veder mio colore, che facea ragionar di morte altrui: “Deh, consoliam costui”

  Love made me turn to see the ladies there. So pallid was the colour of my face that it made them begin to speak of death. “Let’s comfort him,”

  24

  pregava l’una l’altra umilemente; e dicevan sovente: “Che vedestù, che tu non hai valore?” E quando un poco confortato fui,

  each one of them implored kind-heartedly. They often asked: “What have you seen that takes away your strength?” And after being somewhat comforted,

  28

  io dissi: “Donne, dicerollo a vui.

  I said: “I’ll tell you, ladies, what I saw.

  Mentr’io pensava la mia frale vita, e vedea ’l suo durar com’è leggiero,

  While I was thinking of my frail life, and saw how my survival was unsure,

  31

  piansemi Amor nel core, ove dimora; per che l’anima mia fu sì smarrita, che sospirando dicea nel pensero:

  Love wept inside my heart, where it abides; this made my soul so utterly distraught I spoke these words, while sighing, in my thought:

  34

  ‘Ben converrà che la mia donna mora.’ Io presi tanto smarrim
ento allora, ch’io chiusi li occhi vilmente gravati, e furon sì smagati

  ‘My lady someday surely has to die.’ I then became so wholly mystified I closed my eyes, weighed down with cowardice; so shaken were

  38

  li spirti miei, che ciascun giva errando; e poscia imaginando, di caunoscenza e di verità fora, visi di donne m’apparver crucciati,

  my spirits that they wandered all about; and while I dreamed, deprived of consciousness and knowing truth, I saw the looks of ladies suffering

  42

  che mi dicean pur: ‘Morra’ti, morra’ti.’

  who said repeatedly: ‘You’ll die, you’ll die!’

  Poi vidi cose dubitose molte, nel vano imaginare ov’io entrai;

  Then I saw many things that frightened me in the deceptive vision that I had;

  45

  ed esser mi parea non so in qual loco, e veder donne andar per via disciolte, qual lagrimando, e qual traendo guai,

  I came into an unfamiliar place where ladies walked whose hair was left unbound, some weeping, others voicing their laments,

  48

  che di tristizia saettavan foco. Poi mi parve vedere a poco a poco turbar lo sole e apparir la stella, e pianger elli ed ella;

  that shot forth fiery shafts of agony. And gradually it seemed to me I saw the sun grow dim and then the stars appear, all weeping tears,

  52

  cader li augelli volando per l’are, e la terra tremare;

  birds flying through the air fall from the sky, the earth then quake,

  ed omo apparve scolorito e fioco, dicendomi: ‘Che fai? non sai novella?

  and someone pale and indistinct appear, who said to me: ‘Have you not heard the news?

  56

  Morta è la donna tua, ch’era sì bella.’

  Your lady’s dead, who was so beautiful.’

  Levava li occhi miei bagnati in pianti, e vedea, che parean pioggia di manna,

  I lifted up my eyes, still wet with tears, and saw the angels, like a mist of manna,

  59

  li angeli che tornavan suso in cielo, e una nuvoletta avean davanti, dopo la qual gridavan tutti: Osanna;

  ascending in the sky, returning home, together with a little cloud in front, behind which they were crying out ‘Hosanna.’

  62

  e s’altro avesser detto, a voi dire’lo. Allor diceva Amor: ‘Più nol ti celo; vieni a veder nostra donna che giace.’ Lo imaginar fallace

  And if they had said more, I’d tell you now. Love said: ‘No longer will I hide the truth: come and behold our lady who lies dead.’ My false imagining

  66

  mi condusse a veder madonna morta; e quand’io l’avea scorta, vedea che donne la covrian d’un velo; ed avea seco umilità verace,

  led me to see my lady’s lifeless form; and as I looked at her, I saw those ladies wrap her in a veil; and she had with her true humility,

  70

  che parea che dicesse: ‘Io sono in pace.’

  so that she seemed to say: ‘I am at peace.’

  Io divenia nel dolor sì umile, veggendo in lei tanta umiltà formata,

  Then I became so humble in my grief, at seeing such humility in her

  73

  ch’io dicea: ‘Morte, assai dolce ti tegno; tu dei omai esser cosa gentile, poi che tu se’ ne la mia donna stata,

  incarnate, that I said: ‘Death, you are meek: from now on you must be a noble being, since in my lady you have made a home,

  76

  e dei aver pietate e non disdegno. Vedi che sì desideroso vegno d’esser de’ tuoi, ch’io ti somiglio in fede. Vieni, ché ’l cor te chiede.’

  and you must show compassion, not disdain. You see I yearn so much to be with you that I resemble you, if truth be told. Come now, my heart calls you.’

  80

  Poi mi partia, consumato ogne duolo; e quand’io era solo, dicea, guardando verso l’alto regno: ‘Beato, anima bella, chi te vede!’

  Once the last rites were done I went away; and when I was alone I said, while looking toward the realm above: ‘Whoever sees you, lovely soul, is blessed!’

  84

  Voi mi chiamaste allor, vostra merzede.”

  Then, by your mercy, you called out to me.”

  METRE: canzone of six stanzas, each composed of fourteen verses (twelve hendecasyllables and two settenari), with rhyme scheme ABC ABC CDdEeCDD and without congedo. The fronte is six verses (3 + 3) and the sirma is eight verses.

  41 Un dì si venne a me Malinconia

  In the sonnet Un dì si venne a me Malinconia, Dante personifies his emotions – “Malinconia [Melancholy]” (1), “Dolore ed Ira [Sorrow and Distress]” (4), and “Amor [Love]” (8) – to express his “presentiment” of his lady’s death. Her pending death will be announced by Love at the end of the sonnet, in a concise dialogue between Love and the narrator: “Ed io li dissi: ‘Che hai tu, cattivello?’/E lui rispose: ‘Io ho guai e pensero,/ché nostra donna muor, dolce fratello’ [I said to him: ‘What troubles you, poor man?’/And he replied: ‘I mourn and feel deep pain / because our lady, brother, lies near death’]” (12–14). The identity of the lady is not stated. This sonnet was not included in the Vita Nuova.

  A parallel announcement by Love concerning a similarly unidentified “our lady” is in the canzone Donna pietosa e di novella etate: “Allor diceva Amor: ‘Più nol ti celo;/vieni a veder nostra donna che giace’ [Love said: ‘No longer will I hide the truth:/come and behold our lady who lies dead’]” (63–4). Contini rightly notes about Un dì si venne a me Malinconia that its “general contents are the same as those of the great canzone Donna pietosa,” while in the sonnet “there is none of the tragic delirium that is in the canzone” (Contini, p. 78). In other words, Dante experimented with more than one approach for expressing presentiments of his lady’s pending death. Whether or not these poems were written regarding Beatrice and whether before or after her death are different questions, to which we have no answers. The tragic and visionary approach of Donna pietosa, institutionalized by the prose of the Vita Nuova, represents the road that Dante chose to follow, not the only one that he ventured upon.

  It is important to point out the originality of this theme. “The death of the lady (or lord) is not an unknown subject in the tradition of early Italian poetry,” notes De Robertis (ed. comm., p. 388), but it is Dante who takes this subject and makes it an obligatory passage for Petrarch and his followers. A fundamental task of the Vita Nuova is its introduction of this theme into the courtly context; in fact, it would not be incorrect to read the Vita Nuova as a text dedicated to introducing the death of the lady – and the psychological and philosophical consequences of that death – into the lyrical tradition. In Guido Cavalcanti’s poetry it is the poet who “dies,” not his lady.

  In the Vita Nuova the poet must learn death’s lesson – that is, the lesson of the transience of life and of beloved earthly things, clearly stated in Donna pietosa: “Mentr’io pensava la mia frale vita,/e vedea ’l suo durar com’è leggiero [While I was thinking of my frail life,/and saw how my survival was unsure]” (29–30). It is a lesson that Dante imports into the system of courtly love via Augustine’s Confessions, in which, after the death of a dear friend, Augustine learned to recognize the error of “loving a man that must die as though he were not to die [diligendo moriturum ac si non moriturum]” (Conf. 4.8). In the Vita Nuova Dante is forced to reconceptualize love and in essence to put into practice the Augustinian lesson. He learns that he must redirect his desire in order to situate “all [his] bliss in that which cannot fail [him]”: “tutta la mia beatitudine in quello che non mi puote venire meno” (VN XVIII.4 [10.6]). The “venire meno” – falling short, failing, and indeed dying – of the courtly lady functions within the economy of the libello as the existential pressure that triggers in the protagonist an understanding of the transience of even the noblest of mortal things.

  Un dì si venne a me Malinconia shares the theme of mourning with Donna pietosa and with the g
roup of sonnets (two in the Vita Nuova and two left out of it) that demonstrate Dante’s interest in funeral rites and in social activities associated with death: Voi che portate la sembianza umile, Se’ tu colui c’ hai trattato sovente, Onde venite voi così pensose? and Voi donne, che pietoso atto mostrate. In Un dì si venne Love is presented as dressed for mourning: “guardai e vidi Amor che venia / vestito di nuovo d’un drappo nero,/e nel suo capo portava un cappello,/e certo lacrimava pur di vero [I looked and saw that Love was drawing near,/attired in brand-new clothing that was black,/and wearing on his head a hat as well,/and he was truly weeping real tears]” (8–11). The Barbi-Maggini commentary documents that “men in mourning wore black outfits, as the women wore brown (cf. Boccaccio, Decam., 3.7), and a hood on their head,” and that the expression di nuovo (brand-new, in the translation), meaning that “the outfit was specially made,” is a technical expression that “also occurs in the Statutes” (Barbi-Maggini, pp. 273–4).