His metered language often seems more natural than Sayers and more in keeping with the diction of Dante, which favored solid vocabulary and straight-forward syntax. He did most of the translation work before becoming seriously ill, "but I could feel the end of my life coming. A customizable, digital workspace for scholarly analysis of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. The translation is so similar, the result is a palimpsest, two works, one on top of the other, an original and a performance, difficult to tell apart. Seeing translation in this light, may help decide which Dante to read. Longfellows English indeed comes across as Italianate: in surrendering to the letter and spirit of Dantes Tuscan, he loses the quirks and perks of his mother tongue. ", Clive James is both an Officer of the Order of Australia and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Hence their eternal torment, with Paolo in a silent stream of tears, Francesca pouring out an ocean of self-defense. Dante uses a complex rhyme scheme, called the terza rima, which is were there are stanzas of three lines that contain interlocking rhymes at the end of each line; the rhyme pattern follows: ABA-BCB-CDC. Copyright 2021 By Sergio M. Brattich | Dante's Commedia. "They're faithful, they're accurate, they're scholarly, but the actual raw poetic thrill of the verse doesn't get through, and that's what I think the translator must try to do if he or she can. Posted in Books, Dante, Divine Comedy The Divine Comedy in translation. I also read from the same passage in Mark Musa and Longfellow to compare, as well as thirteen versions of the famous opening twelve lines.Index of Dantean posts: https://carrieannebrownian.wordpress.com/index-of-dantean-posts/Where to find my book and author pages:https://carrieannebrownian.wordpress.com/where-to-find-my-books-and-author-pages/Handy index of my posts by topic: https://carrieannebrownian.wordpress.com/index-of-posts-by-topic/My main blog: https://carrieannebrownian.wordpress.comMy names blog: https://onomasticsoutsidethebox.wordpress.comMy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ursulasoddsandsods/ I think Hollander is the most poetic. Alighieri, Dante (1265-1321) - The Divine Comedy - Poetry In Translation It also comes with the Italian text. By clicking Sign Up, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. September 26, 2019 The Divine Comedy is a 14th century poem that has never lost its edge. Dorothy Sayers and John Ciardis are two reliable translations for me; Mandlebaum also works, though it is not my favorite. Divine Comedy Comparisons. Divine Comedy translation samples About the Author. Any other translations you'd like to recommend are fine with me. While it is true that Rogerss translation is more faithful from a structural standpoint there are some instances in which such an adherence forces other content-related translation loss which is not present in Nortons. Rodgers translation reads When, reading that her captivating smile/ Was by the Lover she adored kissd;/ But from that day we never read int more, which is awkward to read for a modern day English speaker. This particular translation is characterized by a rather faithful adherence to the the original source texts physical structure. Dorothy Sayers translation is, in my opinion, one of the finest translations that maintains the original ryhme scheme, is imminently readable and classic and is blessed further by knowledgeable, interesting and useful notes. Sinclair's is a prose translation from the thirties. The Divine Comedy, finished by Dante Alighieri in 1320, is one of the most famous literary works of all time, and its author is considered the father of the Italian language. Which Translation Should I Read? | Dante's Inferno -The Webpage of Yes, it was the right time. Divine Comedy - Exodus Books To understand why Dante faints in Inferno 5, you have to realize just how surreal it was for him to hear Francesca cite the poetry of his youth, the words that helped make him poet and that hastened Francescas demise. John Ciardi (1954) The critic Walter Benjamin wrote that a great translation calls our attention to a works original language even when we dont speak that foreign tongue. 1994), was edited by Giorgio Petrocchi. . And the challenge for the translator is to reproduce Dante's fascination with theology, which for him was just as exciting as all that action that he left behind in 'Hell.' New Jersey. Also, Anthony Esolen has an interesting article published: Esolen, Anthony. In conclusion, Nortons translation may have radically dropped the poetic format of The Divine Comedy, however writing in prose allowed him to stay more faithful with the content in the work whereas Rogerss translation is better suited if the reader would like to experience reading Dantes work as a poem, that being said even the structure used by Norton alludes many times to poetic verse. It is technically prose; however he decides to invoke quite a lot of poetic structure throughout the translation, such as, I understood that to such torment are condemned the carnal sinners Postponing the subject (as is done in the originals) is not normally allowed in English prose, thus lending to the fusion-like feeling of this translation. Thus began Dantes famed journey, one that would take him through the depths of hell. purchase. Long translations from the Divine Comedyare provided following the original Italian verse, and where necessary in the analysis the Italian is referenced. His translation keeps the nel mezzo element up frontandduplicates the terza rima, continuing the next stanza with, How hard it is to tell of, overlaid . Since childhood they had exchanged in passing the one word their families would allowSalute! The grading is as follows: 3 = perfectly faithful, 2 = defensible paraphrase (same basic meaning), 1 = dodgy paraphrase, 0 = unforgivable paraphrase (putting words in Dante's mouth). I wasn't aware of Benigni's TuttoDante -- sounds very interesting. Ultimately, its great to read a few and decide which version you like best, each has strengths and weaknesses. Dante's Beauty Rendered In English In A Divine 'Comedy' - NPR hide caption. Breaking the code of The Divine Comedy with patient reverence. The night, which I had passed so piteously. I'm going to be reading The Divine Comedy soonactually, re-reading Inferno and re-starting Purgatorio and finally getting to La Paradiso.I've opted to go with the Robert and Jean Hollander translation. The following version appears to be in Terza Rima: La Divina Commedia / The Divine Comedy - A Translation into English in Iambic Pentameter, Terza Rima Form. laltro pianga; s che di pietade Right now I'm choosing between Ciardi, Mandelbaum and Hollander. | Michael Palmas 2003 translation ofInfernobegins this way: Midway through the journey of our life, I found. A New Translation of Dante's 'Paradiso' - Books - New York Times Dante Lab at Dartmouth College: Home Theirs is the one that keeps coming up when looking for a good verse translation. So, which translation should you read? a panther, nimble, light, And cover'd with a speckled skin, appear'd, Nor, when it saw me, vanish'd, rather strove To check my onward going; that ofttimes With purpose to retrace my steps I turn'd. The hour was morning's prime, and on his way Aloft the sun ascended with those stars, That with him rose, when Love divine . It shows that translation loss remains inevitable, whether it be in rhyme, ambiguous meaning, or simply losing the melody of the target language. In other words: treat the poem as Dante the character treated his journey, something to be undertaken step by step. Take, for example, the last few lines of the the fifth Canto, the famous: Dante Francesca tells Dante that she and Paolo, began reading Lancelott, and when they got to the part where the characters in the story finally kissed, Francesca committed adultery towards her husband. Such an adoption would have given a modern reader a similar feel Dantes meter gives Italian readers. The Divine Comedy. For more information about the Divine Comedy, view our Divine Comedy Page Enjoy! encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Which Dante Translation Is Best? - Plough Rogers maintains a more faithful translation throughout the canto than Dayman. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Inferno, Canto I. It's also a poetry translation, as opposed to prose translations. The Divine Comedy in translation - Welcome to My Magick Theatre The Divine Comedy has a complex rhyme scheme that suits itself well to the rhyme-rich language of Italian (where, unlike English, many words end in vowels). List of Top Ten Best Dantes Divine Comedy Translation Top Picks 2023 The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is . Mandelbaum: seen as the scholarly translation and is used in many university classes on The Divine Comedy but some consider it dry and unpoetic. A tough call. English, he says, is a "rhyme-poor" language compared with Dante's Italian. (Health!). I was lost. Best English Translations of The Divine Comedy. With six eyes did he weep, and down three chins. As a one-time admirer of the troubadour poets, Dante was well versed, pardon the pun, in the intricate forms then in practice, such as the sestina, but his paean to Beatrice called for something new and even more demanding, a flexible and muscular form he invented precisely for the new undertaking, theterza rima. By clicking SIGN UP,I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random Houses, certain categories of personal information, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information. Provide Feedback Form. I really enjoy the extra insights I receive from his notes, summaries, and essays. Provide Feedback Form. I wondered how else one could say Midway through our life, I found myself in a dark wood; the right way was lost., Both James and Bang are poets. September 25, 2019 In truth, some of the most sublime moments in The Divine Comedy, indeed in all of literature, occur after Dante makes his way out of the Infernos desolation. Famed translators Pevear and Volokhonsky reach another milestone. The surprising historybehind the worlds most famous collection of folk tales. Liveright Publishing Shortly thereafter, Beatrice died. ", He calls the quatrains a "nice, easily flowing rhythmic grid on which to mount the individual moments. Dante requires what Nietzsche called slow readingattentive, profound, patient readingbecause Francescas sparse, seemingly innocent-sounding words speak volumes about the kind of sinner she is. Please try again later. This topic is currently marked as "dormant"the last message is more than 90 days old. In her own time she was better known for her hydrangeas. | ISBN 9780679433132 #4 -- we'll just assume that's tongue-in-cheek. And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week. The translators scored as follows: Longfellow, Singleton (27) Sinclair (26) Mandelbaum (25) Simone, Sisson (23) Hollander, Kirkpatrick (22) Lombardo (21) Clive Jamess 2013Comedyuses quatrains and augmented quatrains as its building blocks, while Mary Jo Bangs 2012 translation of theInfernoin colloquial American English, carries elements of her own style, and is unrhymed. A little less structured than the original (although differences in the languages are responsible for that) It's a recent translation, so you don't run into the archaic usages you'd find in Longfellow. He's seeking absolution, redemption and certainty. Her methodology comes from picking up a book of poems by Caroline Bergvall and reading Via (48 Dante Variations), a found poem, she writes, composed entirely of the first three lines of theInfernoculled from forty-seven translations archived in the British Library as of May 2000). Available in two English translations as well as the original Italian on the EDSITEment-reviewed Digital Dante site, Dante's The Comedy (or "Divine Comedy") begins with lines that suggest it will be a pilgrimage of a rather different sort than the festive trip to Canterbury: "When I had journeyed half of our life's way, / I found myself . Only a dense cage of leaf, tree, and twig. now my will and my desire were turned, Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Any other translations you'd like to recommend are fine with me. New Jersey, Report Accessibility Barrier or Start earning points for buying books! Body & Soul Uplifted: Dantes Magnificent Vision of Resurrection of Having been a bookseller for more than a decade, I know that one of the most frequently asked questions from readers is, Which translation should I read of DantesDivine Comedy? The vlog form of a blog I did in July 2021, discussing translations of The Divine Comedy (what to look for, general issues, best-known versions). The Divine Comedy, translated by John D. Sinclair: This was recommended by a fellow reader on Twitter and I am so glad I bought the complete set. Scam Advisory: Recent reports indicate that individuals are posing as the NEH on email and social media. ", James' wife, Prudence Shaw, played a central role in the translation project. Taking a look at two translations that are 120 years apart can shed light on some of the differences that translators have used when interpreting this famously complex and intricate text. by the love that moves the sun and the other stars. She is beloved for her sweeping. Thus, Longfellow demonstrates the scholarly chops necessary to convey Dantes encyclopedic learning, and the poetic talent needed to reproduce the sound and spiritthe respiro, breathof the original Tuscan. What's the Best Way to Read the Divine Comedy If You Don't Know Italian Hardcover, 527 pages. Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Comparison Between Two Inferno (Canto V) Translations: Rogers and Book of the week: The Divine Comedy, By Dante, translated by Clive Part of the problem lies in the difficulty that Dante poses for English translation. It may be grossly unfair, I admit, to try to judge merely on the first canto or even the first or second stanza, but decisions made in the first few stanzas determine the shape of the rest of the work. By Liliana Leuzzi | Dante's Commedia. The Divine Comedy in translation (what to look for, comparison of For centuries, readers have been isolating greatest hits from The Divine Comedy and swooning over its most memorable characters: muse Beatrice, stalwart guide Virgil, tragic lovers Paolo and Francesca, unbearably eloquent Ulysses, cannibalistic Ugolino. As Victor Hugo wrote about The Divine Comedys blessed realms, The human eye was not made to look upon so much light, and when the poem becomes happy, it becomes boring.. The Divine Comedy. Did Dante's Divine Comedy describe or define Christian views on the The Divine Comedy, Part 1: Hell (Penguin Classics) Paperback - June 30, 1950 by Dante Alighieri (Author), Dorothy L. Sayers (Translator, Introduction) 105 ratings See all formats and editions Paperback $16.00 Other new, used and collectible from $1.43 The first volume of Dante's Divine Comedy Provide Feedback Form. Dante asks her why such a courteous and well-spoken creature as shea highborn lady who had fallen for Paolo innocently enough one day when they were alone together readingcould find herself among the damned. With one deft allusion, one lyrical dance amid the ferocious winds in the Circle of the Lustful, Dante delivers a magnificent psychological portrait of Francescas path to damnation. Best Translation of The Divine Comedy? - LibraryThing So much depends on whats outside his text: the mass of other books, other stories, other issues that lie submerged beneath the actual lines of The Divine Comedy. I heard a voice cry: "Watch which way you turn: I heard this said to me: "Watch how you pass; I heard a voice cry out, "Watch where you step! Despite her prettiness, her sweetness, and her eloquence, she is like every other sinner in hell: its never their fault, always someone elses. This Canto is most noteworthy because it is the canto where Francesca di Rimini tells the story of how she got to hell with her husbands brother, and lover, Paolo. To him in front the biting was as naught. I have no vested interest in selling a particular authors work, my recommendations are just my personal opinion. My preference for a rhyming attempt wins out over Mary Jo Bangs exuberant rendering, but only by a smidgen. I'm going to third the choice of John Ciardi. Provide Feedback Form, Rutgers, The State University of Another example would be in line 7 8, Dico che quando lanima mal nata li vien dinanzi, tutta si confessa, which it s quite fully translated in Nortons, I mean, that when the ill born soul comes there before him, it confesses itself wholly whereas in Rogerss, Wheneer a guilty soul before him comes It all confesses :: (He the proper place). His translation of the Divine Comedy (especially Inferno and Purgatorio) is one of my favorite translations of anything. Im using Allen Mandelbaums translation while writing my Masters thesis. And its a very famous poem, Al cor gentil rempaira sempre amore, Love always returns to the gentle heart, a gorgeous medieval lyric by Guido Guinizelli, one of Dantes poetic mentors in the Sweet New Style, a movement in the late 1200s that nurtured Dantes emerging artistic sensibilities. Translations that attempt to maintain any type of rhyme scheme often sound forced and usually compromise the meaning of the text. What is a good translation of Milton's Paradise Lost? Best English Translations of The Divine Comedy? : r/books - Reddit That's why we've put together this ultimate guide to help you make a decision. Many have translated the work, and there are many ways to go about translating Dante. Permission required for reprinting, reproducing, or other uses. THE DIVINE COMEDY - Project Gutenberg It brings together literary and theological expression, pagan and Christian, that came before it while also containing the DNA of the modern. I really loved Robert Pinsky's translation of the Inferno, for readability. On the 750th birthday of Dante Alighiericomposer of the dizzyingly epic medieval poem the Divine ComedyEnglish professor John Kleiner pointed to one way of helping undergraduate students understand the Italian poet's importance: an "obvious comparison" with Shakespeare. Dante Alighieri (12651321), Italys greatest poet, was born in Florence and belonged to a noble but impoverished family. Lacqua chio prendo gi mai non si corse; The sea I sail has never yet been passed: Emulating Dantes talent for internal rhymes laced with hypnotic sonic patterns, Longfellow expertly repeats the ss to give his line a sinuous, propulsive feel, which is exactly what Dante aims for in his line, as he gestures toward the originality and joy of embarking on the final leg of a divinely sanctioned journey. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. I will use this prose translation the next time I do a complete reread of Dante. "That will, of course, be clear to you," he said. Mandelbaums astonishingly Dantean translation, which captures so much of the life of the original, renders whole for us the masterpiece of that genius whom our greatest poets have recognized as a central model for all poets. with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any The Autumn of the Middle Ages: Chaucer and Dante In the Inferno, it is well known, Dante singled out corrupt leaders and political enemies, but the poem as a whole was actually inspired by unrequited love. I've only read one, but Mark Musa's Penguin classics translation seemed pretty good to me What's the consensus on Allen Mandelbaum's translation? Oddly enough, and at least in the United States, we seem to know more about Dante the manhis exile, his political struggles, his eternal love for Beatricethan his poetry. The others are in three line verses like the original. or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier or It may also soften the oft repeated and harsh judgmenttraduttore, traditoreor translator, traitor.. But long before rehabilitating Thomas Cromwells reputation, Mantel was unparalleled in her crystalline dissections of power, whether between girls at the University of London or Dantonists in the French Revolution. List of English translations of the Divine Comedy - Wikipedia I've also heard great thngs about Merwin and Pinsky but they've only done the Purgatorio and Inferno respectively. This page allows you to compare five passages from seven verse translations side by side.

Michael Strahan Salary On Live With Kelly, Skyrim Se Net Script Framework Crash Log, James Cameron Mariana Trench Door, Centennial Middle School Yearbook, What Do The Colors Mean In Nerdle?, Articles D