Vulgari Eloquentia

Written by Dante Alighieri

Narrated by LibriVox Community

De vulgari eloquentia (On Eloquence in the vernacular) is a short essay written by Dante Alighieri in Latin. The work remains incomplete; only one and a half books are extant. It is believed to have been composed during Dante's exile, probably at some point between 1302 and 1305. The work revolves around the relationship between Latin and vernacular, and the need for a literary language, with an excourse on the poetic forms in vernacular. - Summary by Leni

• Language: English
• Publisher: LibriVox
• Release date: Aug 25, 2014

Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was an Italian poet. Born in Florence, Dante was raised in a family loyal to the Guelphs, a political faction in support of the Pope and embroiled in violent conflict with the opposing Ghibellines, who supported the Holy Roman Emperor. Promised in marriage to Gemma di Manetto Donati at the age of 12, Dante had already fallen in love with Beatrice Portinari, whom he would represent as a divine figure and muse in much of his poetry. After fighting with the Guelph cavalry at the Battle of Campaldino in 1289, Dante returned to Florence to serve as a public figure while raising his four young children. By this time, Dante had met the poets Guido Cavalcanti, Lapo Gianni, Cino da Pistoia, and Brunetto Latini, all of whom contributed to the burgeoning aesthetic movement known as the dolce stil novo, or “sweet new style.” The New Life (1294) is a book composed of prose and verse in which Dante explores the relationship between romantic love and divine love through the lens of his own infatuation with Beatrice. Written in the Tuscan vernacular rather than Latin, The New Life was influential in establishing a standardized Italian language. In 1302, following the violent fragmentation of the Guelph faction into the White and Black Guelphs, Dante was permanently exiled from Florence. Over the next two decades, he composed The Divine Comedy (1320), a lengthy narrative poem that would bring him enduring fame as Italy’s most important literary figure.