Though taking due account of the historical and philosophical dimensions
of the poem, Robin Kirkpatrick focuses on Dante as a poet and
story-teller. He addresses important questions such as Dante's attitude
towards Virgil and demonstrates how an early work such as the Vita Nuova
is a principal source of the literary achievement of the Comedy. His
detailed reading reveals how the great narrative poem explores the
relationship that Dante believed to exist between God as creator of the
universe and the human being as a creature of God.