So I bought Robin Kirkpatrick’s translation by Penguin Classics. But I recently watched a farily knowledgeable and reliable person review different translations and called this translation “bad”. And I did some research and saw the Hollander one being recommended the most, but I can’t really find a complete edition of the 3 parts of the Divine comedy translated by Hollander. So I was wondering does the translation (or this translation in particular if you have any knowledge about it) really matter that much to someone like me who is not super picky?
by Mannwer4
1 Comment
Yes, translation does matter. I have a personal experience with this concerning Crime and Punishment. Now, what you need to know is that there is no best translation. It’s all subjective. Just because that guy likes the Hollander translation, it doesn’t mean that it is the best for you. My advice, compare at least a canto from different translations, and pick the one you like the best. One thing I will say in favour of the Hollander translation is that it has an insane amount of notes. The Divine Comedy is a very allegorical work that was written about 700 years ago, so good notes are kind of necessary to make sense of a lot of things.