Jerusalem Delivered: Gerusalemme Liberata

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Translation of a True Literary Masterpiece
Review: I am just about to finish this translation of Tasso's venerable crusade and I just had to express how wonderful I think it is. I have to admit I experienced a slight bit of trepidation before beginning this work, but I was found to be foolish. Not only is the work readable, it loses none of its beauty in the translation. I have found myself reading page to page hungrily. Who needs mass market paperback best sellers when oen has such a unique and beautifully translated work at one's fingertips. I wholeheartedly recommend this translation.

Rating:
Summary: Well...
Review: It is what it is. I suppose the fact that I wish it was something different is hardly Tasso's fault; nonetheless, I have mixed emotions regarding this poem.

First of all, let's be honest here: Jerusalem Delivered has a worldview which just about everyone reading today is going to find totally repulsive: Christians--good; Pagans--bad. Utterly and absolutely. True, Tasso's pagans (ie, Muslims) are occasionally praised, and his Christians sometimes stray, but really, let's not fool ourselves: this doesn't really amount to anything. Although Tasso's life was endlessly conflicted, here he is trying his hardest to write from a good, Christian viewpoint. I wasn't expecting the civilized urbanity of Ariosto or anything, but this is really a bit much. The climax of the poem, with Christians unapologetically slaughtering, pillaging, and raping (no, seriously--check book XIX, verse XXX)--all without a hint of disapprobation from Tasso--is pretty stomache-turning. You could *try* to argue that the scene is meant as some sort of subtle criticism in itself, but I really don't think you'll find any textual evidence for this. Contrast this with the sacking of Biserta in Orlando Furioso--surely that poem's darkest moment--and the difference becomes obvious. I realize that some people will dismiss my criticisms as nothing more than political correctness run amuck, and, ..., maybe it is, but I make no apologies. As a fairly serious reader, I'm accustomed to simply accepting things in literature that run totally counter to my own ideology, but being, alas, a mere human, there IS a limit. I want to stress that this only became irksome to me towards the poem's end, but it definitely affected my opinion of the work as a whole.

Even if one is capable of totally submerging one's own biased, twenty-first-century view, however, the fact remains that the poem is frequently...well, sort of boring. I think few would argue that, poetically, the best part of the poem, by quite some margin, is the account of Rinaldo's not-so-brutal imprisonment in Armida's bower. This is where Tasso really lets himself go, giving in, I think, to his real poetic instincts. Otherwhere, however, things get a bit less interesting. The battles, its true, have a certain icy, Homeric grandeur, but a little of that--even in Homer himself--goes a long way, and when the two teams aren't duking it out, we're made to deal with the characters, which can be trying. Like many writers, Tasso makes his villains much more interesting that his heroes: Argantes is surely one of the greatest epic villains ever, with his single-minded, unquenchable fury easily rivalling the Wrath of Achilles itself; Clorinda, in spite of a disheartening but inevitable last-minute change of heart, is one of your more badass woman warriors, if not quite up to the standards of Ariosto's Marfisa; and Armida is a femme fatale with few rivals. So that's all well and good, but the focus, unavoidably, is on the heroes. Let's cut to the chase: Godfrey is incredibly boring, in spite of a truly feeble effort by Anthony Esolen to defend him. And, while Rinaldo and Tancredie do have their own crises which elevate them a little above the pack, most of the Christian host is pretty faceless.

Still, all told, the poetry is enough to recommend Tasso. Because, occasional bouts of tedium notwithstanding, Tasso is a truly great poet. I'd even go so far as to say that--although I think I'd enjoy hanging out with Ariosto far more than with Tasso, and although Orlando Furioso is a far more enjoyable (and, let's face it, just plain BETTER) poem than Jerusalem Delivered--in terms of sheer poetical prowess, Tasso wins. Which is why it's so important to read his work in a good translation, which in turn is why it's essential to stay as far away from Anthony M. Esolen as possible. Your other, better, choice is Edward Fairfax's Elizabethan translation: Esolen may be more stricly faithful to the original, but he also has a tin ear, capturing only a middling portion of Tasso's sturm und drang. I suppose he would moderately acceptable if there was no other choice, but thankfully, there is: Fairfax's poetry is electifying, and well worth the time to search out. I'm a little baffled to see the high praise that Esolen is receiving from many (he should translate Ariosto? Please...as if there's a chance in hell he could do better than Barbara Reynolds). So, to put an end to this lunacy, I would like to end this review with a side-by-side comparison between the two. XVI, XIV.

Esolen:
Look at the chaste and modest little rose
sprung from the green in her virginity!
Half open and half hid; the less she shows,
the less she shows to men, the lovelier she.
Now she displays her bold and amorous
bosom, and now she wilts, and cannot be,
the same delight which was the longing of,
a thousand girls and a thousand lads in love.

Fairfax:
The gently-budding rose (quoth she) behold,
The first scant peeping forth with virgin beams
Half ope, half shut, her beauties doth up-fold
In their dear leaves, and less seen fairer seems,
And after spreads them forth more broad and bold,
Then languisheth and dies in last extremes:
For seems the same that decked bed and bow'r
Of many a lady late and paramour.

I certainly hope that settles that.

Rating:
Summary: Great poem, weak presentation
Review: Let's be clear on what I am reviewing...I am reviewing Jerusalem Delivered as published in hardcover by IndyPublish. This poem is also available in paperback as published by John Hopkins Univer. Press, and it is that version of the poem that first captured my attention. The John Hopkins paperback is a translation by A.M. Esolen and, in my humble opinion, it is magnificent in almost every way -- good introductory material on the original poet (Tasso) and the poem itself, great translation, good endnotes, nice packaging. The only draw back to the John Hopkins-published book is that it is a paperback, and after reading the poem I had to have a hardcover for my budding library. After months of searching I stumbled across the subject of this review...the IndyPublish hardcover version of Jerusalem Delivered. Where to start...? Firstly, the translation is (I think) that of Edward Fairfax, written in the late 1700s (perhaps...?). I prefer Esolen's, but the Fairfax is good. I get the feeling reading the Fairfax that the translator often tried too hard to force the rhymes, often employing punctuation to emphasize the rhymes and creating a very sing-song and, at times, tiring la-te-la-te-la-te-doe-doe. But, it is for the most part still a good read if you can break the sing-song cycle.

Unfortunately, the IndyPublish hardback comes with absolutely no notes, introductory or otherwise. The cast of characters in the poem is very large, the scenes and settings shift, the action ebbs and flows, ...I believe that in order to appreciate the Fairfax as presented by IndyPublish you must have prior and intimate knowledge of the poem (cast, scenes, settings, history, etc) prior to reading. Call me a simpleton (you don't really need to, it's just an expression), but I found the notes and introductory material essential to provide context and full appreciation for Tasso's accomplishment. Without the knowledge and context, a non-scholar like myself might find the Fairfax to be a somewhat interesting but confusing and very long poem written in Elizabethan English about many people mentioned by name with whom the reader is not familiar...the reader may appreciate the art, but would miss much of the fullness of the poem provided by ready access to commentary, etc.

Now, a comment about presentation. I am not familiar with IndyPublish but I visited their web page and, if I understand their mission, it might be a neat idea...and I can understand why this edition of Jerusalem Delivered might not as fancy-shmancy (ok, maybe I am a simpleton) as some other books. The outer appearance of the IndyPublish J.D. reminds me of an un-labeled Baptist hymnal...it is bland. But, hey, you don't buy books because of flashy covers (...do you?). What I found very detracting was the formatting of the text itself. For example, in canto 1 each 8-line stanza is center justified, for canto 2 each stanza is left justified, for canto 3 each is right justified, for canto 4 each is centered, and in canto 5 the stanzas alternate between center and left justified and the left-justified stanzas are not centered in the page. Folks, this poem has 20 cantos, each of about 100 to 130 stanzas...switching the formatting from canto to canto, even within some cantos, is extremely distracting...and, in my opinion, results in a product that looks amateurish, like somebody was trying out the new desktop publishing software and wanted to sample all of the justification options again and again and again and again. Keep your Dramamine handy, its a bumpy ride. Also, individual stanzas in some cantos are broken across pages...maybe the first two lines of a stanza on the bottom of one page and the next six lines at the top of the following page. These 8-line stanzas are each singular units, the building blocks of the poem...they should be left whole! Like individual movements in a symphony...didn't you hate flipping the album over when side 1 was done but the music continued no side 2? Or, how about when your 8-track tape faded and changed tracks right in the middle of your favorite song? Freebird was meant to be heard in its full 18-minute glory, can't we give Tasso the same respect?!?!

Rating:
Summary: Great poem, weak presentation
Review: Let's be clear on what I am reviewing...I am reviewing Jerusalem Delivered as published in hardcover by IndyPublish. This poem is also available in paperback as published by John Hopkins Univer. Press, and it is that version of the poem that first captured my attention. The John Hopkins paperback is a translation by A.M. Esolen and, in my humble opinion, it is magnificent in almost every way -- good introductory material on the original poet (Tasso) and the poem itself, great translation, good endnotes, nice packaging. The only draw back to the John Hopkins-published book is that it is a paperback, and after reading the poem I had to have a hardcover for my budding library. After months of searching I stumbled across the subject of this review...the IndyPublish hardcover version of Jerusalem Delivered. Where to start...? Firstly, the translation is (I think) that of Edward Fairfax, written in the late 1700s (perhaps...?). I prefer Esolen's, but the Fairfax is good. I get the feeling reading the Fairfax that the translator often tried too hard to force the rhymes, often employing punctuation to emphasize the rhymes and creating a very sing-song and, at times, tiring la-te-la-te-la-te-doe-doe. But, it is for the most part still a good read if you can break the sing-song cycle.

Unfortunately, the IndyPublish hardback comes with absolutely no notes, introductory or otherwise. The cast of characters in the poem is very large, the scenes and settings shift, the action ebbs and flows, ...I believe that in order to appreciate the Fairfax as presented by IndyPublish you must have prior and intimate knowledge of the poem (cast, scenes, settings, history, etc) prior to reading. Call me a simpleton (you don't really need to, it's just an expression), but I found the notes and introductory material essential to provide context and full appreciation for Tasso's accomplishment. Without the knowledge and context, a non-scholar like myself might find the Fairfax to be a somewhat interesting but confusing and very long poem written in Elizabethan English about many people mentioned by name with whom the reader is not familiar...the reader may appreciate the art, but would miss much of the fullness of the poem provided by ready access to commentary, etc.

Now, a comment about presentation. I am not familiar with IndyPublish but I visited their web page and, if I understand their mission, it might be a neat idea...and I can understand why this edition of Jerusalem Delivered might not as fancy-shmancy (ok, maybe I am a simpleton) as some other books. The outer appearance of the IndyPublish J.D. reminds me of an un-labeled Baptist hymnal...it is bland. But, hey, you don't buy books because of flashy covers (...do you?). What I found very detracting was the formatting of the text itself. For example, in canto 1 each 8-line stanza is center justified, for canto 2 each stanza is left justified, for canto 3 each is right justified, for canto 4 each is centered, and in canto 5 the stanzas alternate between center and left justified and the left-justified stanzas are not centered in the page. Folks, this poem has 20 cantos, each of about 100 to 130 stanzas...switching the formatting from canto to canto, even within some cantos, is extremely distracting...and, in my opinion, results in a product that looks amateurish, like somebody was trying out the new desktop publishing software and wanted to sample all of the justification options again and again and again and again. Keep your Dramamine handy, its a bumpy ride. Also, individual stanzas in some cantos are broken across pages...maybe the first two lines of a stanza on the bottom of one page and the next six lines at the top of the following page. These 8-line stanzas are each singular units, the building blocks of the poem...they should be left whole! Like individual movements in a symphony...didn't you hate flipping the album over when side 1 was done but the music continued no side 2? Or, how about when your 8-track tape faded and changed tracks right in the middle of your favorite song? Freebird was meant to be heard in its full 18-minute glory, can't we give Tasso the same respect?!?!

Rating:
Summary: Jerusalem Delivered: Gerusalemme Liberata
Review: Tasso is arguably Italy's most important 16th-century poet. His Gerusalemme liberata is both his major work and the last great epic of the Italian Renaissance tradition, with foreshadowings of the emerging baroque style. Esolen is close to the mark in calling his subject "a kind of Caravaggio of poetry," for Tasso's verse embodies a chiaroscuro of both content and style. A retelling of the first Crusade--presenting battle, duels, and heroes in the classical mold and capturing doomed love affairs in sensual, melodic poetry--this is a rousing story, and Esolen does an exceptional job of capturing the rhythm and tensions of the original in a superb translation. Unlike Ralph Nash (prose translation, CH, Mar'88), Esolen provides fluid modern verse that maintains the end couplets of the ottava rima (which is nearly impossible to render into English) and many end rhymes too, making this a lyric feast as well as an accurate translation. The brief introduction provides considerable information about Tasso's life and times and a fine overview of the epic itself. The notes are equally informative, providing historical data as well as literary, particularly classical, references. A good bibliographic essay, a lengthy "Cast of Characters," and the solid scholarly apparatus includes a discussion of the epic's allegory

Rating:
Summary: Epic sex and violence
Review: Tasso's wonderful story of adventure and romance is rendered poorly by translator Esolen. While everyone realizes that prose translation is a difficult task, when the literature is written originally in meter, the task becomes daunting. Should the translator attempt to capture the meter of the poetry -- the song -- and give less attention to a strict rendering of the words? Or should the translator render the story as accurately as possible and be less concerned with the "song"?

Esolen has chosen a middle road strategy that leads to both a mediocre rendering of the story and a mediocre use of English poetry to capture the song. Esolen's translation reads slowly and has a many, awkward, stilted, English rhymes. I would advise potential readers to seek another translation.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent achievement
Review: The original must be an astonishing work! Fierce battles, passionate romance, stirring orations, even scenes of cosmic splendor succeed one another; there's the sense of real genius here, of an artist who is fulfilling his intention. This translation reads very, very well indeed. A remarkably satisfying book.

C. S. Lewis relished this epic poem -- see his essay "Tasso" in his book of essays on medieval and Renaissance literature. I wonder if Tolkien also had read it, as a number of scenes reminded me of the Siege of Minas Tirith, etc. For those who want to move on from the authors and works that everyone knows influenced and/or impressed Lewis (and Tolkien?) such as Chesterton, George MacDonald, et al., Tasso may be recommended. I wonder if Lewis didn't get the idea for the severed head, of the criminal Alcasan, who seems to speak, but is really manipulated by a devil, and which the heroine of That Hideous Strength sees in a dream, from Tasso, where a Fury from hell makes a severed head talk (deceivingly) in a dream to one of the Christian warriors. The gruesome descriptions are similar, and Lewis even calls Alcasan "the Saracen"; and Alcasan certainly could be the name of one of the Saracen knights in Tasso. Who knows...?

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent achievement
Review: The original must be an astonishing work! Fierce battles, passionate romance, stirring orations, even scenes of cosmic splendor succeed one another; there's the sense of real genius here, of an artist who is fulfilling his intention. This translation reads very, very well indeed. A remarkably satisfying book.

C. S. Lewis relished this epic poem -- see his essay "Tasso" in his book of essays on medieval and Renaissance literature. I wonder if Tolkien also had read it, as a number of scenes reminded me of the Siege of Minas Tirith, etc. For those who want to move on from the authors and works that everyone knows influenced and/or impressed Lewis (and Tolkien?) such as Chesterton, George MacDonald, et al., Tasso may be recommended. I wonder if Lewis didn't get the idea for the severed head, of the criminal Alcasan, who seems to speak, but is really manipulated by a devil, and which the heroine of That Hideous Strength sees in a dream, from Tasso, where a Fury from hell makes a severed head talk (deceivingly) in a dream to one of the Christian warriors. The gruesome descriptions are similar, and Lewis even calls Alcasan "the Saracen"; and Alcasan certainly could be the name of one of the Saracen knights in Tasso. Who knows...?

Rating:
Summary: War and love in the First Crusade
Review: This magical epic poem tells the story of the First Crusade, led by Godfrey of Bouillon and other European noblemen and warriors. The story is full of supernatural characters and events. It develops during the bloody siege of Jerusalem, against the Moors and their famous leader, Soliman. The story is violent and erotic, especially the torrid love affair between Tancred, the bravest of the Christians, and Clorinda, a fierce but beautifl warrioress. Written in the XVI century, this book captures the spirit and ideology of the Middle Ages, specifically the XI century. Like in "Curial and Guelfa", Christian symbols mix with Greco-Roman ones, in a tale of war and sex. Tasso's images are powerful and the poem is anything but childish or naive. As I said, it is violent and full of action. It contains no boring digressions or reflections, but pure action.