To Hell and Back
An anthology of Dante's Inferno in English translation (1782–2017)
Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) maintained that translation destroys the harmony of poetry. Yet his Commedia has been translated into English time and again over the last two-and-a-bit centuries. At last count, one-hundred and twenty-nine different translators have published at least one canticle of the Italian masterwork since the first in 1782, and countless more have translated individual cantos. Among them there are some of the finest poets in the English language, including Robert Lowell and the Irish Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney. Smith and Sonzogni have assembled and annotated two complete translations of Dante’s most popular canticle, Inferno, each canto translated by a different translator. To Hell and Back is a celebration of the art and craft of poetry translation; of the lexical palettes and syntactical tempos of the English language; and, of course, of the genius of one of the greatest poets of all times.
[Not in series, 212] 2017. xx, 295 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins
Table of Contents
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Acknowledgements | pp. xi–xiii
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Dante's Inferno in English translation: A hell of a cookbook | pp. xv–xx
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Canto I. Henry Francis Cary (1805–06) | pp. 1–4
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Canto II. Robert and Jean Hollander (2000) | pp. 5–9
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Canto III. Seamus Heaney (1993) | pp. 10–13
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Canto IV. C. H. Sisson (1980) | pp. 14–18
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Canto V. Daniel Halpern (1993) | pp. 19–22
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Canto VI. Albert Bandini (1928) | pp. 23–26
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Canto VII. Armand Schwerner (2000) | pp. 27–30
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Canto VIII. Ichabod Charles Wright (1833) | pp. 31–34
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Canto IX. J. D. Sinclair (1939) | pp. 35–37
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Canto X. Anthony Esolen (2002) | pp. 38–41
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Canto XI. James Finn Cotter (1987) | pp. 42–45
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Canto XII. Clara Stillman Reed (1962) | pp. 46–48
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Canto XIII. John Dayman (1843) | pp. 49–52
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Canto XIV. Melville B. Anderson (1921) | pp. 53–56
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Canto XV. Robert Lowell (1967) | pp. 57–60
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Canto XVI. Mark Musa (1971) | pp. 61–65
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Canto XVII. Sean O'Brien (2006) | pp. 66–70
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Canto XVIII. John Aitken Carlyle (1849) | pp. 71–73
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Canto XIX. Dorothy L. Sayers (1949) | pp. 74–82
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Canto XX. Sandow Birk and Marcus Sanders (2003) 79 Canto XXI. Henry Boyd (1795) | pp. 83–88
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Canto XXII. Susan Mitchell (1993) | pp. 89–92
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Canto XXIII. Steve Ellis (1994) | pp. 93–96
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Canto XXIV. Michael Palma (2002) | pp. 97–100
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Canto XXV. Thomas Bergin (1948) | pp. 101–104
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Canto XXVI. W. S. Merwin (1993) | pp. 105–108
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Canto XXVII. Tom Simone (2007) | pp. 109–117
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Canto XXVIII. Mary Prentice Lillie (1958) 114 Canto XXIX. Peter Dale (1996) | pp. 118–121
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Canto XXX. Warwick Chipman (1961) | pp. 122–129
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Canto XXXI. Sydney Fowler Wright (1928) 126 Canto XXXII. Terence Tiller (1966) | pp. 130–133
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Canto XXXIII. John Ciardi (1954) | pp. 134–138
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Canto XXXIV. Mary Jo Bang (2012) | pp. 139–145
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Figure 1. Three Ways. Julian Peters (2016) 144 Figure 2. Upside-down. Julian Peters (2016) 145 Canto XXXIV. Charles Rogers (1782) | pp. 146–149
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Canto XXXIII. Robert Hass (1993) | pp. 150–154
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Canto XXXII. Benedict Flynn (1995) | pp. 155–158
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Canto XXXI. Nicholas Kilmer (1985) | pp. 159–163
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Canto XXX. Samuel Walker Griffith (1903) | pp. 164–167
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Canto XXIX. Stephen Wentworth Arndt (1994) | pp. 168–172
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Canto XXVIII. Patrick Cummins (1948) | pp. 173–176
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Canto XXVII. Charles Eliot Norton (1891) | pp. 177–179
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Canto XXVI. Geoffrey L. Bickersteth (1955) | pp. 180–183
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Canto XXV. Charles S. Singleton (1970) | pp. 184–190
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Canto XXIV. Frederick K. H. Haselfoot (1887) 187 Canto XXIII. Derrick Plant (1986) | pp. 191–193
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Canto XXII. Claudia Hamilton Ramsay (1862) | pp. 194–197
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Canto XXI. Ciaran Carson (2002) | pp. 198–202
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Canto XX. Tom Phillips (1983) | pp. 203–206
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Canto XIX. Robin Kirkpatrick (2006) | pp. 207–210
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Canto XVIII. Laurence Binyon (1933) | pp. 211–214
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Canto XVII. Kenneth Mackenzie (1979) | pp. 215–218
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Canto XVI. Thomas William Parsons (1843) | pp. 219–222
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Canto XV. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1867) | pp. 223–226
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Canto XIV. Allan Gilbert (1969) | pp. 227–229
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Canto XIII. Robert M. Torrance (2011) | pp. 230–234
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Canto XII. Robert Musgrave (1893) | pp. 235–239
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Canto XI. Seth Zimmerman (2003) | pp. 240–243
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Canto X. Louis Biancolli (1966) | pp. 244–247
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Canto IX. Edward Haynes Plumptre (1886) | pp. 248–251
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Canto VIII. Burton Raffel (2010) | pp. 252–255
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Canto VII. James R. Sibbald (1884) | pp. 256–259
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Canto VI. Elio Zappulla (1998) | pp. 260–263
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Canto V. J. G. Nichols (2005) | pp. 264–267
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Canto IV. Stanley Lombardo (2009) | pp. 268–272
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Canto III. Allen Mandelbaum (1980) | pp. 273–280
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Canto II. Patrick Creagh and Robert Hollander (1989) 277 Canto I. Clive James (2013) | pp. 281–285
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Canto I. Ned Denny (2016) | pp. 286–289
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Canto II. Patrick Worsnip (2017) | pp. 290–293
“This Inferno—there and mercifully back again—is the two-century love story of English and Dante. How joyful we can be at the freedoms English has earned as it has changed nations, periods, accents and decorums: this ultimate post-modern Dante, though it is translation, has all the energy of a primary work: the triumph of a brilliant editorial vision.”
Michael Schmidt, PN Review
“This extremely rich collection of sample translations springs surprises on every page. The ingenuity of individual translators gains relief against the choices of others, the variety of registers and verse forms is astounding, and the book as a whole celebrates the translator’s much undervalued craft.”
Theo Hermans, University College London
“This anthology provides a rich assortment of exempla that reaffirm the ongoing inspiration of Dante’s poetry.”
Rachel Jacoff, Wellesley College
“This fascinating book reveals the techniques of the many translators who have attempted to translate Dante. By juxtaposing different versions, the editors shatter the illusion that a translation is nothing more than a pale copy of an original, and show how a creative translator can ensure the survival of a great ancient work. I enjoyed reading this book and deciding which versions I prefer.”
Susan Bassnett, University of Warwick
“This Inferno-by-many-hands is a sheer delight, for anyone fascinated by the variable act of translation--or anyone willing to be enchanted by an exciting new approach to a great classic. I can hardly wait to use it in class, the next time I teach world literature!”
Douglas Robinson, Hong Kong Baptist University
“Smith’s and Sonzogni’s volume should help to promote research and discussion about translation of the Commedia as a major feature of British literary culture over the past two-and-a-half centuries. To Hell and Back serves to demonstrate what one writer has called the ‘boundless generosity’, another the ‘versatility’ of Dante’s text; and as one of the blurbs on the back cover foresees, it will be a valuable resource for courses on reception and world literature, usefully complementing the current range of anthologies and surveys. [...] Meanwhile, for researchers, teachers, and readers, translation of the Inferno is the obvious place to start, and this volume offers a rich variety of reasons for going there. ‘Perché venirvi?’ asks Dante. Virgil answers: ‘Perché, perché restai?’- Why wait?”
Nick Havely, University of York, in Translation and Literature 27 (2018)
“Smith’s and Sonzogni’s volume should help to promote research and discussion about translation of the Commedia as a major feature of British literary culture over the past two-and-a-half centuries. To Hell and Back serves to demonstrate what one writer has called the ‘boundless generosity’, another the ‘versatility’ of Dante’s text; and as one of the blurbs on the back cover foresees, it will be a valuable resource for courses on reception and world literature, usefully complementing the current range of anthologies and surveys.”
Nick Havely, University of York, Translation and Literature 27 (2018)
Subjects
Literature & Literary Studies
Translation & Interpreting Studies
Main BIC Subject
DSC: Literary studies: poetry & poets
Main BISAC Subject
LIT014000: LITERARY CRITICISM / Poetry