Tales of Two Translations

We are back yet again with the fourth entry in our first Tale of Two Translations. Today, we will continue exploring the various ways in which Ovid's magnum opus,  Metamorphoses , has been translated. Old faces (translators) will be making reappearances, and you can expect to see diversity in terms of interpretation of the text. As always, the goal of this series is threefold: expose readers to different possible translation styles and ideologies, encourage readers to craft t

By this point, I trust you all know the drill for these Tales of Two Translations. I provide the original Latin for a section of an esteemed ancient text first, then translations by two translators with distinct translation styles. As you read through the post, give a translation of the original Latin a shot on your own. Confused? Take a peek at one of the translations below, and try to parse out how the translators concocted the English from the Latin. Then, after you've com

We are back yet again for another "Tale of Two Translations," where, in order to form our own distinct translation styles we turn to esteemed translations throughout history. As we continue to venture through Ovid's Metamorphosis , be sure to take note of how different translations address confusing pieces of Latin grammar. Latin is not a language easily transformed into English, and often translations will disagree over how best to interpret a piece of the original text. The

Despite the joy I take in our traditional poetic and prosaic analyses, I felt something was missing in Aeterna Poesis ; something that the blog has touched upon but never fully explored. That is, the art of translation. Although the minute grammatical details and the complexities of the Latin language cannot be adequately conveyed in short blog posts, another aspect of translation can be: personal style. As a function of how old the Latin language is and, by extension, how ol