Abstract:

In his “Letter to Can Grande Della Scala” which was presented to his patron in exile along with his unfinished Paradiso, Dante reiterates the allegorical meaning of poetry. This poetics can be traced back to Aquinas’ scholasticism. Dante let Aquinas, who inherits Aristotle’s philosophy, to host the Sphere of the Sun, which coordinates faith and reason, is then a perfect spatial location. Allegorically, the nine fold space structure in Paradiso echoes the eleven major medieval learning based on the “seven arts”. The images of Beatrice reflect each other in divine and secular worlds, which lead to an intertexual reading of Paradiso and Vita Nuova. Harold Bloom wonders if Dante’s Beatrice really exists in history, even if she is the daughter of a banker indeed, for after all she is in the ideal projection of Dante’s unique personality and poetic talent. The farewell between Dante and Beatrice in the background of the “white rose” reveals the poet’s everlasting sorrow.

Key words: Dante, Paradiso, Aquinas, Beatrice, space