To Hell and Back

An anthology of Dante's Inferno in English translation (1782–2017)

Tim Smith | Victoria University of Wellington

Marco Sonzogni | Victoria University of Wellington

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027212511 | EUR 85.00 | USD 128.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027265401 | EUR 85.00 | USD 128.00

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
Published online on 12 June 2017

https://doi.org/10.1075/z.212

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements | pp. xi–xiii

Dante's Inferno in English translation: A hell of a cookbook | pp. xv–xx

Canto I. Henry Francis Cary (1805–06) | pp. 1–4

Canto II. Robert and Jean Hollander (2000) | pp. 5–9

Canto III. Seamus Heaney (1993) | pp. 10–13

Canto IV. C. H. Sisson (1980) | pp. 14–18

Canto V. Daniel Halpern (1993) | pp. 19–22

Canto VI. Albert Bandini (1928) | pp. 23–26

Canto VII. Armand Schwerner (2000) | pp. 27–30

Canto VIII. Ichabod Charles Wright (1833) | pp. 31–34

Canto IX. J. D. Sinclair (1939) | pp. 35–37

Canto X. Anthony Esolen (2002) | pp. 38–41

Canto XI. James Finn Cotter (1987) | pp. 42–45

Canto XII. Clara Stillman Reed (1962) | pp. 46–48

Canto XIII. John Dayman (1843) | pp. 49–52

Canto XIV. Melville B. Anderson (1921) | pp. 53–56

Canto XV. Robert Lowell (1967) | pp. 57–60

Canto XVI. Mark Musa (1971) | pp. 61–65

Canto XVII. Sean O'Brien (2006) | pp. 66–70

Canto XVIII. John Aitken Carlyle (1849) | pp. 71–73

Canto XIX. Dorothy L. Sayers (1949) | pp. 74–82

Canto XX. Sandow Birk and Marcus Sanders (2003) 79 Canto XXI. Henry Boyd (1795) | pp. 83–88

Canto XXII. Susan Mitchell (1993) | pp. 89–92

Canto XXIII. Steve Ellis (1994) | pp. 93–96

Canto XXIV. Michael Palma (2002) | pp. 97–100

Canto XXV. Thomas Bergin (1948) | pp. 101–104

Canto XXVI. W. S. Merwin (1993) | pp. 105–108

Canto XXVII. Tom Simone (2007) | pp. 109–117

Canto XXVIII. Mary Prentice Lillie (1958) 114 Canto XXIX. Peter Dale (1996) | pp. 118–121

Canto XXX. Warwick Chipman (1961) | pp. 122–129

Canto XXXI. Sydney Fowler Wright (1928) 126 Canto XXXII. Terence Tiller (1966) | pp. 130–133

Canto XXXIII. John Ciardi (1954) | pp. 134–138

Canto XXXIV. Mary Jo Bang (2012) | pp. 139–145

Figure 1. Three Ways. Julian Peters (2016) 144 Figure 2. Upside-down. Julian Peters (2016) 145 Canto XXXIV. Charles Rogers (1782) | pp. 146–149

Canto XXXIII. Robert Hass (1993) | pp. 150–154

Canto XXXII. Benedict Flynn (1995) | pp. 155–158

Canto XXXI. Nicholas Kilmer (1985) | pp. 159–163

Canto XXX. Samuel Walker Griffith (1903) | pp. 164–167

Canto XXIX. Stephen Wentworth Arndt (1994) | pp. 168–172

Canto XXVIII. Patrick Cummins (1948) | pp. 173–176

Canto XXVII. Charles Eliot Norton (1891) | pp. 177–179

Canto XXVI. Geoffrey L. Bickersteth (1955) | pp. 180–183

Canto XXV. Charles S. Singleton (1970) | pp. 184–190

Canto XXIV. Frederick K. H. Haselfoot (1887) 187 Canto XXIII. Derrick Plant (1986) | pp. 191–193

Canto XXII. Claudia Hamilton Ramsay (1862) | pp. 194–197

Canto XXI. Ciaran Carson (2002) | pp. 198–202

Canto XX. Tom Phillips (1983) | pp. 203–206

Canto XIX. Robin Kirkpatrick (2006) | pp. 207–210

Canto XVIII. Laurence Binyon (1933) | pp. 211–214

Canto XVII. Kenneth Mackenzie (1979) | pp. 215–218

Canto XVI. Thomas William Parsons (1843) | pp. 219–222

Canto XV. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1867) | pp. 223–226

Canto XIV. Allan Gilbert (1969) | pp. 227–229

Canto XIII. Robert M. Torrance (2011) | pp. 230–234

Canto XII. Robert Musgrave (1893) | pp. 235–239

Canto XI. Seth Zimmerman (2003) | pp. 240–243

Canto X. Louis Biancolli (1966) | pp. 244–247

Canto IX. Edward Haynes Plumptre (1886) | pp. 248–251

Canto VIII. Burton Raffel (2010) | pp. 252–255

Canto VII. James R. Sibbald (1884) | pp. 256–259

Canto VI. Elio Zappulla (1998) | pp. 260–263

Canto V. J. G. Nichols (2005) | pp. 264–267

Canto IV. Stanley Lombardo (2009) | pp. 268–272

Canto III. Allen Mandelbaum (1980) | pp. 273–280

Canto II. Patrick Creagh and Robert Hollander (1989) 277 Canto I. Clive James (2013) | pp. 281–285

Canto I. Ned Denny (2016) | pp. 286–289

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)

Nick Havely, University of York, Translation and Literature 27 (2018)

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