◦
“Introduction
to Part II” (in
The Early Italian Poets),
193-206
◦
Contini,
Poeti de Duecento,
II. 561-562
◦
Cassata,
Guido Cavalcanti.
Rime, 206-209
This collection contains 10 texts and images, including:
The Early Italian Poets text
Scholarly Commentary
Introduction
This splendid ballad draws an equally exquisite translation from DGR, who manages to stay quite close to the original in nearly every respect, including the complex rhyme scheme. Only in the penultimate line, which in Cavalcanti reads “gioa e dolzore,” does the translation's variance lose something important. On the other hand, DGR's “Joy's enchanted art” involves a remarkable addition to the poem, making explicit in the deftest way that the ballad is as much about writing poetry as it is about making love. DGR's source text, Cicciaporci (Ballata IX, page 24-25) is reliable.
Textual History: Composition
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.