Dante’s Blood

Anne C. Leone

Italian Perspectives 59

Legenda

  31 August 2023  •  230pp

ISBN: 978-1-839541-72-8 (hardback)  •  RRP £85, $115, €99

ISBN: 978-1-839541-73-5 (paperback, forthcoming)

ISBN: 978-1-839541-74-2 (JSTOR ebook)

MedievalItalianPoetry


Dante’s works contain too much and too little blood. On the one hand, one might wonder why there is any blood in the Comedy; why are the souls – which lack flesh and blood – bleeding at all? On the other hand, we must ask: in a Christian poem that claims to be salvific, why are references to the Eucharist, and to the Passion either implicit, understated or parodic? Investigating blood across all of the poet’s works, Leone shows that Dante’s treatment of blood reveals a sophisticated and self-conscious metaliterary project: the poet exploits blood’s connotative force in medieval culture in ways that engage with – and diverge from – the various traditions and cultural practices that inform his work: scientific, theological, devotional, classical and literary.

Anne C. Leone is Assistant Professor of Italian Studies at Syracuse University.

Bibliography entry:

Leone, Anne C., Dante’s Blood, Italian Perspectives, 59 (Legenda, 2023)

First footnote reference: 35 Anne C. Leone, Dante’s Blood, Italian Perspectives, 59 (Legenda, 2023), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: 37 Leone, p. 47.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

Bibliography entry:

Leone, Anne C.. 2023. Dante’s Blood, Italian Perspectives, 59 (Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Leone 2023: 21).

Example footnote reference: 35 Leone 2023: 21.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)


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