Regarding the Dryden Translation:
The aesthetic qualities of a good English translation, even an inaccurate
one, represent more accurately the qualities of the poetic qualities of the
original, viewed in its totality. I am reminded of the tributes to Virgil's
poetic eloquence found in Dante's Comedy and in Tennyson's poem on Virgil
("the stateliest measure . . .."). Concurring with that praise, I have
little sympathy with translations of Virgil which are pedantically correct
but lifeless and pedestrian.
Likewise judged by the standards of poetry, we might compare the King
James translation of the Twenty-third Psalm, with a more recent but less
beautiful translation such as that of the New American Bible. The first is
awe-inspiring and luminously beautiful, while the second leaves me cold.
Come to think of it, what attracted me initially to the present website
was the web-published translation by Dr. Wilson of the Aeneid's epitaph on
the death of Palinurus. His rendition was exquisitely beautiful, and in my
opinion even better than the Dryden translation of the same passage. (I have
often wondered, incidentally, whether the same author had published a
translation of the entire Aeneid. If so, and if he maintained throughout the
quality of his Palinurus passage, his would be the best translation
available.)
Similar truth-versus-beauty distinctions occur in regard to Dante. There
are many highly accurate translations of the Comedy, but I know of only one
which rises to the level of great poetry, that of the distinguished American
poet, John Ciardi. And I would be remiss if I did not also mention the
comparative merits of the many accurate, but uninspiring, translations of
Ovid's Metamorphoses, in contrast to the delightful poetry of he Horace
Gregory translation.
It is elementary learning that much is lost in translation, but from my
point of view -- that of a general reader and an avid fan of classical
literature -- it would be better to sacrifice the semantic precision of some
of the more recent translations to the poetic charm of the Dryden
translation.
George Brunelle
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply.
Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message
"unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You
can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
