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A Philology of World Literature

This chapter argues for the importance of integrating the multiplicity of material copies of a work, such as Dante’s Vita nuova, into investigations of its meaning. Discussing different approaches to analyzing the textual tradition, such as reconstructing the original text or examining the cultural context of a given moment of reception, this chapter proposes exploring the relationship between those multiple copies, which should be understood as participating in the work. Adopting the idea of a ‘philology of world literature’ first proposed by Erich Auerbach, this chapter situates this approach in relation to the recent return to philology and the current interest in world literature. It argues that this integration of history and form could serve as a model for literary study and shows how this approach offers a new awareness of the complexity and richness of Dante’s work.