Abstract: Proposes to "look at this ... canto as ... a metonymy of the whole poem, not as an isolated niche." This detailed lectura Dantis examines, among other things, the significance of the canto's number (5), the archetypal image of the dove, the relationship of this episode to courtly romance (especially Tristan and Isolt), the commentary of Giovanni Boccaccio, and the elements surrounding Paolo and Francesca's kiss.
Abstract from the American Dante Bibliography 1994
Reproduced by courtesy of the Dante Society of America