Milton knew the translation of Fanshaw (which he echoes).
That of Leonard Bacon (1966) can also be compared, for a
relatively recent attempt in this kind. The flavorful
translation of The Lusiads of Camoens into [Rimed] English
Verse by J. J. Aubertin (London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co,
1884), in 2 vols., is also to be commended, or so I think
(it's somewhat in the manner of Fairfax, though late):
and it helpfully gives the Portuguese on the left side of
the text (as proof of its faithfulness, it seems).
Aubertin has quaint usages, like "Contiguously" and
"Vociferating," but not too many.
A sample, where the poet celebrates himself as part of the
novel epic voyage:
'Think'st thou, O king, that in the world there be
People who would such courses have essayed?
That thus Aeneas and Ulysses, he
The eloquent, would o'er the world have strayed?
Dared any one of Ocean's depths to see
(Whate'er of him in verses may be said)
Of what I've seen by dint of force and art,
And what I yet shall see e'en the eighth part?
'He who Aonian streams, intoxicate,
Imbibed, o'er whom a strange contention lies,
Wherein Rhodes, Smyrna, Colophon debate,
Athens, Chios, Argos, Salamis:
And He who doth Ausonian luminate,
Hearing whose voice divine, high-sounding rise,
His native Mincio falls into repose,
But Tyber with the echo proudly flows:
'Let both for ever sing, praise, write extremes
Of these their demigods, and magnify,
Pretending magic, Circes, Polyphemes,
Sirens whose songs are fatal lullaby;
And navigate with sails and their triremes
The Cicones, and land where lethargy
Seizes on comrades who the Lotos taste,
Or lose a pilot in the watery waste;
'Feign and imagine winds let loose and rude
From skins, and of Calypsos love-lorn tell,
Or harpies who contaminate their food,
Or on descents to naked darkness dwell;
With whatsoe'er of fancy are imbued
These empty fables they have dreamed so well,
The truth that I recount, naked and pure,
Beyond all boastful writing shall endure.'
(Canto V, st. 86-89: vol. I, pp. 283, 285)
-- Jim N.
On Fri, 25 Apr 2014 12:23:50 -0400
Kenneth Gross <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> there's a 19th century translation of Camoens's Lusiads
>into English
> Spenserian verse by one Robert Ffrench Duff that might
>offer a model in
> reverse...
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 12:15 PM, Anne Prescott
><[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>
>> Yes, David. It sure does. After all, there's a Chinese
>>translation of the
>> *FQ*, and that must be a harder fit than Portuguese--all
>>that tonal
>> stuff. The translator, the charming and learned Prof. Wu
>>from the
>> University of Peking, sent me a copy but all I could
>>understand was the
>> ISBN number . . .
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 5:24 AM, David Miller
>><[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> Sounds like the Portuguese could use a good translation,
>>>doesn't it?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 1:25 AM, Roger Kuin
>>><[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> All I’ve been able to find is a modern translation of
>>>>Amoretti LXXIX,
>>>> here:
>>>> http://blogdocastorp.blogspot.fr/2014/04/dandocontinuidade-aos-posts-cuja.html
>>>> The Portuguese Wikipedia entry on Spenser says that FQ
>>>>(A Rainha das
>>>> Fadas) is all about the fight between Protestants and
>>>>Catholics.
>>>> Roger
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Apr 25, 2014, at 12:38 AM, Paul Hecht
>>>><[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hello all,
>>>>
>>>> Happy to make my first post to the list here, to ask if
>>>>anyone knows of
>>>> Portuguese translations of Spenser—recent or not,
>>>>partial or whole, of any
>>>> work.
>>>>
>>>> —Paul
>>>>
>>>> Paul J. Hecht
>>>> Associate Professor
>>>> Department of English
>>>> Purdue University North Central
>>>> Westville, Indiana
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> David Lee Miller
>>> University of South Carolina
>>> Columbia, SC 29208
>>> (803) 777-4256
>>> FAX 777-9064
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> Center for Digital Humanities <http://www.cdh.sc.edu/>
>>> Faculty Web Page
>>><http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/people/pages/miller.html>
>>> *Dreams of the Burning Child
>>> <http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100865590&CFID=8776879&CFTOKEN=5f96265f3e78e4c1-CD8CDD45-C29B-B0E5-3A132DAF587030F4&jsessionid=8430cfc86f9c780302f52b2158647f227d5dTR>*
>>> *A Touch More Rare
>>> <http://www.fordhampress.com/detail.html?id=9780823230303>
>>>*
>>>
>>
>>
[log in to unmask]
James Nohrnberg
Dept. of English, Bryan Hall 219
Univ. of Virginia
P.O Box 400121
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4121
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