Chaucer’s translation is beautiful, but the translation lacks a certain original beauty. Poetry and song are impossible to re-create in exact form. When translated, a poem loses beauty and artistry. Alliteration is lost from the Italian version. For example, “Se bona, onde l’effecto aspro…” is alliterated in Italian but both translations are not as such. The plain English version is written with almost no alliteration. Lack of alliteration for this poem results in a boring and tedious read. Although the English version is helpful for those who don’t know Italian, the English version is not as appealing. The Chaucer version, however, is alliterated better than the plain English, with lines such as “O quikke deeth, O sweete harm so quantitee…” and “if that at myn owene lust I brenne, From whennes cometh my wailing and my plainte?” Beauty is there, but the beauty is not quite what it once
Chaucer’s translation is beautiful, but the translation lacks a certain original beauty. Poetry and song are impossible to re-create in exact form. When translated, a poem loses beauty and artistry. Alliteration is lost from the Italian version. For example, “Se bona, onde l’effecto aspro…” is alliterated in Italian but both translations are not as such. The plain English version is written with almost no alliteration. Lack of alliteration for this poem results in a boring and tedious read. Although the English version is helpful for those who don’t know Italian, the English version is not as appealing. The Chaucer version, however, is alliterated better than the plain English, with lines such as “O quikke deeth, O sweete harm so quantitee…” and “if that at myn owene lust I brenne, From whennes cometh my wailing and my plainte?” Beauty is there, but the beauty is not quite what it once