The Canto XVIII of Dante’s Purgatorio announces the poet’s entry into the Garden of Eden, and is characterized by his encounter with Matelda. Dante compares this girl to Proserpine, who approaches ‘in su i vermigli e in su i gialli fioretti’ (vv. 49-50). Although he found the story of Proserpine in Ovid and maybe in Claudian, the main source of this myth is the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, in which the narcissus is clearly referred to as the cause of Persephone/ Proserpine’s abduction by Hades/Pluto. We can identify the ‘small red and yellow flowers’ with the narcissus. Since this flower heralds the end of winter and the beginning of spring, it may represent the exit from the kingdom of sin and the entrance into Paradise.
Dante, Matelda e ‘in su i vermigli e in su i gialli fioretti’,
g. squillace
2022-01-01
Abstract
The Canto XVIII of Dante’s Purgatorio announces the poet’s entry into the Garden of Eden, and is characterized by his encounter with Matelda. Dante compares this girl to Proserpine, who approaches ‘in su i vermigli e in su i gialli fioretti’ (vv. 49-50). Although he found the story of Proserpine in Ovid and maybe in Claudian, the main source of this myth is the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, in which the narcissus is clearly referred to as the cause of Persephone/ Proserpine’s abduction by Hades/Pluto. We can identify the ‘small red and yellow flowers’ with the narcissus. Since this flower heralds the end of winter and the beginning of spring, it may represent the exit from the kingdom of sin and the entrance into Paradise.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
