«Io ’l vidi lamentare in forma vera sovra la morta imagine» (Vn VIII, 6 / 3, 6). La semantica religiosa dell’immagine e della forma nella Vita nova

This article adopts a religious historical perspective to interpret the concepts of imagine and forma in some passages of the Vita nova. The terms used by Dante to refer to the semantic area that encompasses these concepts are suffused with biblical meaning, above all as a result of patristic exegesis, which heavily influenced the medieval religious imaginary. The lexis-based approach of this religious historical analysis is intended to complement rather than contrast readings grounded in the literary, medical, philosophical, and scientific aspects of Dante’s terminology. It also provides further support for Christological interpretations of Beatrice by highlighting certain fundamental elements for developing the idea of the Christian anthropology of the Dantesque imaginary.