Good Translations

[Johnny_Z]

Do any of you fan gentle-folk know of any good, easy to read translations of the following:

Beowulf
The Inferno
Paradise Lost

I know Paradise Lost was written in English but does anyone know if it's been re-written in an easier to read form? The flowery language kinda gets in the way.

[Mottern Man]

Wikipedia :lol:

As for Beowulf, the book Grendel was pretty easy to follow.

[red2]

I found Seamus Heaney's recent poetic translation to be both readable and artistic. Enthusiastic scholars will deride the accuracy of the translation; however, those same scholars will say that there is no substitute for reading it in the original.

[farace]

I found Seamus Heaney's recent poetic translation to be both readable and artistic. Enthusiastic scholars will deride the accuracy of the translation; however, those same scholars will say that there is no substitute for reading it in the original.

Which of the three books asked about are you referring to here? I once saw a wonderful translation by Heaney of just a phrase from The Divine Comedy (The Inferno part) on a NYC Subway train, in the upper part of the car where one normally reads ads about hemmorhoids and painless dentistry. I went looking to see if he had translated the whole book but was never able to find it. That was several years ago, though.

[red2]

Sorry, I was referring to Seamus Heaney's Beowulf. I had read Doc's post about Wikipedia and then the bit about Grendel. I googled Beowulf and hit the link for wikipedia. I guess I just got lost in college memories. I majored in English. I was fond of the modern novel and medieval stuff. I am not aware of Heaney's work on the Divine Comedy.

Here is the citation from Wiki:

Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001.

Here is the link from the wiki article:

http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0393320979&id=ynD9o-LfTDMC&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&ots=4rtZ-a90PG&dq=Beowulf:+A+New+Verse+Translation&sig=TANJDD5siOW13PupnLi4qiw6SYk

[sullivanpm]

Do any of you fan gentle-folk know of any good, easy to read translations of the following:

Beowulf
The Inferno
Paradise Lost

I know Paradise Lost was written in English but does anyone know if it's been re-written in an easier to read form? The flowery language kinda gets in the way.
I would suggest reading the whole Divina Commedia instead of the just the first part.
To fully understand it you might want to brush up on Greek/Roman Mythology and 14th century Italian politics

or just pick up the Cliff Notes.:biggrin:

[Doc4]

When at a loss, I usually reach for a Penguin Classic. But for Milton, methinks you shall need to perservere with the original ...

[HoustonianYankee]

The Inferno of Dante, trnslated by Robert Pinsky, recent poet laureate of the U.S. A nice translation. I also picked up "A Modern Readers Guide to the Divine Comedy" by Gallagher. Finally, "Purgatorio" Translated by W.S. Merwin. I haven't gotten to "Paradise" yet. :wink:

BTW, if you are interested in Homer, I would strongly recommend Robert Fagles translations.

[Jimro]

Heaney's "Beowulf" was a very good read. I have not read any translation of "Paradise Lost" or "The Inferno".

Jimro

[Doc4]

The Inferno of Dante, trnslated by Robert Pinsky, recent poet laureate of the U.S. A nice translation. I also picked up "A Modern Readers Guide to the Divine Comedy" by Gallagher. Finally, "Purgatorio" Translated by W.S. Merwin. I haven't gotten to "Paradise" yet. :wink:

BTW, if you are interested in Homer, I would strongly recommend Robert Fagles translations.

For Homer, I always go back to the Richmond Lattimore translation. It's a bit more dense to start with, but it's great.

[norman931]

For Homer, I always go back to the Richmond Lattimore translation. It's a bit more dense to start with, but it's great.

No, you have to read Robert Fitzgerald's excellent Homer translations! :thumbup1:

Norm

[HoustonianYankee]

No, you have to read Robert Fitzgerald's excellent Homer translations! :thumbup1:

Norm
I took Greek in High School and toiled through the original. It was actually quite a wonderful experience as I had a Jesuit priest who was absolutely dedicated to his profession. Few translations capture the multiple layers of meaning of the "original". I believe Fagles is the best, IMHO. But each man to his own poison.

[norman931]

I took Greek in High School and toiled through the original. It was actually quite a wonderful experience as I had a Jesuit priest who was absolutely dedicated to his profession. Few translations capture the multiple layers of meaning of the "original". I believe Fagles is the best, IMHO. But each man to his own poison.

Well, I've read Fitzgerald's Iliad and Odyssey, and parts of Lattimore's, and they're all good. Fitzgerald's in particular has that "can't put it down" quality that is so rare in the old works. I'll have to look at Fagles sometime.

Norm

[Poetman]

Beowulf--Seamus heaney
Inferno-- John Hollander
Paradise Lost--there is no translation. I don't believe there is modern verse rendering. You'll lose so much if you move away from Milton. By reading Paradise Lost, you are reading classic literature that is so important. Read it slow, try to visualize what's going on, and relax. It's not that hard, I'm sure you can understand it. Embrace the language don't fight it. Read Dante and beowulf first; read Milton last: you should be warmed up by then.


Do any of you fan gentle-folk know of any good, easy to read translations of the following:

Beowulf
The Inferno
Paradise Lost

I know Paradise Lost was written in English but does anyone know if it's been re-written in an easier to read form? The flowery language kinda gets in the way.