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Dante Literary Sensibility

It is difficult for anyone to translate Italian poetry and capture the same literary sensibility as the original author. In this passage from Dante’s Inferno (XXII, 25-30), we see that one of the biggest reasons for this is the multiple use of vowels in Italian words which lends to a smoother visual while reading as well as allowing for a great deal of assonance, the repetition of identical or related vowel sounds. If we look at line 29, this particular poetic technique is obvious “ma come s’appressava Barbariccia” (Dante XXII, 29). The “a” endings on the words not only alliterate but the pronunciation of the “ia” ending of “Barbariccia” rhymes with the “a” ending in “ma” and “s’appressava”.

If we look at the other translations, we see the enormous difference in lyricism, alliteration, and rhyme of this line. The Mendelbaum translation reads “But faster than a flash, when Barbariccia”. Mendelbaum uses alliteration in the form of consonance which is more in keeping with the essence of the Italian original. So, too, Mendelbaum makes an attempt at rhyme from the use of “as” in “faster” and in “flash”. The same can be said for Anderson’s translation of the line which reads “But at the approach of Barbariccia”. The Cary translation makes not attempt at rhyme of alliteration in its version of the line which reads “As Barbariccia was at hand, so they”. Even worse than this, the Carey translation rearranges the word order of the original line and the previous two translations mentioned by inserting Barbariccia’s name at the front of the line as opposed to at the end. Perhaps Dante purposefully put the name of Barbariccia at the end of this line in order to increase the significance and impact of him. This is more in keeping with the mood of the overall work and Barbariccia’s character which makes people duck for cover. There is no exc

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Dante Literary Sensibility. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 08:44, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1685303.html