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I saw this version performed in Seattle a few years ago, and it was one of the best theater experiences I've had - I got chills in several places. Once upon a time in Westphalia, in the castle of Monsieur the Baron von Thunder-ten-tronckh, there lived a young boy on whom nature had bestowed the gentlest of dispositions&hellip Bonus: Molière's Don Juan, translated by Stephen Wadsworth. My father worked on a musical version of Candide, directed by Hal Prince with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, just before I was born. However, it is a genuinely great translation - truly funny. I'll admit it, half the reason I bought this version is Chris Ware's fantastic cover. I think my liver hurts… Voltaire's Candide, translated by Theo Cuffe. I'm linking to the handsomely-printed Everyman's Library edition. Even the opening few sentences is a huge improvement on others. Read a Salon article about how this translation finds jokes and meanings that were missed or mistaken in past translations. The translation that got me started on this task. We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns… Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
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The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who rules them had courage and greatness. Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing… Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney. This translation is so preferable to past translations that I lugged back the 940-page hardcover. Halfway through the story of my life I came to in a gloomy wood, because I'd wandered off the path, away from the light… Cervantes' Don Quixote, translated by Edith Grossman. I've linked to Granta's hardcover edition, which is nicely typeset with an intriguing cover (and was probably part of the selling point to me). Pinsky shortens some of the text, and some of Carson's choices are surprisingly direct and understandable while keeping the meaning. This is the only overlap I have with your list, and I slightly preferred Carson's translation. Thank you for the recommendations! A few years ago, I spent a day in Powell's Books in Portland comparing translations of various books (not all epics), and here are the recommendations I came up with: Dante's 'Inferno', translated by Ciaran Carson. The glory of the One who moves all things To course on better waters the littleĭante's Paradiso, translated by Allen Mandelbaum (1982). To tellĪbout those woods is hard - so tangled and rough.ĭante's Purgatorio, translated by W.S. Midway on our life's journey, I found myself (Sarah Ruden's 2008 translation is also intriguing.) I sing of warfare and a man at war.ĭante's Inferno, translated by Robert Pinsky (1995). Closely followed by Allen Mandelbaum's 1971 translation. Virgil's Aeneid, translated by Robert Fitzgerald (1981). Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turnsĭriven time and again off course, once he had plundered Another close race with Lattimore (1965). Homer's Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles (1999). Hurled in their multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls. Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son AchilleusĪnd its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians, Close race between Lattimore and Fagles (1990). Homer's Iliad, translated by Richmond Lattimore (1951).
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I've been scouring the web for people's opinions on the best translations of the greatest epics: Homer's Odyssey, Homer's Iliad, Virgil's Aeneid, and Dante's Divina Commedia.Īfter spending a few enjoyable hours comparing reviews, I'd say that the following translations are generally recognized to be the best ones: