Rossetti's translation of Dante

As I mentioned in class today, Rossetti was translating Dante's La Vita Nuova (which was published in 1861 under the title The Early Italian Poets) and his translation supplied the inspiration for "The Blessed Damozel." See the Rossetti Archive page on translations for more information. La Vita Nuova is an autobiography which details Dante's relationship (if one can call it that) with Beatrice; it is wirtten in a combination of prose and poems (the prose ostensibly weaves the series of poems into an autobiographical narrative). Rossetti's poem specifically responds to the section of Dante's poem that begins "Ladies that have intelligence in love." You can read Rossetti's translation of Dante's poem here; you can read the specific section by searching for the first line.