In both translations it is made clear that Canto 5 of Dante\u2019s Inferno Dante is introduced to the second circle of Hell. This is where Dante meets Minos and Minos takes him on a journey. In the two translations by Charles Eliot Norton (written in 1902), and Patrick Bannerman (written in 1850), we are shown the same story, although it is carried out very differently. I expected to enjoy reading Norton\u2019s translation at least a little bit more because it was written almost fifteen years after Bannerman’s translation, although I found myself more intrigued while reading Bannerman\u2019s version of the translation.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Although Norton\u2019s translation would probably be easier for a contemporary American reader to understand, I did not think that the quality of the text was as great and Bannerman\u2019s translation. Norton\u2019s translation did not contain a rhyme scheme, and therefore did not sound poetic. He kept the quotes from Mino\u2019s in wording that sounded much less contemporary than the rest of the translation, and I thought that did not flow well. For example, he says, \u201c\u2018O thou comest to the woeful inn\u2019, says Minos to me, when he saw me, leaving the act of so great an office, \u2018beware how though enterest, and to whom thou truest thyself; let not the amplitude of the entrance deceive there\u2019\u201d. In my opinion, Norton should have made the entire piece sound more contemporary and poetic.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On the other hand, Bannerman translated Canto 5 perfectly, because it was contemporary yet poetic at the same time because he kept a rhyme scheme. The message was very clear because of his word choice. The reader could easily emphasize with the pain and sorrow that Dante felt while entering this second circle of Hell. The first time where the reader truly feels Dante\u2019s pain is when he says \u201cAnd pierce my heart with sorrow, make me faint,<\/p>\n
Struck with many an arrow of complaint.<\/p>\n
I came to place where light itself was mute,<\/p>\n
Rebelling as tempests make the sea,<\/p>\n
When striving winds are flighting vehemently\u201d.<\/p>\n
This line was truly effective in getting the message across and also keeping the translation as poetic as Dante would have wanted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"