Compare and Contrast Essay on Birk and Ciardi Translations of Dante's Inferno

Introduction

According to Ciardi, the poets are pursued by the fiends and escape them by sliding down the clopping bank of the near pit (Ciardi197). Based on Birk`s translation, Dante worries that they might be chased by the demons and therefore, they are I dilemma either to hide in the next pit or to escape. The demons suspected finally come after them, Virgil grabs Dante, and they dive over the stiff cliff and slide down to the nearby sage pit.

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Similarities

The first similarity between the two translation is about how the journey started with silence with the two characters following each other without talking. In both, Dante compared their journey with the fable as Aesop tells about frog and rat who were trying to cross a river. More so, in the Birk and Ciardi translation of the Dante`s Inferno, they think that the demons were to come after them (Ciardi 199). They both translate Dante as he says I think I can hear them coming. Another similarity of both Birks and Ciardi is that they were thinking of where to hide in the next pit or escape from the imagined chase.

Both Birk and Ciardi got scared as they think about the incident of fables. For instance, in Birks translation of the Dante`s Inferno, he said that the entire thing with the devils back there was just like that fable, with a similar beginning and nearly the same ending. Thus, thinking about that go Birks to thinking more, and pretty soon, and get himself scared. Also, in Ciardi translation, he talks about being feared (Ciardi 201). For example, this thought run through my mind, "these fiends, through us, were made ridiculous and had suffered insult and injury of a kind. Ciardi claimed that Dante felt a scalp grow tight with fear".

Differences

In contrast, in Sandow Birk translation, Dante who is explaining their journey with Virgil mentioned, their started again, meaning that both of them have kicked off journey earlier and reaching that point took a break. Here Dante was explaining the nature of their walk and said they were walking along the road. According to Birk, the journey is compared to monks that are walking down a road in single file while John Ciardi translation, Dante did not mention that their journey kicked off again, he just explained their silence and compared how they were going to Minor Friars as they go while walking abroad. Walking along the road is not mentioned here by Ciardi translation (Birk 140).

The two translators used different examples while explaining what will the devils as Birk call them or Fiends as called by Ciardi, will be after them. In Birk translation, Dante compared how the devils will be looking for them to a crash component after a car thief (Birk 139). While in Ciardi translation, Dante compared the hunting of the Fiends with how greyhounds hunt hare. Furthermore, there is mentioning of Virgil name in Birk translation but looking at Ciardi translation there is no mentioning of Virgil name.

Birk's Translation

In the Birk`s translation, there is a gain of some words such as I kept thinking about the fight, we`d just watched which does not appear in Ciardi translation. Also, there was again in the comparison of fable where Birk uses the words such as there was just like that fable with a similar beginning and nearly exact ending. Birk`s contemporary translation lost about the Fiends coming charging after them, seizing Dante promptly in his arms, Dante`s Guide-like a mother wakened by a midnight noise to realize a wall of flame at her bedside (Birk 140).

Works Cited

John Ciardi. The Inferno. Dante`s Immortal drama of a journey through hell, 1954; pp 196-204.

Sandow Birk. Dante`s Inferno. Chronicle Books. San Rrancisco, 2004: pp 138-142.