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Pagan Gods as Figures of Speech: Dante's Use of Servius in the 'Vita Nova'

Vitale, Vincenzo. (2021) Pagan Gods as Figures of Speech: Dante's Use of Servius in the 'Vita Nova'. Italian Studies, 76 (3). pp. 219-229.

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Abstract

The article sets out to show the ideological significance of the quotations from Vergil, Lucan, Horace, Homer and Ovid found in Vita Nova 16 [XXV], that is, the celebrated passage where Dante cites these poets as examples of personification in classical literature. In the quotations from the Aeneid Vergil has Aeolus and Juno speaking to each other and Apollo speak to the Trojans. In this way, Dante seems to regard implicitly pagan deities like Aeolus, Juno and Apollo as inanimate things, and raises the question as to why the author of the Vita Nova understood pagan gods in terms of poetical tropes. Focusing on the quotations from Vergil, this essay argues that Servius' commentary to the Aeneid represents one of the major sources that might have led Dante to construe pagan deities as rhetorical personifications.
Faculties and Departments:04 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > Departement Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaften > Fachbereich Italianistik
04 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > Departement Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaften > Ehemalige Einheiten Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaften > Italienische Literaturwissenschaft (Terzoli)
UniBasel Contributors:Vitale, Vincenzo
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:0075-1634
e-ISSN:1748-6181
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
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Last Modified:25 Aug 2021 15:56
Deposited On:25 Aug 2021 15:56

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