Dante's Multitudes: History, Philosophy, Method

Teodolinda Barolini's Dantes Multitudes is a critical addition to Dante studies that illuminates the poet's disruptive impact within Italian culture and foregrounds Barolini's marked contribution to the field. The volume explores the many facets of Dante's enduring legacy, including his embrace of multiplicity, difference, and disruption. It treats various topics in Dante studies, such as sexualized and racialized others in the Comedy, Dante's unorthodox conception of limbo, his celebration of metaphysical difference within the Paradiso, and his use of Aristotle to think disruptively about wealth and society. The volume closes with a final meditation on method and "critical philology," highlighting the ways in which philology has been used uncritically to bolster fallacious hermeneutical narratives about one of the West's most celebrated and influential poets.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 410 pages
Publication date: 24 October 2022
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press

In Dantes Multitudes, the latest addition to the esteemed William and Katherine Devers Series in Dante and Medieval Italian Literature, Teodolinda Barolini brings together sixteen of her thought-provoking essays that delve into the revolutionary nature of Dante's work. Spanning from the Vita Nuova, De vulgari eloquentia, Convivio, Epistles, Monarchia, and Rime, to the iconic Divine Comedy, these essays collectively showcase the multifaceted legacy of the poet.

Dantes Multitudes unfolds in five distinct parts, each with its own overarching theme. The volume begins with an introductory essay on method and the utilization of history, setting the stage for the expert analyses that follow. Barolini delves into various aspects of Dante studies, encompassing topics such as the sexualized and racialized "others" in the Comedy, Dante's unconventional understanding of limbo, his celebration of metaphysical difference within the paradoxical unity of the Paradiso, and his innovative use of Aristotle to contemplate disruptively about wealth and society on the one hand, and about love and compulsion on the other. The volume concludes with a final meditation on method and "critical philology," emphasizing the ways in which philology has been uncritically employed to support erroneous hermeneutical narratives about one of the West's most celebrated and influential poets.

Barolini once again opens up new avenues for further research in this captivating collection of essays. This volume will appeal to scholars engaged in Dante studies, Italian studies, as well as medieval and Renaissance literature in general.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780268202941