This tranlation of Torquato Tasso's ll re Torrismondo, the first to be made directly from the Italian into English, is intended to help those students and scholars who do not command the language of the original text. This translation provides readers with a wider range of the Italian tragedy as a genre; it also allows readers to acquire a deeper awareness of the entire spectrum of the Italian Renaissance in its final brilliance. Tasso's King Torrismondo provides an example of Neo-Aristotelian dramatic theory of the second half of the fifteenth century. It incorporates into the dramatic genre elements of the epic lyric poem. Tasso's langugae can also be studied as an example of "imitation" of Virgil, Dante, Petrach, and Tasso's own epic. Finally, Tasso's Torrismondo affords us an opportunity of comparative analysis of French, English, and Spanish literature in the development of tragedy as a European genre.
Tasso not only was one of the titans of Italian literature but also, through the 19th century, cast a large and impressive shadow across the literature of northern Europe. However, in the English-speaking world his classical tragedy King Torrismondo is almost unknown. Thanks to this dual-language edition that neglect may now be remedied. The translator wisely decided not to imitate strictly Tasso's seven- and 11-syllable lines or his rhymes, but instead to translate into prose "as rhythmical as accuracy and taste would allow"; the result is an English style that, like the Italian, is at once moving without being sentimental and noble without being stiff. This beautiful and powerful translation abounds in subtle and responsive perceptions and choices: it makes an excellent case for the work. Anthony Oldcorn's elegant introduction places King Torrismondo in the context of Tasso's life and work. Highly recommended for all academic libraries serving upper-division undergraduates and above.---—Choice
Maria Pastore Passaro is a member of the Modern Language Department at Central Connecticut State University and was appointed to the Yale/Mellon Visiting Faculty Program for 1996-7.
