Dante's Lyric Poetry: Poems of Youth and of the 'Vita Nuova'

by Dante Alighieri

42

  e ’n cui la mia speranza più riposa,

  the one in whom my hope most finds repose.

  che sol per voi servir la vita bramo, e quelle cose ch’a voi onor sono

  My love of life depends on serving you, and only things that bring you great renown

  45

  dimando e voglio, ogn’altra m’è noiosa.

  I want and need – all else I can’t abide.

  Darmi potete ciò ch’altri non osa, ché ’l sì e ’l no di me in vostra mano

  You’re able to provide what no one can, for Love’s placed in your hands the power to rule

  48

  ha posto Amore, ond’io grande mi tegno; la fede ch’eo v’assegno

  my destiny – which makes me very proud. The trust I place in you

  move dal portamento vostro umano, ché ciascun che vi mira, in veritate

  comes from the kindness that your bearing shows, for everyone who looks at you, in truth,

  52

  di fuor conosce che dentro è pietate.

  will outwardly perceive that pity lies inside.

  Dunque vostra salute omai si mova e vegna dentro al cor, che lei aspetta,

  So let your greeting now be on its way and come into my heart, which waits for it,

  55

  gentil madonna, come avete inteso; ma sappia che l’entrar di lui si trova serrato forte da quella saetta

  my noble lady, as you’ve heard me say; but know the entry leading in is locked securely by the arrow shot by Love

  58

  ch’Amor lanciò lo giorno ch’io fui preso; per che l’entrare a tutt’altri è conteso fuor ch’a’ messi d’Amor, ch’aprir lo sanno

  the day that I was made his prisoner. And so the entry now is blocked to all except Love’s messengers, who know the way

  61

  per volontà de la vertù che ’l serra: onde ne la mia guerra la sua venuta mi sarebbe danno sed ella fosse sanza compagnia

  to open it, from having locked it once before. So in this strife of mine its coming would result in injury, unless escorted by the messengers

  65

  de’ messi del signor che m’ha in balia.

  of him who holds me firmly in his power.

  Canzone, il tuo cammin vuol esser corto, ché tu sai ben che poco tempo omai

  My song, your journey must be brief, for you know well that little time is left

  68

  puote aver luogo quel per che tu vai.

  to carry out what makes you now depart.

  METRE: canzone of five stanzas, each composed of thirteen verses (twelve hendecasyllables and a single settenario), with rhyme scheme ABC ABC CDEeDFF and congedo of three verses, YZZ. The fronte is six verses (3 + 3) and the sirma is seven verses. The Y rhyme of the congedo has no match elsewhere in the poem. The same rhyme scheme and the same number of stanzas will occur again, but with a different congedo, in Io son venuto al punto de la rota (the only instance of such repetition in Dante’s œuvre).

  12 Madonna, quel signor che voi portate

  This is a canzone stanza like Lo meo servente core, with which Madonna, quel signor shares much more than the “archaic” metre already indicated as a point of convergence by Contini (p. 40) (the rhyme scheme is archaic in having only two rhymes in the fronte, in the repetition of rhymes of the fronte in the sirma, and in dividing the sirma into two volte). Contini follows Barbi in placing it between the two floral ballads Per una ghirlandetta and Deh, Vïoletta, both Cavalcantian in tone and style. He does so on the basis of the syntagma “soave fiore [delightful flower]” at line 15.

  Barbi was influenced by the lively discussions on the identity of the various women in Dante’s poetry that occupied critics at the end of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth (and that he ridicules but nevertheless feels obligated to duly report in his note to Deh, Vïoletta). Barbi places this canzone with the two ballads even though he then sums up the situation with this distancing note:

  Zonta thought that this poem signals the passage from love for Fioretta (the first screen-lady of the Vita Nuova, according to him) to that for Violetta (the second screen-lady), and would like to attach deep significance to the nuovo colore: as though it stood for the passage from one flower to the other. But it is all an arbitrary reconstruction, because nothing entitles us to connect the three poems; and besides, Fioretta is too generic to indicate a colour different from Violetta. The truth is that we don’t know a thing, and we ought to content ourselves with saying that this poem gives the impression of youthfulness (so much so that Zingarelli judged it crude and hardly worthy of Dante). (Barbi-Maggini, p. 209)

  In breaking with the Barbian tradition and choosing to give a new placement to Madonna, quel signor, I reiterate what I stated in the Introduction to this volume, namely that any editorial ordering of Dante’s lyrics is approximate. In the case of this canzone, and in a critical climate in which the “detective story” surrounding Dante’s various women is pretty much forgotten, the senhal (coded lady’s name) based on a flower seems less important as a criterion of order than the many thematic, lexical, and stylistic links that Madonna, quel signor shares with Lo meo servente core and with La dispietata mente.

  The three canzoni belong to a Sicilian and Provençal-influenced matrix and sing a love that is fundamentally optimistic. For this reason, all three canzoni feature words such as “conforto [comfort]” and “speranza [hope]”: the Love of these poems is not cruel and deadly but, as the poet says in Madonna, quel signor, it “draws all good / unto himself, as principle of might”: “tragge tutta bontate / a ssé, come principio c’ha possanza” (7–8). In other words, the overwhelming power of Love, “tal che vince ogni possanza [with strength to conquer all opposing might]” (2), is here a benevolent force; in fact, Love “mi dona sicuranza / che voi sarete amica di Pietate [gives me his word / that you will take Compassion for your friend]” (3–4). The woman of La dispietata mente was also characterized by “pietate” (“ciascun che vi mira, in veritate / di fuor conosce che dentro è pietate [everyone who looks at you, in truth,/will outwardly perceive that pity lies inside]” [51–2]).

  The function of this benevolent Love is to sustain and nourish the lover’s hope, as is stated at line 9: “Ond’io conforto sempre mia speranza [and so I find my hope now reinforced].” This line is connected to “mi tien già confortato/di ritornar la mia dolce speranza [a pleasant hope / of soon returning here consoles my mind]” of Lo meo servente core (7–8) as well as to “che sia conforto della sua vertute [so it may serve to strengthen my resolve]” (13) and “ ’n cui la mia speranza più riposa [the one in whom my hope most finds repose]” (42) of La dispietata mente. It is specified that Love is on the side of the lover and protects his hope, “la qual è stata tanto combattuta,/che sarebbe perduta,/se non fosse ch’Amore / contr’ogne aversità le dà valore [which, having been so utterly besieged,/would have succumbed / if not for Love / who bolsters it against adversity]” (10–13).

  Love uses memory to battle against the possible fading of hope, the possible “desperation” of the lover: “con la sua vista e con la rimembranza/del dolce loco e del soave fiore [with his appearance and the memory / of that dear place and that delightful flower]” (14–15). If the word “rimembranza” and the theme of memory brings us into the ambience of Lo meo servente core (where we find “di me vi rechi alcuna rimembranza [bring to you some memory of me]” [4]), the “dolce loco” is an indicator of the link with La dispietata mente, where desire “tira [pulls]” the lover “verso ’l dolce paese c’ho lasciato [toward / the lovely land that I have left behind]” (5).

  In Madonna, quel signor the poet recalls not only the “dear place” (“dolce loco”) but also the “delightful flower”: “la rimembranza / del dolce loco e del soave fiore / che di novo colore / cercò la mente mia,/mercé di vostra grande cortesia [the memory / of that dear place and that delightful flower / which wreathed my mind / with new-found hues,/thanks to the splendour of your cou
rtesy]” (15–18). In these concluding verses the canzone achieves its most innovative poetic formulations, depicting the joy of love with the metaphor of the “new-found hues” that “wreath” the mind. We think, looking forward, of the great canzone Donne ch’avete intelletto d’amore, where the lady will be a “cosa nova” and possess “Color di perle” (46–7; see the introductory essay to Donne ch’avete). Madonna, quel signor concludes, as if becalmed in joy, with the convention of the “cortesia” of madonna. In an ending that recalls the final line of Lo meo servente core (“gentil mia donna, a voi mi raccomando [my noble lady / it is to you that I commend myself]”), here we find “mercé di vostra grande cortesia [thanks to the splendour of your courtesy]” (18).

  12 (B LVII; C 11; FB 22; DR 30)

  Madonna, quel signor che voi portate ne li occhi, tal che vince ogni possanza, mi dona sicuranza

  The lord you bear, dear Lady, in your eyes, whose strength can conquer all opposing might, gives me his word

  4

  che voi sarete amica di Pietate; però che là dov’ ei fa dimoranza ed ha in compagnia molta biltate tragge tutta bontate

  that you will take Compassion as your friend, for in the place he makes his residence and has great beauty for his company, he draws all good

  8

  a·ssé, come principio c’ha possanza. Ond’io conforto sempre mia speranza, la qual è stata tanto combattuta, che sarebbe perduta, se non fosse ch’Amore

  unto himself, as principle of might; and so I find my hope now reinforced, which, having been so utterly besieged, would have succumbed if not for Love

  13

  contr’ogne aversità le dà valore con la sua vista e con la rimembranza del dolce loco e del soave fiore che di novo colore cercò la mente mia,

  who bolsters it against adversity with his appearance and the memory of that dear place and that delightful flower which wreathed my mind with new-found hues,

  18

  mercé di vostra grande cortesia.

  thanks to the splendour of your courtesy.

  METRE: isolated canzone stanza of eighteen verses (twelve hendecasyllables and six settenari), with rhyme scheme ABbA BAaB BCcdD BDdeE. The fronte is eight verses (4 + 4) and the sirma is ten verses, divided into two volte (5 + 5).

  13 Deh ragioniamo insieme un poco, Amore

  Dante, while travelling, invites Love to converse with him: “ragioniamo insieme” (1). Convivial conversation will distract him from the “ira” (a Provençalism for “suffering,” “sorrow”) that makes him “feel anguish” (“pensare”): “Deh ragioniamo insieme un poco, Amore,/e tra’mi d’ira, che·mmi fa pensare [Come, Love, let’s set aside some time to talk,/to rescue me from thinking of my pain]” (1–2). In the company of Love the lover will exchange pain for pleasure, and the two will delight each other, talking together of the lady they share in common, “our lady” (“nostra donna”): “e se vuol l’un de l’altro dilettare,/trattiam di nostra donna omai, signore [if one of us can bring the other cheer,/let’s speak awhile about our lady, lord]” (3–4).32 Discussing the virtues of madonna the journey will be shorter and the return joyous: “Certo il vïaggio ne parrà minore / prendendo un così dolze tranquillare,/e già mi par gioioso il ritornare / audendo dire e dir di suo valore [Indeed our journey will seem half as long,/abiding in such sweet consoling thoughts,/and going back already seems a joy / in hearing and in telling of her worth]” (5–8).

  As in Madonna, quel signor, so Deh ragioniamo depicts a Love entirely well disposed and benign toward his servant. We have seen that in Madonna, quel signor it is Love who aids the lover when he is desperate, who restores his hope when it fades, and who “contr’ogne aversità le dà valore [bolsters it against adversity]” (13). Similarly, in Deh ragioniamo Love is a benevolent force whose words can relieve the anguish of the lover and soothe him.

  Moreover, in this sonnet Dante emphasizes the reciprocity of the relationship between Love and lover, in the expressions “ragioniamo insieme [let’s talk]” (1), “l’un de l’altro dilettare [one of us can bring the other cheer]” (3), “nostra donna [our lady]” (4), and “audendo dire e dir [in hearing and in telling]” (8). This last expression is glossed by De Robertis as “speaking continually,” but there are some who prefer to gloss it as “hearing talk and talking.” Di Benedetto corrected the line in this way and reads “audendo dire e ’n dir” – a reading that reinforces the reciprocity in the behaviour of the two protagonists.

  While the sestet moves in a less reciprocal direction – here the lover requests that Love should “condescend to keep me company” (“ti dichini a farmi compagnia”) (11) – the octave of Deh ragioniamo represents a relationship similar to one between close friends.

  In fact, the emphasis on confidential reciprocity, on the solidarity of friends, connects Deh ragioniamo to the great sonnet of friendship, Guido, i’ vorrei che tu e Lapo ed io, where too ragionare is paramount. With the friends of Guido, i’ vorrei, the poet desires to “always talk of love”: “ragionar sempre d’amore” (12). The difference is that in Deh ragioniamo the subject is a fictitious friendship in which the poet dialogues not with others but with a projection of himself (Love), while in Guido, i’ vorrei the poet talks not with Love but about love and with actual friends – that is, with beings ontologically distinct from him but with whom he desires a relationship of total transparency and reciprocity.

  The ragionare insieme of poet and Love in Deh ragioniamo is repeated in the incipit of the great canzone Amor che nella mente mi ragiona, a canzone that Dante invokes again precisely in the context of an idyllic encounter among friends on the shores of Mount Purgatory.33 It is the friend Casella, he too an artist, a musician, who, singing the canzone, creates a moment of joyous enchantment – “Amor che ne la mente mi ragiona/ cominciò elli allor sì dolcemente,/che la dolcezza ancor dentro mi suona [Amor che ne la mente mi ragiona he started then so sweetly that the sweetness still sounds within me]” (Purg. 2.112–14) – similar in sweetness and consolation to the sentiment that the sonnet Deh ragioniamo calls “un così dolze tranquillare [such sweet consoling thoughts]” (6). The tranquillity of soul afforded by the sweet singing of a friend in purgatory, a song that used to quiet – “quetar” – all Dante’s desires (“mi solea quetar tutte mie voglie” [Purg. 2.108]), recalls the “dolze tranquillare” of the early sonnet Deh ragioniamo.

  The expression “così dolze tranquillare” captures the quality of complete relaxation – born of security and transparency – that Dante associates with friendship, above all the friendship with other artists and poets. The most charming moments of friendship in Dante’s repertoire (although also the saddest) occur in an artistic and poetic context, and are patterned on the “così dolze tranquillare” of Deh ragioniamo. The key of friendship that one hears in the encounter with Casella in Purgatorio 2, and is already plainly present in the sonnet Guido, i’ vorrei, will be heard again in the purgatorial encounter of Vergil and Statius, perhaps the most splendid of Dante’s fictitious friendships. While the palpable friendship of Guido, i’ vorrei is based on true, historical, and biographical acquaintances, the similarly palpable friendship between Vergil and Statius is the product of Dante’s extraordinary capacity to use his imagination to vault the boundaries of time, inspired in this case by the great tribute to the Aeneid with which Statius (the real Statius, the historical Statius) concludes his Thebaid.34

  In the invented scene in purgatory, Vergil invites Statius to engage in the activity that is essential to Dante’s understanding of friendship, namely ragionare: “Ma dimmi, e come amico mi perdona / se troppa sicurtà m’allarga il freno,/e come amico omai meco ragiona [But tell me, and pardon me like a friend if too much confidence loosens the reins, and like a friend now talk with me]” (Purg. 22.19–21). To indicate amicitia in Purgatorio Dante uses the verb that signals friendship for him as early as Deh ragioniamo and Guido, i’ vorrei, but in the Purgatorio he adds the knowing repetition of the phrase that makes amicitia explicit, “e come ami
co”: “Ma dimmi, e come amico mi perdona” (Purg. 22.19), “e come amico omai meco ragiona” (Purg. 22.21).

  Dante developed over time what I call a “semantics of friendship,” which goes back to the early lyrics; the transfigured use of pronouns as carriers of ontology is apparent in the incipit, “Guido, i’ vorrei che tu e Lapo ed io.” In the verses of Purgatorio 22 cited above Dante recoups his old semantics of friendship, which relies heavily on pronouns (here “dimmi,” “mi,” “mi,” “meco”), as he does again in the beautiful verse from the Forese episode, essentially made of pronouns and verbs: “qual fosti meco, e qual io teco fui [what you were with me, and what I was with you]” (Purg. 23.116). The word “amico” itself, which in the earliest lyrics is a coded signifier connected to male rivalry and honour, as in the exchanges with Dante da Maiano, is redeemed as a token of love and intimacy in the Commedia, via Dante’s by then long familiarity with Cicero’s De Amicitia and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. The beautiful verse “e come amico omai meco ragiona” in Purgatorio 22 has its distant origins, both lexical and sentimental, in early sonnets such as Deh ragioniamo.

  13 (B LX; C 14; FB 18; DR 61)

  Deh ragioniamo insieme un poco, Amore, e tra’mi d’ira, che·mmi fa pensare, e se vuol l’un de l’altro dilettare,

  Come, Love, let’s set aside some time to talk, to rescue me from thinking of my pain; if one of us can bring the other cheer,

  4

  trattiam di nostra donna omai, signore. Certo il vïaggio ne parrà minore prendendo un così dolze tranquillare, e già mi par gioioso il ritornare