Introduction

The Introduction lays out the aims and scope of the book and outlines its methodology. It triangulates the ‘dialogue’ of the title with medieval literary practices and theories of dialogue, in particular the tenzone, and with literary and linguistic theories of dialogism (Mikhail M. Bakhtin) and performative speech (John L. Austin). This Introduction provides an extensive definition of the tenzone and a summary of the critical problems surrounding this mode of writing, with particular reference to Brunetto Latini’s Rettorica. It introduces the importance of these dialogic process for our understanding of Dante and medieval Italian literature, including the works of Guittone d’Arezzo, Guido Guinizzelli, and Guido Cavalcanti.