divine comedy translation comparison
So I'm interested in doing a first read of Dante Alighieri's La Divina Commedia and I'm not sure which English translation I should choose. "There is no young man's version of this translation. | lamor che move l sole e laltre stelle. So in order to get Dante, a translator has to be both a poet and a scholar, attuned to the poets vertiginous literary experimentalism as well as his superhuman grasp of cultural and intellectual history. 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.' Theyre easily the most accessible and enjoyable of the translations Ive seen. 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). But Clive James is also a novelist, humorist, essayist, memoirist, and radio and television host who has been called his own one-man renaissance. This topic is currently marked as "dormant"the last message is more than 90 days old. Dante was transformed by his grief and vowed to write in Beatrices honor a poem unlike any ever written. 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. New Jersey. The verse. Many have translated the work, and there are many ways to go about translating Dante. [1] The three cantiche [i] of the poem, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, describe hell, purgatory, and heaven respectively. (I've studied only other Romance languages, and found it useful) Pinsky and Longfellow are both poets, themselves, so you get some artistry from either one. I felt the necessity for understanding, for redemption, if you will, and I think some of that went into my reading and my writing. String Comparison Comic short post apocalyptic : Last men on earth killed by a dead man Draw a rectangle with partly invisible . She is beloved for her sweeping. by Dante Alighieri and Clive James. Talking about a translators approach and methodology can help answer the question. 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. T. S. Eliot called such poetry the most beautiful ever writtenand yet so few of us have ever read it. 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. Three passages are from the Inferno, one from Purgatory, and the last from Paradise. 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). Provide Feedback Form, Rutgers, The State University of 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. 1994), was edited by Giorgio Petrocchi. ", He calls the quatrains a "nice, easily flowing rhythmic grid on which to mount the individual moments. A tough call. Dante is in a spiritual crisis, and I think you have to have been in one of your own to understand what he's talking about. For example, he translates Dantes beautifully compact Paradiso 2.7. This nineteenth-century blank-verse version by Longfellow sounds surprisingly modern: For the straightforward pathway had been lost. He first met Bice Portinari, whom he called Beatrice, in 1274; she inspired his most famous poetry, including the Vita Nuova, which More about Dante Alighieri, The English Dante of choice. Hugh KennerExactly what we have waited for these years, a Dante with clarity, eloquence, terror, and profoundly moving depths. Robert Fagles, Princeton UniversityA marvel of fidelity to the original, of sobriety, and truly, of inspired poetry. Henri Peyre, Yale University, Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from Penguin Random House, Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network. The Divine Comedy. For what it's worth, here's an excerpt from a New Yorker review of Paradiso: And thats the miracle of Dante: somehow his writing still makes sense seven centuries after it was conceived, so long as we manage to read slowly, between, behind, and around what he called his versi strani, strange verses. 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. Take, for example, the last few lines of the the fifth Canto, the famous: Dante He did most of the translation work before becoming seriously ill, "but I could feel the end of my life coming. ed. These things are always hard, choosing between manner and matter , Your email address will not be published. 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. 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. Copyright 2023, Rutgers, The State University of And he said to me: "The whole shall be made known; And he: "All this will be made plain to you. The three parts of the Divine Comedy - Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso - are an expression of faith undertaken to the glory of God, and a demonstration of the use to which God's gifts can be put. Longfellow succeeded in capturing the original brilliance of Dantes lines with a close, sometimes awkwardly literal translation that allows the Tuscan to shine through the English, as though this foreign veneer were merely a protective layer added over the still-visible source. | ISBN 9780679433132 Report Accessibility Barrier or 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. That's why we've put together this ultimate guide to help you make a decision. Long translations from the Divine Comedyare provided following the original Italian verse, and where necessary in the analysis the Italian is referenced. You dont need to know the background, backstory, allusions, sources. Out of the Fire. .. Individuals Out of the two I've read (Charles Sisson. 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. Both translations by Rogers and Dayman, are kept in poem style. Mentre che luno spirto questo disse, We'll go over the different features and what to look for when you're shopping. In other words: treat the poem as Dante the character treated his journey, something to be undertaken step by step. By Liliana Leuzzi | Dante's Commedia. Which in the very thought renews the fear. Not only are constant rhymes difficult to translate, but Dante also uses rich and ambiguous language in his poems. Heres Dantes original: Even without an Italian dictionary at hand, most of the words in these lines can be puzzled out by English speakers, except, perhaps smaritta, which means something along the lines of obliterated or just lost from view. An amateur literal translation can go a long way but doesnt sing. Part of the problem lies in the difficulty that Dante poses for English translation. When Dante wrote the poem we call "The Divine Comedy," he called it simply the "Commedia": a story, beginning in sorrow and ending in joy, of one man's journey from hell . 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. T. S. Eliot called such poetry the most beautiful ever writtenand yet so few of us have ever read it. I agree, Dorothy Leigh Sayers translations are done wonderfully. "I think I always wanted to translate Dante, but I always knew there was a problem," James tells NPR's Scott Simon. Charles Singletons translation for his understanding of textual nuance and its outstanding notes is strongly recommended. When he hears Francescas words, Dante faintscaddi come corpo morto cade, I fell as a dead body falls. A friend of mine once said of Shakespeare that everything you need to read him is right there on the surface, in the language of his plays. This format allows freedom to communicate the work without rhyme, yet maintains a metrical structure. Unto the clawing, for sometimes the spine. A former U.S. Senate chief of staff makes the humanities accessible. The translators scored as follows: Longfellow, Singleton (27) Sinclair (26) Mandelbaum (25) Simone, Sisson (23) Hollander, Kirkpatrick (22) Lombardo (21) Inferno, Canto I. 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). From Inferno 1 to Paradiso 33, scores of different literary personaesome real, some invented, some famous, some obscuretake the stage to plead their case or expound on their joy before the autobiographical character Dante as he journeys from hell to heaven. laltro pianga; s che di pietade Also, Anthony Esolen has an interesting article published: Esolen, Anthony. with Rutgers web sites to [email protected] or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier or With six eyes did he weep, and down three chins. I found it easy to use. Posted in Books, Dante, Divine Comedy The Divine Comedy in translation. I had the energy, but not the knowledge, and not the knowledge of myself, because Dante is worried about himself. Love absolves no beloved from loving, she explains, adding: Love brought us to one death. TheDivine 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. The Divine Comedy is also a work of literary beauty that is beyond being antiquated by time or diminished by repeated translation. 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. now my will and my desire were turned, We'll go over the different features and what to look for when you're shopping. Individuals To redeem, copy and paste the code during the checkout process. But they are incorporeal shades, lacking the one thing that made their passionate earthly love possible: a physical being. by the love that moves the sun and the other stars. Joseph Luzzi teaches at Bard and is the author of My Two Italies, a New York Times Book Review Editors Choice, and In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love. But 'Purgatory' and 'Heaven' have mainly just got theology. encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues But the miracle of literature is that its insights can somehow remain fresh and relevant centuries after they were written and far from where they first appeared. Hilary Mantel, one of Britains most revered novelists, died last year at the age of 70. Dorothy Sayers and John Ciardis are two reliable translations for me; Mandlebaum also works, though it is not my favorite. Although Roger chose to remain faithful to the source text, some lines were more poetically translated by Dayman. It did not hurt that Longfellow had also experienced the kind of traumatic lossthe death of his young wife after her dress caught firethat brought him closer to the melancholy spirit of Dantes writing, shaped by the lacerating exile from his beloved Florence in 1302. About the Author. The Divine Comedy. Permission required for reprinting, reproducing, or other uses. 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.. Phi Beta Kappa I really enjoy the extra insights I receive from his notes, summaries, and essays. And its hard enough to read Dante without throwing in the additional challenge of 19th-century poetic diction. I agreebut Dante is the opposite. Jorge Luis Borges said that a modern novel requires hundreds of pages for us to get to know a character, while Dante can lay bare a characters soul in 20 or 30 lines. September 26, 2019 Here are Clive Jamess first lines: At the mid-point of the path through life, I found. Too bad it doesn't look like there are any recordings of the show. Because Dayman chose to maintain the terza rima, he had to form sentences with the same meaning in order to get the rhyme at the end of the line, maintaining the style, but losing faithfulness to the source text. 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 . Translated by Charles Rogers, London Printed by J. Nichols, 1782. https://archive.org/details/infernoofdantetr00dantuoft. It's nice to compare, and if you're interested in learning the language, it's a great way to get some personally meaningful immersion. In spite of first impressions favoring Sayers, most readers who choose to make the entire journey from inferno to purgatory and finally paradise ultimately find the Mandelbaum translation more satisfying. . It's very beautiful. The Divine Comedy is the most well-known piece in Italian literature. This is where youll see your current point status and your earned rewards. Report scam, HUMANITIES, Winter 2017, Volume 38, Number 1, The National Endowment for the Humanities, State and Jurisdictional Humanities Councils, HUMANITIES: The Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities, SUBSCRIBE FOR HUMANITIES MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION, Sign up for HUMANITIES Magazine newsletter, How the Grimm Brothers Saved the Fairy Tale, Chronicling America: History American Newspapers. The Divine Comedy (Italian: Divina Commedia; Italian pronunciation: [divina kommdja]) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It's also a poetry translation, as opposed to prose translations. Translated by John Dayman, Longmans, Green, 1865. https://archive.org/details/divinecomedydan00daymgoog, Alighieri Dante. 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? But in English, he writes, the word stars has very few words with which to rhyme.
