Durling And Ciardi's Influence On English Literature

In order to read significant pieces of literature from the past, we almost always need it to be translated from the original language. We often see a lot translations of popular text, for example there are countless translations of Dante’s Inferno that are widely available. How can we be sure that the translation we are reading is the closest to the original text? The simple answer is: we don’t know. Unless one is equipped with the ability to read medieval Tuscan Italian then the reader isn’t getting the full story. While translations can greatly change the original text it’s an important part of continuing the texts legacy. Due to the translations we have today the translations have opened up important stories to new audiences that wouldn’t have been able to read the original text. This opens up an entire culture that wouldn’t have been available before; it gives the reader a chance to see into the past.
In this paper we will be focusing on two authors: Robert M. Durling, and Ciardi’s translations on Dante’s inferno Canto 10-12. Robert M. Durling was an American scholar, and professor emeritus of Italian and English literature at the University of California. He attended Harvard College and earned at Ph.D. in comparative literature from Harvard University where he studied Dante’s works.

Robert Durling was recognized by the Modern Language Association along with the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione prize for his work on the translation. He was a well-respected professor, and his translation was very well received. John Ciardi was a pretty well known American poet and he also came from an Italian background. He begun translating Dante for his class at Harvard and then continued with the work throughout his time there, there are mixed opinions on his