purchase. 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 Divine Comedy in translation (what to look for, comparison of opening lines) - YouTube The vlog form of a blog I did in July 2021, discussing translations of The Divine Comedy. So, which translation should you read? They also both have good notes (a necessity). A tough call. Divine Comedy Comparisons. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. Alighieri Dante. She is beloved for her sweeping Wolf Hall trilogy, for which she won two Booker Prizes. . SUBSCRIBE FOR HUMANITIES MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION Browse all issuesSign up for HUMANITIES Magazine newsletter. "If you're going to do it in English, you need, I think, another approach, and I used quatrains. Your email address will not be published. Start by treating The Divine Comedy not as a book, with a coherent, beginning, middle, and end, but rather as a collection of poetry that you can dip into wherever you like. with Rutgers web sites to accessibility@rutgers.edu or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier or with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any Compare limitless combinations of the poem, translations, and commentaries; Filter over 300,000 lines of text; Perform up to four individual searches simultaneously; Browse 700 years' worth of commentaries; Read the poem with facing-page translation hide caption. Two hundred years ago,Pride and Prejudicewas anonymously published. Out of the two I've read (Charles Sisson. 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. That there have been a lot of translations of the Comedy can be seen by glancing at the Wikipedia page "English translations of Dante's Divine Comedy. Unlike the other author he supposedly shared the world with, Shakespeare, Dante was self-consciously scholarly and intellectual, filling his verses with allusions to ancient, biblical, and contemporary medieval writing, and tackling a range of theological, philosophical, political, and historical issues. Of what we call our life, I looked up and saw no sky. She may have only translated the Inferno Im not certain on that. In exile, he paid homage to his true love, Beatrice, and by choosing to write in his Tuscan vernacular instead of Latin, transformed the Italian language. You dont need to know the background, backstory, allusions, sources. Dante's The Divine Comedy is one of Italian Literature's most frequently translated texts, it has literally been being translated for over hundreds of years. These breathtaking lines conclude Dante's Divine Comedy, a 14,000-line epic written in 1321 on the state of the soul after death. lamor che move l sole e laltre stelle. for I had lost the path that does not stray. Individuals 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). September 26, 2019 Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. 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. These two lovers, condemned to an eternity in the Circle of the Lustful, pose a heart-wrenching questionone, as I wrote in my In a Dark Wood, that those of us who have lost our earthly loves know all too well: how do you love somebody without a body? Report Accessibility Barrier or Divine Comedy - Exodus Books Math Curriculum Law & Political Theory Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition Suffering & Hope History of Philosophy God & Reality (Metaphysics) Knowledge (Epistemology) Value & Beauty (Axiology) Being & Existence (Ontology) Introspection vs. Contemplation Phonics & Reading Early Readers Ultimately, its great to read a few and decide which version you like best, each has strengths and weaknesses. Any other translations you'd like to recommend are fine with me. 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. Required fields are marked *. Dantes The Divine Comedy is one of Italian Literatures most frequently translated texts, it has literally been being translated for over hundreds of years. But in English, he writes, the word stars has very few words with which to rhyme. | Part of the problem lies in the difficulty that Dante poses for English translation. A sinner, in the manner of a brake, So that he three of them tormented thus. Dante's Inferno -The Webpage of Author David Lafferty. 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. The best translation I've found -- end to end -- is by John Ciardi. I agreebut Dante is the opposite. The Divine Comedy is a 14th century poem that has never lost its edge. .) that keeps the pattern going forward, naturally to the ear. Both versions are vibrant and deal adroitly with some enigmatic aspects of the original text. This provides the reader with the sounds of the original as well as Musa's translation, which captures the meaning but reads with a different spirit. 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. 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. I think Hollander is the most poetic. 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. I will use this prose translation the next time I do a complete reread of Dante. that second aureole which shone forth in Thee, That circle which appearedin my poor style, That circling which, as I conceived it, shone, Thou smiledst, on that circling, which in thee. It brings together literary and theological expression, pagan and Christian, that came before it while also containing the DNA of the modern. 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 . When translating the Divine Comedy, the translator often has to choose between capturing the original meaning or capturing the poetry, often choosing an intermediate between the two. . Again, it might come down to your trust in a translators skill in keeping up the rhyme pattern. 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/ 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. As the day stands when the Sun begins to glow. I felt the necessity for understanding, for redemption, if you will, and I think some of that went into my reading and my writing. "I think I always wanted to translate Dante, but I always knew there was a problem," James tells NPR's Scott Simon. The Divine Comedy is the most well-known piece in Italian literature. Please try again later. Dorothy Sayers and John Ciardis are two reliable translations for me; Mandlebaum also works, though it is not my favorite. Also, Anthony Esolen has an interesting article published: Esolen, Anthony. Rogers maintains a more faithful translation throughout the canto than Dayman. Charles Singletons translation for his understanding of textual nuance and its outstanding notes is strongly recommended. (Health!). Missing is Dantes dico or I mean which is crucial to the meaning of him clarifying what he has already said. Allen Mandelbaums translation goes like this: When I had journeyed half of our lifes way. I don't remember ever reading Mandelbaum but I believe my daughter used both Mandelbaum and Hollander in College and she preferred the Hollander. There are a lot of different Best Dantes Divine Comedy Translation in the market, and it can be tough to decide which one is right for you. I just went for the most heavily annotated versions of Purgatorio and Paradiso. Long translations from the Divine Comedyare provided following the original Italian verse, and where necessary in the analysis the Italian is referenced. This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. T. S. Eliot called such poetry the most beautiful ever writtenand yet so few of us have ever read it. 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. During one Spirit was relating this, Francesca, by citing the poem and the Sweet New Style, is saying: it wasnt my fault, blame it on love. I'm a bit biased in favor of Sayers' translation, as that's the one that introduced me to Dante in the first place. The hinder foot still firmer. This particular translation is characterized by a rather faithful adherence to the the original source texts physical structure. I also prefer Mark Musas version. This format allows freedom to communicate the work without rhyme, yet maintains a metrical structure. Hilary Mantel, one of Britains most revered novelists, died last year at the age of 70. Too bad it doesn't look like there are any recordings of the show. 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. Love absolves no beloved from loving, she explains, adding: Love brought us to one death. Hardcover, 527 pages. 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). For more information about the Divine Comedy, view our Divine Comedy Page Enjoy! Unto the clawing, for sometimes the spine. 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. accessibility issues with Rutgers web sites to accessibility@rutgers.edu He's seeking absolution, redemption and certainty. 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. accessibility issues with Rutgers web sites to accessibility@rutgers.edu "So there we were, actually duplicating the situation in the canto, because the two lovers are reading a book that's what brought them together. He combined a lot of dialects into the thing we now know as Italian. The Divine Comedy. ", Clive James is both an Officer of the Order of Australia and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. That link is to the hardcover that contains all three works, but even though that one is in my bookcase I never read it. Albert Russell Ascoli received an NEH summer stipend andfellowshipto do research that resulted in his 2008Dante and the Making of a Modern Author, and a grant to the University of Virginia helped expand teaching resources of theThe World of Dantewebsite. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a8f4a384ba33ac344b9ce9fe46addd00" );document.getElementById("dbe0089594").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Also included are forty-two drawings selected from Botticellis marvelous late-fifteenth-century series of illustrations.Translated in this edition by Allen Mandelbaum, The Divine Comedybegins in a shadowed forest on Good Friday in the year 1300. Individuals with disabilities are gi volgeva il mio disio e l velle, 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). or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier or By starting with Midway this way of life were bound upon, she remains faithful to the starting point, nel mezzo, while Mandelbaum pushes this to the middle of the first line. Provide Feedback Form. A customizable, digital workspace for scholarly analysis of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. ", "I can say this much for sure, for certain, right here on the air," James continues. We are experiencing technical difficulties. The contemporary reader would do well to follow this ancient practice, for it leads to the most important aspect in approaching Dante: the need to read him closely. Dante was transformed by his grief and vowed to write in Beatrices honor a poem unlike any ever written. Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. NEH had funded many Dante-related projects, including 17summer seminars for schoolteachersto study theDivine Comedywith scholars through the University of Vermont. I agree, Dorothy Leigh Sayers translations are done wonderfully. Best English Translations of The Divine Comedy. 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). Any other translations you'd like to recommend are fine with me. That's the version I read and those bleak covers, Barry Moser ink washes, were ubiquitous in freshmen dorms. I could feel that there was a closure on its way, and I was examining my life, and I wasn't particularly satisfied with what I saw when I examined it. Posted on July 5, 2021 July 4, 2021 by Carrie-Anne. Submit your nominations for the 2024 NEH Jefferson Lecturer, NEH Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities nominations. ed. New Jersey, Report Accessibility Barrier or And lo and behold, that's what we were doing. Just as, there where its Maker shed His blood, As the first rays were trembling in the dawn, As when his earliest shaft of light assails, It was the hour the sun's first rays shine down, As when it strikes its first vibrating rays, Now was the sun so stationed, as when first. Copyright 2023, Rutgers, The State University of 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. Theirs is the one that keeps coming up when looking for a good verse translation. Which I still am. by the love that moves the sun and the other stars. For example, he translates Dantes beautifully compact Paradiso 2.7. New Jersey. Dante Alighieri's great work tells the tale of the author's trail through hell each and every circle of it purgatory and heaven. That's why we've put together this ultimate guide to help you make a decision. By Sergio M. Brattich | Dante's Commedia. Looking specifically at Canto V, we will examine that there are different methods that go into translation, as seen in the translations by Charles Rogers (1782) and John Dayman (1865). Charles Eliot Norton on the other hand wrote his translation in 1902 and decided on a completely different style opting for an almost prose-like version of the text. Pinsky does leave you hanging after the Inferno, though. 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. I wasn't thrilled with either Mellville or Longfellow. "That will, of course, be clear to you," he said. For the straightforward pathway had been lost. laltro pianga; s che di pietade io venni men cos com io morisse. 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? Dayman kept the terza rima, but in doing so he had to be more free with his translation. ", And that kind of interest is what most translators lack, James adds. For example Divine Comedy was written around 1308 A.D. to 1321 A.D, in which he has depicted many Popes as suffering eternal damnation in hell namely Pope Anastasius II and Pope Nicholas III. 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. Breaking the poem down to its parts, getting to know the characters one or two at a time, learning the themes and language of these individual elements, can give you the traction to begin enjoying Dante and eventually take on his whole poem. Since the poem appeared, and especially in modern times, those readers intrepid enough to take on Dante have tended to focus on the first leg of his journey, through the burning fires of Inferno. Mandelbaum, will, in fact, interject rhyme if its not forced (as he does with way and stray). The Divine Comedy. By Liliana Leuzzi | Dante's Commedia. 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.' Thus began Dantes famed journey, one that would take him through the depths of hell. "Back in 1964, when we first knew each other in Florence, before we were married, there was a romantic scene by which she took me through the actual great love affair between Paolo and Francesca in Canto Five of 'Hell,' and showed me how the verse worked in Italian, because her Italian of course was perfect already and mine was rudimentary," he remembers. Even though The doctrine of Papal infallibility was defined dogmatically in the First Vatican Council . James writes in the introduction to hisComedy, I wanted the rhyming words close enough together to be noticed. His devotion to language leads him in one direction, aiming even to end each book of theComedywith a couplet whose final word is stars, as Dante did. The others are in three line verses like the original. Privacy Policy, Photo-illustration from Sandro Botticelli's portrait of Dante by Stephanie Bastek (Wikimedia Commons), Hilary Mantel, one of Britains most revered novelists, died last year at the age of 70. The bottom of hell waits for him who extinguished our lifereferring to her husband, the nasty Gianciotto or John the Lame, who murdered Paolo and her on the spot when he discovered them in flagrante after their fateful reading. 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. Only a dense cage of leaf, tree, and twig. 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. In comparing translations, you notice quickly if theres an attempt to duplicate Dantes terza rima, in which the first and third lines rhyme, and the second line rhymes with the first line of the following stanza. A collection of 100 poems to be exact, one for each canto, some more sublime than others. There are a lot of different Best Dante Divine Comedy Translation in the market, and it can be tough to decide which one is right for you. I really loved Robert Pinsky's translation of the Inferno, for readability. My favorite version is by Mark Musa (written in blank verse). This nineteenth-century blank-verse version by Longfellow sounds surprisingly modern: For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Dante wrote his masterpiece on the move, banned from Florence by political enemies. . 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. He's seeking a knowledge that his life has been worthwhile. Since childhood they had exchanged in passing the one word their families would allowSalute! He produced one of the first complete, and in many respects still the best, English translations of The Divine Comedy in 1867. Trickled the tear-drops and the bloody drivel. About the Author. Mandelbaum: seen as the scholarly translation and is used in many university classes on The Divine Comedy but some consider it dry and unpoetic. So whats the contemporary reader to dohow best to approach Dante 750 years after his birth? Choosing which translation of Dantes Divine Comedy to read is a very subjective and personal decision. by the love that moves the sun and the other stars. The first translation was written by Charles Rogers in 1782. What, for us, would really be paradise? The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri is an epic poem in Italian written between 1308 and 1321 that describes its author's journey through the Christian afterlife. 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. I just saw the great discussion about the Iliad and I thought I'd ask my question about. That interlocking pattern continues throughout the cantos and is one of the works most distinctive aspects. View all posts by Dave. Provide Feedback Form. This page allows you to compare five passages from seven verse translations side by side. I heard somebody say: "Watch where you step! Take, for example, the last few lines of the the fifth Canto, the famous: Dante I've also heard great thngs about Merwin and Pinsky but they've only done the Purgatorio and Inferno respectively. Copyright 2023, Rutgers, The State University of 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. This topic is currently marked as "dormant"the last message is more than 90 days old. [1] The three cantiche [i] of the poem, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, describe hell, purgatory, and heaven respectively. New Jersey, Report Accessibility Barrier or You can revive it by posting a reply. Clive James is both an Officer of the Order of Australia and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Lets start a comparison of translations with the first three lines of Canto I of theInferno(theres no hiding for the poor translator, with the original Italian usually on the facing page). It also comes with the Italian text. Sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa .. His translation of the Divine Comedy (especially Inferno and Purgatorio) is one of my favorite translations of anything. These things are always hard, choosing between manner and matter , Your email address will not be published. Speak will I of the other things I saw there. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues 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 night, which I had passed so piteously. Permission required for reprinting, reproducing, or other uses. "There is no young man's version of this translation. 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. The Italian language the Italians speak today is largely Dante's invention. This is why one of the few truly successful English translations comes from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a professor of Italian at Harvard and an acclaimed poet. He remains faithful to the wording, but for reasons of meter he delves into unnatural word order, inverting what Palma has as dark wood to become forest dark. Palma or Longfellow? Sayers adds bound upon (not, strictly speaking, in the original), which allows her to make the rhyme in the third line with gone. But Mandelbaum is more faithful to the directness of the original, not stretching the meaning or introducing words to make the rhyme. Scam Advisory: Recent reports indicate that individuals are posing as the NEH on email and social media. Phi Beta Kappa 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. ", He calls the quatrains a "nice, easily flowing rhythmic grid on which to mount the individual moments. Creator of Dante Explorer Norton Looking specifically at Canto V, we will examine that there are different methods that go into translation, as seen in the translations by Charles Rogers (1782) and John Dayman (1865). Liveright Publishing Translated by John Dayman, Longmans, Green, 1865. https://archive.org/details/divinecomedydan00daymgoog, Alighieri Dante. 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. Want to know what people are actually reading right now? Just like a musical score to someone who cant read music. Body & Soul Uplifted: Dantes Magnificent Vision of Resurrection of Then one day, the young woman, Beatrice, in reaction to rumors of the poets increasingly worldly ways, refrained from the greeting, causing anguish in the young Dante. It's also a poetry translation, as opposed to prose translations. or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier or