A different translation.

 While trying to find material for this fortnight’s blog post I stumbled upon a new translation of Canto III that I hadn’t seen before.  The Translation was done by Seamus Heaney.  For those unfamiliar with Heaney he is an Irish Poet Laureate who while famous for his own poetry, has also made multiple best seller lists for his translation of Beowulf.  

Being familiar with his work on Beowulf, it was surprising to then find his name associated with Dante as well.  Old English and 13^th century Italian are after all, extremely different.  They share the same basic alphabet and otherwise are completely different.  Old English is primarily based on Germanic languages which do not find their roots in Latin.  Instead Old English is much more closely associated with Old Norse, Old Icelandic and Gaelic.  In a general sense, Old English is largely a continuation of “Barbarian” languages, which were conquered and to a large extent rebelled against the Latin speaking Romans. 

Being even more familiar with Heaney’s work however, I have learned that Heaney (aside from being Irish and embracing the culture of his heritage thoroughly) translated Beowulf without knowing Old English.  In fact, to produce his translation of Beowulf he worked closely with people who had already done translations, and using their knowledge, set out to make a version of Beowulf that exhibited the cultural traditions rather than the linguistic traditions.  Furthermore as a Poet Laureate (a very (globally recognized) skilled poet,) Heaney set out to create a translation of Beowulf that was a good epic poem. 

Knowing that about Heaney makes it very interesting that he would then turn his hand to Dante’s Inferno as well.  Beowulf and Inferno share many things after all.  They are both Epic Poems, they are both looked upon as foundational literary classics, they both talk about cultures and people that are very far removed from the 21^st century and they both are widely read by high-schoolers and college students today.  They are also both viewed by said students as tedious and difficult to get through.  So in those senses, it is not so far removed from the realm of reasonability that a world renowned poet would try to make sense of them for modern generations. 

I will be honest here, I don’t know if Heaney has an in-depth knowledge of early Italian, Latin, or Mediterranean culture, so my dubiousness is in large part a conjecture based on the probability of a similar fundamental ignorance.  But it is interesting to me that he (seeing the success of one epic) decided to try his pen at another epic as well. 

My dubiousness aside however, his translation was published by Emerson College, and in comparing it with Durling and Martinez’s translation does hit the main points.  Not surprisingly though, he captures the feeling of the Canto while ignoring the word structure and format of the original.  For example, the first three Stanzas (the warning on the first gate of hell) of the Original text reads as follows:

PER ME SI VA NE LA CITTA’ DOLENTE, /PER ME SI VA NE L’ETTERNO DOLORE, /PER ME SI VA TRA LA PERDUTA GENTE

GIUSTIZIA MOSSE IL MIO ALTO FATTORE;/ FECEMI LA DIVINA PODESTATE, /LA SOMMA SAPIENZA E’L PRIMO AMORE

DINANZI A ME NON FUOR COSE CREATE /SE NON ETTERNE, E IO ETTERNO DURO. /LASCIATE OGNE SPERANANZA, VOI CH’INTRATE.

The Durling and Martinez translation reads as follows:

THROUGH ME THE WAY INTO THE GRIEVING CITY, /THROUGH ME THE WAY INTO ETERNAL SORROW, /THROUGH ME THE WAY AMONG THE LOST PEOPLE.

JUSTIVCE MOVED MY HIGH MAKER;/ DIVINE POWER MADE ME, /HIGHEST WISDOM, AND PRIMAL LOVE. 

BEFORE ME WERE NO THINGS CREATED/ EXCEPT ETERNAL ONES, AND I ENDURE ETERNAL./ ABANDON EVERY HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER.

It is important to note that the Durling and Martinez maintains the sentence structure, it maintains the word order, and it is very close to the same meter of the original.  In comparison to that is the Heaney translation. 

THROUGH ME IT LEADS TO THE CITY SORROWFUL./ THROUGH ME IT LEADS TO THE ETERNAL PAIN./ THROUGH ME IT LEADS AMONG THE LOST PEOPLE.

 JUSTICE INSPIRED MY MAKER ABOVE./ IT WAS DIVINE POWER THAT FORMED ME,/ SUPREME JUSTICE AND ORIGINAL LOVE.

BEFORE ME NO THING WAS CREATED THAT WAS NOT /FOREVER CREATED, AND I SHALL LAST FOREVER. /LEAVE EVERY HOPE BEHIND YOU, YOU WHO ENTER.

It is obvious with even a brief glance that not only does Heaney change the tone to be more “epic,” but he also changes the form of the poem (making three sentences from one,) disregards the word order from the original, and finally (as he does in Beowulf) he adds words.

Perhaps this works better for Dante’s Inferno than it did for Beowulf, because it adds a modern formality to an intentionally very Catholic based writing(Inferno), opposed to adding a modern formality to a slightly catholic transcribed pagan text (Beowulf.)  Effects of the translation aside, it is still interesting that a modern turned epic poet is expanding his base to a second epic poem, and showing the same qualities in both.  Heaney’s translation of Inferno has the potential to be relatable and beautiful, it also has the potential to frustrate scholars and misguide students.  The questions raised by Beowulf scholars, and translators everywhere persist.  Is it more important to faithfully represent a work, or to get people to read and appreciate a slightly altered work?