Posted:
August 25th, 2008, 7:58 pm
by repectabiggle
Hi bruce,
Not sure how much you've been able to see of the book itself, but you can read some of it with Google Books and at Amazon .
I. . .guess it's Lindskoog's translation. I can't find anything that says otherwise. I wouldn't bother with any prose translation, personally, but I certainly wouldn't read any edition that has some pages 1/4 text and 3/4 footnotes. Ugh.
Actually, I lie, since the edition of the Pearl Poet's works that I'm reading is like that. But that's in Middle English, and it's the best edition I could find.
Anyway, I've read a few translations of Dante, and while I can't say how they relate to the original Italian, I do like Anthony Esolen's translation and Allen Mandelbaum's.
Hope that helps at all.
Re: Divine Comedy
Posted:
February 27th, 2009, 4:39 pm
by cyranorox
Sayers' is wonderful, and I doubt you will find better, if you like her high, brisk, lively English. More importantly, she is a believer, and thus comes with an understanding that informs her choices. Esolen is, sort of, but imho he's a classic Christianity-And case, the And being buttheaded wingnut views. I like Merwin's, and I don't know his views.