Dante Encyclopedia - Paperback

by Richard Lansing (Editor)

Available for the first time in paperback, this essential resource presents a systematic introduction to Dante's life and works, his cultural context and intellectual legacy.

The only such work available in English, this Encyclopedia:

• brings together contemporary theories on Dante, summarizing them in clear and vivid prose
• provides in-depth discussions of the Divine Comedy, looking at title and form, moral structure, allegory and realism, manuscript tradition, and also taking account of the various editions of the work over the centuries
• contains numerous entries on Dante's other important writings and on the major subjects covered within them
• addresses connections between Dante and philosophy, theology, poetics, art, psychology, science, and music as well as critical perspective across the ages, from Dante's first critics to the present.

Author Biography

Richard Lansing is chair of Italian Studies at Brandeis University. His many publications include From Image to Idea: A Study of Simile in Dante's Commedia (1977) and a translation of Dante's "Il Convivio" (Garland, 1990). He has served on the board of the Dante Society of America and has been the recipient of numerous academic awards and grants.