The appearance of David R. Slavitt's translation of
"Orlando Furioso" ("Mad Orlando"), one of the great
literary achievements of the Italian Renaissance, is a
publishing event. With this lively new verse
translation, Slavitt introduces readers to Ariosto's now
neglected masterpiece - a poem whose impact on Western
literature can scarcely be exaggerated. It was a major
influence on Spenser's "Faerie Queene". William
Shakespeare borrowed one of its plots. Voltaire called
it the equal of the "Iliad", the "Odyssey", and "Don
Quixote" combined. More recently, Italo Calvino drew
inspiration from it. Borges was a fan. Now, through
translations of generous selections from this longest of
all major European poems, Slavitt brings the poem to
life in ways previous translators have not. At the heart
of Ariosto's romance are Orlando's unrequited love for
the pagan princess Angelica and his jealous rage when
she elopes. The action takes place against a besieged
Paris, as Charlemagne and his Christian paladins defend
the city against the Saracen king. The poem, however,
obeys no geography or rules but its own, as the story
moves by whim from Japan to the Hebrides to the moon; it
includes such imaginary creatures as the hippogriff and
a sea monster called the orc. Orlando furioso is Dante's
medieval universe turned upside down and made comic.
Characterized by satire, parody, and irony, the poem
celebrates a new humanistic Renaissance conception of
man in an utterly fantastical world. Slavitt's
translation captures the energy, comedy, and great fun
of Ariosto's Italian.
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