Candida rosa, or poetry beyond the limits of space-time and the human mind (Paradise 30)

Abstract

The main argument of this thesis is that the 30th canto of Paradise can be seen as a kind of „dimension change” in poetry and poetic experience. The basic ideas behind this argument can be summed up like this: the canto is a story about Dante’s mystical experience, a series of visions; the levels of the poe’s mystical experience can be related to the mystical theory of St. Bernat („anticipated” from the following canto); and finally, having bid farewell to his old poetry, Dante announces a new poetic „program”, which, with its powerful imagery, is able to narrate the ineffable, based on the language of mystical raptures.