New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-05-10
DANTE IN ENGLISH.
DUBIOUS EXPERIMENT WITH THE
sPENSERIAN STANZA.
THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE 4 versi9Tn ,s n
grave. NJ. A., st. Johns College. OXFORD; Inc

THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. VERSION n
the Nlneine Metre Of sPenGs eI;. BY Gss The
Inferno or Hell. Pp. XIV 247. Macmillan & Co.
Only the test OF popular favor or neglect can de-
eide the question as to the adaptabty OF tn" verse
form which Mr. Musgrave has chosen to the express
sion of Dante's thoughts In English TWO poets so
little like each other as Spenser and Dante eouiu
hardly be found In the whole range OF literature.
Spenser wove a fabric delicate and as mysteri-
ously tangled as cobweb. while that OF Dante Is
strong. close flexible but heavy as cloth OF goio'
The airy imagnings of Spenser required vocaou-
larry lightly and easily varied There ~ the ut'io''
variety in Dante also, but the background even IN
the paradise Is karsh stern implacable. Ike the
man himself In the words which Mr.. NussraVe
uses to interpret the Inferno there Is none OF
Sponsors dreamy charm. The subllmIty OF certain
passages Of the original evaporates In this new Eng
lish FORM There Is none OF Dantes rapidity OF NJ
The Spenserian stanza does not FAVOR speed
1t has too many eddes. and too often flows back
upon itself. ike halfcompleed sonnet Ironicaly'
yet naccurately, 1t may be said to meet exacty
the requirements Of the German apothegm. without
haste. without rest" But this succession OF whrl-
pools and meanders is very unlike the broad, swift
current of Dantes own verse.
Mr.. Musgrave's objections terra rima as
attempted In English are well taken. His argument
that the Spcnseran stanza. with Its triple1 three
line organism, is the nearest natural equivalent Tor
poetry that runs In trplets and often In trpiets OF
tr!plets Is very plausible. But the actuaI expert
ment is not fully In line with the theory. The con-
lecture is raised whether some other stanza with
three rhymes--for example, the meiaeval seven
line verse OF Chaucers "Parement OF Foues'-
would not do just well as the artificial device or
spenser There Is chance for comparison here
for all translators OF Dante are bound TO try their
hands on one passage of his Inferno in preference
to anything else that is his. In Mr.. Musgravc's
version It runs thus in all the soemnty OF black
letter
Through Me ye pass TO Endless Misery Mis-
In aus Justice s my ny High Maker founded Mc.
And ms ons r2TsS Snftss;
saving the Things that Everlasting be.
Ali Hope Abandon Ye Who Enter at this Door.
II this Is compared with the original Its defects In
the way OF compact expression can easily be made
out. Now Chaucer also thought OF Dante. and
though his rendering Is only distant paraphrase,
yet 1t has the simplicity and directness OF Dante's
own lines.
'Thorgh me men goon. than spak that other syde,
Unto the mortal strokes OF the spere.
Thsr ire, tree shall never fruyt ne leves bere.
This stremo you ledeth TO the sorwful were,
There as tho fish in prison Is al drye;
The schewng is only the remedye
In another stanza Chaucer Initiated more closely
the emphatic repetitlons OF Dante. but with an en-
couraEing rather than disheartenng purpose
But II certainly would not have been beyond Chau-
have packed the literal meaning OF Dante into his
seven lines. saving. to put II prosaicaliy, OF TWO
lines as compared with Mr.. Musgrayes version.
with the additional relief OF escaping the Aexan-
drne which always has 70 drag string OF super
nuous words in It's train.
But there is one Ions fragment OF the inferno
which reads admirably IN this translation. and tnat
is the grotegquely humorous description OF the
Indicators and the nends in the Pit OF the SWIM
dlers 1t was there that Dante fe.t his own con-
science twitch. and he only escaped the prongs OF
the tormenng devils by the skill and promptness OF
his guide In the midst Of many horrors. the
reader is bound 10 smile at the group OF monsters
eho turn the work OF torture into horseplay. ana
grin with malicious pleasure at the mishaps OF the'r
comrades. Even the VICTIMS Pi'so"'eu
humorous aspects Dante's imagination MT
Musgraye has w'sey tried English equivalents Tor
the names OF the devils, TO convey 10 his read
srs the burlesquc intent OF the original His stanxa
helps the humor Of the thing by Its very delays
II sives the broad effects necessary to the ludcrous
IN English without the abruptness OF Dante which
undoubtedly is more startling than pleasant IN
literal translation. This passage alone makes MT
Nusgraves work an important addition TO English
literature about Dante. There are 50 many trans
iaton. OF tho Florentne into English that the
reader will soon be able 10 select the places where
each version hits the original best and thus may
create an English Dante OF his own varcoored
perhaps but OF high excellence. In such Dan'ean
anthology Mr. Musgrave's Malebosian farce VIII
certainly take rank with some OF the best Work
OF other trans.ators