Until the final three lines of his poem DGR follows
the Italian fairly closely. At that point, however, he turns five Italian lines into three
English, and he so orders the material as to climax his poem with a clearly erotic
double meaning that is not in the Italian text. The move is gracefully done, however,
and remains in the spirit of the original.
This collection contains 10 texts and images, including:
Early Italian Poets text.
Scholarly Commentary
Introduction
Until the final three lines of his poem DGR follows the Italian fairly closely. At that point, however, he turns five Italian lines into three English, and he so orders the material as to climax his poem with a clearly erotic double meaning that is not in the Italian text. The move is gracefully done, however, and remains in the spirit of the original.
DGR's source was either Poeti del Primo Secolo (II. 104-105) or Raccolta di Rime Antiche Toscane (I. 414). See also the commentary for the source text.
Textual History: Composition
Probably an early translation, late 1840s.
Printing History
The translation was first published in 1861 in The Early Italian Poets; it was reprinted in 1874 in Dante and his Circle.