Pound's Cavalcanti: An Edition of the Translation, Notes, and Essays [Course Book ed.] 9781400853137

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POUND'S AN EDITION OF THE TRANSLATIONS, NOTES, AND ESSAYS

By David Anderson

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

Copyright © 1983 by Princeton University Press Material quoted from previously unpublished writings of Ezra Pound copyright © 1983 by the Trustees of the Ezra Pound Literary Property Trust. Published by permission of New Directions, agents for the Trust. All rights reserved Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Guildford, Surrey Al! Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will be found on the last printed page of this book Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Paul Mellon Fund of Princeton University Press This book has been composed in Linotron Aldus with Goudy Medieval display Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Paperbacks, while satisfactory for personal collections, are not usually suitable for library rebinding Printed in the United States of America by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

vii

Editor's Introduction

ix

Abbreviations Forewords and Prefaces

xxxi 3

The "Introduction" to Sonnets and Ballate

11

The Translations

21

Appendix I: Four Short Poems

183

Appendix II: Other Canzoni

193

"Cavalcanti" from Make It New

203

"Notes" from "The Complete Works of Guido Cavalcanti"

253

"The Text and Its Tradition" and Other Essays from "The Complete Works of Guido Cavalcanti"

277

Index of First Lines

289

Subject Index

291

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

All too briefly and formally I must thank the many people who have helped with the preparation of this book, which could not have been properly begun or completed without much good will and effort by persons other than the editor. It began in 1977 with the encouragement of A. Walton Litz of Princeton University, C. F. Terrell, then as now managing editor of Paideuma, James Laughlin of the New Directions Publishing Corporation, and Jerry Sherwood of Princeton University Press. They have been good friends to the project—and often in need—ever since. James J. Wilhelm and Mary deRachewiltz read drafts of the entire work and made valuable suggestions for its improvement, as did Wendy Stallard Flory, Richard Ludwig, Donald Carne-Ross, and Betsy Erkkila for portions of it. I also want to acknowledge the help and generosity of Olga Rudge, Omar S. Pound, Sheri Martinelli, and the directors and staff of the Beinecke Library, who allowed me to examine unpublished writings of Ezra Pound; and to thank New Directions Publishing Corp. of New York and Faber and Faber Ltd. of London for permission to quote from the following works: The Spirit of Romance, copyright 1910 and 1968 by Ezra Pound; Literary Essays, copyright © 1918, 1920, and 1935 by Ezra Pound; The Cantos, copyright © 1934, 1948, and 1970 by Ezra Pound; The Translations, copyright © 1926, 1954, and 1963 by Ezra Pound; Confucius to Cummings: An Anthology of Poetry, copyright © 1926 and 1963 by Ezra Pound; Cavalcanti Poems, copyright © 1966 by Ezra Pound; Selected Prose, 1909-1965, ed. Cookson, copyright © 1973 by the Estate of Ezra Pound; Collected Early Poems, ed. King, copyright © 1976 by the Trustees of the Ezra Pound Literary Property Trust.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION . . . Rossetti gives the following sonnet, but it would take several translations and some comment to exhaust the beauty of the original. —The Spirit of Romance (1910)

Pound often avoided using the verb "to translate," preferring a caique such as "to bring over" that recalls the etymology of the conventional term. When his first translation of Cavalcanti's "Donna mi prega" appeared in The Dial in 1928, he called it a "traduction," replacing the usual word with a Latinism derived ultimately from traductio, "a leading across." Such restless attention to the term betrays impatience with the conventional limits of the activity it names, and in fact Pound was a theorist who insisted that "bringing over" a poem could take many different routes, from new com­ position in the style of a given period to "criticism via music, meaning definitely the setting of a poet's words," and from prose commentary to the poetic juxtapositions of the Cantos.1 Finding something of value in a former age or different language, some­ thing relegated as it were to the realms of Lethe, the translator ferries it into modern English. But no single vessel can be expected to carry the whole intact; different modes must be employed to convey different qualities of the original. We begin to recognize the particular kind of "bringing over" represented by the works in this volume when we identify the central feature in the long history of their publication. Except for a translation of the sonnet "Chi e questa," published in 1910, and the version of "Donna mi prega" that appeared with Canto xxxvi in 1934, Pound composed all of his "Cavalcanti poems" for bi­ lingual editions of Cavalcanti's poetry, with the intention that they appear opposite the Italian originals. That he conceived them for a certain kind of book had a determining influence on the nature of these translations, for in them Pound made a conscious and highly innovative attempt to explore the potential of the facing1 Date Line/' first published in Make It New (1934). Reprinted in Literary Essays of Ezra Pound (New York: New Directions, 1968), p. 74.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

page translation as a literary form. The first of his bilingual editions came out in 1912 with the title Sonnets and Ballate of Guido Cavalcanti, while the second, prepared for the most part between 1927 and 1929 with the working title "The Complete Works of Guido Cavalcanti," was aborted when the English publisher who had contracted to print the book declared bankruptcy. Fragments of the "Complete Works" appeared before and after 1929, the largest of which Pound published at his own expense in 1932 as Guido Cavalcanti Rime. But Rime was essentially a critical edition of the Italian texts. It contained only a few of the translations and part of the commentary intended for the bilingual edition.2 THIS EDITION Some of Pound's work from both the 1912 and the 1927-1929 editions was never published, and my first aim in the present volume has been to make these writings available together with all of the published translations, notes, and essays. Among the papers left by the poet and now housed in the Beinecke Library at Yale University are numerous drafts for Sonnets and Ballate l including a handful of finished translations from 1910 that were completely recast before Sonnets and Ballate went to press in 1912. These versions show the young Pound searching for a way to represent Cavalcanti in English that would take full advantage of the bilingual format and provide readers with a more intimate and more accurate picture of the medieval poet than was available in Rossetti's translations. Even more interesting than the drafts for Sonnets and Ballate are the many typescript pages destined for the "Complete Works" and not published in Guido Cavalcanti Rime. These include translations, notes on the poems and on the organization of the new bilingual edition, and drafts of an essay on the textual history of Cavalcanti's works and Pound's criteria for editing them. Among other things, these writings from Pound's 2 For works by Ezra Pound, please see "Abbreviations," below; for Italian editions of Cavalcanti's works, please see "Abbreviations" and "The Text and Its Tradition," also below, and my "Prologomena to an Edition of Pound's Cavalcanti Transla­ tions," Paideuma 8 (1979):223-26.

χ

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

maturity offer a glimpse of the second bilingual edition as he conceived it and a retrospective evaluation of Sonnets and Ballate. Had the "Complete Works" been published in 1929, one might better, in 1983, reprint what Pound himself saw through to pub­ lication than propose an entirely new edition of his work. But it has been neither possible nor very desirable to reconstruct the "Complete Works" as Pound envisioned it. No complete draft of the book survives, and Pound himself rearranged parts of it for publication after 1929. Furthermore, the excellent critical editions by Favati (1957) and Contini (1960) have improved on the Italian texts that Pound prepared for the "Complete Works" in the late 1920s and published in Rime in 1932. Reprinting his texts with their elaborate apparatus of variants and accompanying tables, in­ dices, and photographic plates would be impractical at the present time and serve no useful purpose, except perhaps in those few cases where Pound translated from these texts. On the other hand, the translations, revisions, annotations, and retranslations that Pound made over the years are of considerable interest as a series, to students of his development as a poet and of his theory and practice as a translator. I have therefore included all of the translations (in one case there are four completely different versions of the same poem) and Pound's revisions of them as well. The "Complete Works" would have included two translations—one by Rossetti and the other by Pound—of certain poems, but it surely would not have included all of Pound's versions of those poems he trans­ lated more than once. Deciding which Italian texts to print here has been difficult, because Pound worked from one edition in 1910-1912, another in the late 1920s, and both of these differ in small but often significant ways from the best recent editions. In 1912, he printed texts from a rather obscure source, the "Cavalcanti" chapter of a multivolume anthology called Parnaso Italiano published in Venice during the 1830s and '40s. He apparently owned an offprint containing this chapter alone, which identified the editor only by the initials "F.Z." When in the 1920s he began to study the textual history of the poems for his new bilingual edition, he discovered that "F.Z." stood for Francesco Zanzotto and—more importantly—that Zan-

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

zotto had based his edition on the long tradition of printed texts going back to the editio princeps of 1527. Though philologists after Zanzotto's time had argued on the basis of manuscript evidence for emending the vulgate text of the printed editions, Pound did not think highly of the emendations suggested so far, and he judged the regularized orthography of the older editions like Zanzotto's to be better suited to the "Complete Works" than a reconstructed orthography based on manuscript traditions. But he also saw that Zanzotto had flaws, and he went on to examine the manuscripts himself and to prepare an entirely new edition of the poems, which eventually appeared in Rime. Because a majority of the translations belong to the early period of 1910-1912, I have decided to print Zanzotto's texts in full, except for the few poems that Pound did not translate until the late 1920s; in these cases I give Pound's text from Rime. I have recorded the differences between Zanzotto's texts and those in Rime in an apparatus that appears below each poem, so that Pound's later revisions and retranslations may be judged beside the particular text from which he worked. Moreover, to bring Zanzotto up to date, a supplementary apparatus signals words or phrases in the older edition that are significantly different in the best recent editions. In some places Pound's translations anticipate the better reading, but when by following Zanzotto they diverge from the sense of the text as it has been established by recent editors, I draw further attention to the difference in my notes at the end of the volume.

THE EDITION OF 1912

In 1909 or early 1910 the young Ezra Pound declared himself apprentice to "Ser Guido of Florence, master of us all," at once affirming his belief that a poet must learn his craft through study and imitation of its past masters, and incidentally beginning his longest and most prolific enterprise as translator. The sonnet in which Pound made his formal declaration "To Guido Cavalcanti" is found in two of his early volumes of poetry, Provenga (1910) and Canzoni (1911), where it is accompanied by a rather free translation of Cavalcanti's sonnet, "Chi e questa" (Sonnet VII in the enumeration Pound adopted from Zanzotto). His published XLL

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

works in 1910 and the years immediately following show that he took his apprenticeship seriously. References to Cavalcanti and English versions of some of the poems appeared in The Spirit of Romance (1910), where Dante's "first friend" is represented among the other poets of the dolce stil nuovo by Sonnet xxxv and lines from Sonnet VII and Ballata vi; and in the series of articles entitled "I Gather the Limbs of Osiris" of 1911, where Cavalcanti has a chapter to himself with translations of Sonnets VII and xxxv and of BalIate v, VII, and ix. With the publication of Canzoni (1911), Pound attempted to revive the difficult verse-forms of the trou­ badours and the dolce stil nuovo. Sonnets and Ballate of Guido Cavalcanti, containing thirty-five sonnets and fifteen other poems with facing Italian texts, came out in Boston and London in the spring of 1912. Comparison of the texts reveals that the transla­ tions in The Spirit of Romance and "I Gather the Limbs of Osiris" are essentially the same as those in Sonnets and Ballate, while the "Chi e questa" of Provenga and Canzoni is a separate work. The idea of translating all, or nearly all, of Cavalcanti's poetry apparently occurred to Pound in April of 1910, while he was staying at Sirmione in Northern Italy.3 He returned to the United States in June of that year and continued his work during the summer, first at the house in which his parents were staying in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and later in New York City. By August, when he moved into 164 Waverly Place, Greenwich Village, he had ten sonnets ready, either for submission to a periodical or as a sample for a publisher that might be interested in a book-length collection. If these sonnets were submitted to a journal or magazine, none seems to have accepted them, but a clean copy that Pound wrote out longhand survives with a cover sheet that reads: "Ten Son­ nets / of / Guido Cavalcanti: / (A.D. 1250-1300) / Translated by / Ezra Pound / (164 Waverley [szc] Place, / New York)."4 In remarks prepared in 1929 for a volume of his collected prose, Pound said of Sonnets and Ballate that "The translations must have been done mainly in Swarthmore in the summer and autumn of 1910 and the preface finished in Margaret Cravens's apartment in Paris 3 4

Noel Stock, The Life of Ezra Pound (New York: Avon, 1974), p. 124. See below, "Abbreviations," under "1910 W."

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

in the spring of 1911."5 That "preface" was printed as the "In­ troduction" to the bilingual edition, and it was probably in fairly complete draft by 15 November 1910, because it bears that date in both the Boston and London printings. Writing for the "Complete Works" in the late 1920s, Pound was to recall his early labors in the Cavalcanti atelier, and strongly to suggest that his Florentine master had been the immediate source of those aesthetic principles that revolutionized his poetry after 1912. Although allowance must be made for other influences, which Pound readily acknowledged elsewhere,6 the poet's own version of his progress toward imagism carries a great deal of authority: When the late T. E. Hulme was trying to be a philosopher in that milieu [i.e., London in about 1912], and fussing about Sorel and Bergson and getting them translated into English, I spoke to him one day of the difference between Guido's precise interpretive metaphor, and the Petrarchan fustian and ornament, pointing out that Guido thought in accurate terms; that the phrases corresponded to definite sensations under­ gone; in fact very much what I had said in my early preface to Sonnets and Ballate. Hulme took some time over it in silence, and then finally said: "That is very interesting"; and after a pause: "That is more interesting than anything anyone ever said to me. It is more interesting than anything I ever read in a book."7 The suggestion here is in fact borne out by a close reading of the "Introduction" to Sonnets and Ballate, where we find pronounce­ ments couched in an as yet uncertain critical vocabulary that look directly forward to Pound's imagist period. "No psychologist of the emotions is more keen in his understanding, more precise in his expression" than Cavalcanti; Cavalcanti's language had a more vigorous impact on its original audience than might appear now 5

Yale University, Ezra Pound Center, "Collected Prose, I." On Pound and T. E. Hulme, please see Wendy StaIlard Flory, Ezra Pound and The Cantos: A Record of Struggle (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1980), Appendix 6

2. 7

From "Partial Explanation" (1928), reprinted below.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

". . . after six centuries of derivative convention and loose usage have obscured [its] exact significance." The precision that Pound discovered in Cavalcanti, and the at­ tendant difficulty of transporting some sense of it into contem­ porary English, had an immediate influence on his ideas about translation. During the period from 1910 to 1912, Pound worked under the long shadow of Rossetti, whose versions of dolce stil nuovo poetry he considered graceful English verse and generally faithful representations of the originals. As he planned Sonnets and Ballate, Pound hit upon the idea that translations of Cavalcanti's intricate rime might well exploit the arrangement of parallel texts in editions like those Rossetti had made popular but had filled with translations that stood all too well as independent poems. "The poetry of a far-off time and place," Pound wrote in his "Introduction," "requires a translation not only of word and spirit but of 'accompaniment.' . . . The modern audience must be made aware of the mental content of the older audience, and of what these others drew from certain fashions of thought and speech." Thus, if his translations occasionally sharpen an image or strengthen a verb, these apparent departures from the originals are neither attempts to improve on Cavalcanti nor white flags of surrender before the difficulty of representing Cavalcanti in English, but attempts to point the reader toward the clarity and precision of the originals. In Pound's view, the poetry of Cavalcanti required this approach because the language of love sonnets had been turned into formulaic nonsense by all of the sonneteering between Cavalcanti's time and our own. To give some impression of the orig­ inal meaning, the translator must encourage the reader to refine certain semantic categories, and to realize that what now looks like a dull cliche was in the thirteenth century something sharp and clear. Thus the goal Pound set for himself was almost the opposite of Rossetti's, whose first principle of verse translation "that a good poem shall not be turned into a bad one," emphasized the inde­ pendence of the English versions. Pound's new approach justified his retranslating many poems that Rossetti had translated before him. Of the techniques Pound employed in his "translations of ac­ companiment," the first to strike a reader's eye is the innovative

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

use of typography in the English texts. He divided most of them between the octave and the sestet, as is conventional, to show that the division of the argument in the original corresponds to the main division in the rhyme scheme. But for poems like "Chi e questa," which contains four separate sentences matching the four main subdivisions in the rhyme scheme, Pound divided the trans­ lation 4/4/3/3. Still other translations are not divided at all, and one sonnet is printed with two lines isolated by white spaces, 8/2/4. Since reprints of the translations in Sonnets and Ballate have not reproduced the original spacing, it has been difficult to see the continuity between this and Pound's later work with Cavalcanti. In fact, the elaborate use of spacing and varying letter-sizes in the text of "Donna mi prega" and other poems intended for the "Com­ plete Works" continued an experiment with typography that Pound had begun in his first bilingual edition.8 The archaic diction in Sonnets and Ballate—perhaps the most unsatisfactory feature of the translations if we judge them as in­ dependent poems—belongs to Pound's general strategy for making his readers recognize, and adjust for, the "six centuries of derivative convention and loose usage" that have blurred Cavalcanti's "exact significance." As Pound was later to write in defense of archaisms in Binyon's translation of Dante, such language is not the right idiom for poetry today, but it stands in relation to modern English as Dante's or Cavalcanti's Italian stands to modern Italian.9 Other seeming peculiarities in Sonnets and Ballate participate in the same general strategy. For example, Pound heightens visual qualities that are only implicit in the originals. In Sonnet xx, "questa non ha vita" ("she has no life" in my literal version) becomes "One whom death's sure cloak surroundeth," and in Ballata v, the per­ sonification of joy is made explicit and given a stage to stand on: 8 Compare Pound's remarks on typography in "The Other Dimension" (1928), reprinted below. 9 Robert Fitzgerald, "Mirroring the Commedia: An Appreciation of Laurence Binyon's Version," Paideuma 10 (1981):491 and passim. Compare Pound's remarks to Fehx Schelling in 1922: "In the Quia Pauper Amavi. . . the point of the archaic language in the Prov. trans, is that the Latm is really 'modern.' We are just getting back to a Roman state of civilization, or in reach of it; whereas the Provenjal feeling is archaic, we are ages away from it." In Selected Letters of Ezra Pound, ed. D. D. Paige (New York: New Directions, 1950), p. 179.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

"Si che vi desta d'allegrezza vita" ("So that life is restored for joy") becomes "Till Joy's awakened from that sepulchre." Pound occasionally uses an odd turn of phrase to drive the reader to the original in curiosity. Thus in Ballata vi he puts a remarkable ox­ ymoron into the envoi: Ma sempre sospirando, e vergognose Lo nome della mia donna chiamate Throughout all your wayfare, in your error, Make ye soft clamour of my Lady's name. Words like "sighing" ("sospirando") and "ashamed" ("vergog­ nose") have been so long the stock in trade of the love sonnet that they have lost their power, and Pound avoids them, pointing in­ stead with his "soft clamour" to the sharp conflict of desires they imply. Predictably, some reviewers of Sonnets and Ballate blamed Pound's translations for not being as pretty as Rossetti's. John Baily ironized in the Times Literary Supplement (November 12,1912), that "Mr. Pound has, indeed, surpassed Rossetti in one respect—that of quantity," concluding that ". . . where we have Rossetti no one will wish to substitute Mr. Pound for him." Baily complains about the "obscure" archaisms and notes that Pound "frequently ab­ solves himself altogether from the duty of rhyming" and keeping to a meter. After comparing the translations by Rossetti and Pound of Ballata xi, he exclaims, "How much more of the original rhyme and movement Rossetti preserves, especially in the little prel­ ude!"10 Pound's letter of reply was printed in the December 5th issue. In it he asserts that he had tried to do with his translations something that was quite different from and in no sense in rivalry with Rossetti's accomplishments: To the Editor of the Times: Sir,—I have to thank your critic for his courteous review of my Sonnets and Ballate of Guido Cavalcanti; but he seems 10 Times Literary Supplement, no. 567 (November 1912), p. 527. The review and part of Pound's response are reprinted in Ezra Pound: The Critical Heritage, ed. E. Homberger (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1972), pp. 89-93. Arundel Del Re had little good to say for Sonnets and Ballate (Poetry Review, July 1912), but others, such as W. S. Braithwaite (New York Times, June 1912), praised it.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

to have misunderstood the aim of my work. I thought I had made clear in my preface that my endeavour was not to display skill in versification but to present the vivid personality of Guido Cavalcanti, a man of very different temper from his associates. It was not practicable—for reasons of copyright and so on—to print an edition of Rossetti's partial translation with my version of the remainder. Moreover, in many places there would have been need of extensive notes and of a parallel translation where RosSetti diverged from the exact meaning. There being one melodious translation with orderly rhymes there was little need of another. Guido cared more for sense than for music, and I saw fit to emphasize this essential aspect of his work. The music is easily available for anyone who will learn Italian pronunciation. The meaning is more than once in doubt even after long study. I thought I served my audience best by setting forth the meaning. Surely Rossetti's preface and mine should show the reader that there could be no possible clash or contention between the aesthetic method and my scholastic one; he was as avowedly intent on making beautiful verses as I am on presenting an individual. Your obedient servant, Ezra Pound11 19 Church Walk, Kensington, W.

UMBRA, 1920

In 1920, Elkin Mathews, who had been Pound's publisher in Eng­ land since 1909, issued a volume entitled Umbra: The Early Poems of Ezra Pound. It was a kind of retrospective exhibition, designed to show where the poet had been in the ten years or so since his career began. Pound selected ten sonnets and twelve other poems from Sonnets and Ballate (Sonnets i, n, in, v, vi, VII, VIII, xv, xvi, xxxiii, xxxv, the "Madrigale," and Ballate ι, π, HI, ν, vi, νπ, xi, xn, xiii, xrv), to appear along with five versions from the Provengal of Arnaut Daniel in the final section of Umbra, which he headed 11

Times Literary Supplement, no. 569 (December 1912), p. 562.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

simply "Translations." He revised some of the Cavalcanti poems slightly, and printed them without their Italian texts. On the last page of the volume, Pound offered a typology for the contents of Umbra and for his poetic works up to 1920 with the exception of the Cantos. The page has a large heading, "Personae and Portraits," and a subheading, "Main outline of E.P.'s works to date." "Guido," as well as "Arnaut" and "Langue d'Oc" are listed in the category of "Etudes" or studies, in contrast to other translations such as "Seafarer," "Exile's Letter (and Cathay in general)," and "Hom­ age to Sextus Propertius," which he classes "Major Personae." The distinction between these two groups of translations recalls Pound's earlier remarks in the "Introduction" to Sonnets and Ballate and his reply to Baily's review. Whereas in Cathay and "Homage to Sextus Propertius," the originals had served as an occasion for a new and independent composition, the Cavalcanti translations came into being as guides to the study of the originals themselves. In the decade after the publication of Umbra, when Pound returned to his work on Cavalcanti, he again made the Italian texts the main focus of his attention, and the bilingual edition his vehicle for presenting them.

THE "COMPLETE WORKS" OF 1927-1929

It cannot have been long after he settled in Rapallo in 1924 that Pound started to think about a translation of Cavalcanti's most accomplished and challenging poem, the philosophical "canzone d'amore" that begins "Donna mi prega." He had not included the poem in Sonnets and Ballatel though its envoi appears at the end of the "Introduction."12 By 1927, Pound was at work on a second bilingual edition of Cavalcanti's poems that would continue, and perfect, the basic program of Sonnets and Ballate by improving the quality of the Italian texts and including prose commentary along with the translations. He began to study the printed editions and the surviving manuscripts of Cavalcanti's works, keeping notes on the variant readings from manuscripts that he examined per12 Rossetti had criticized the canzone as a dull, scholastic analysis of love, lacking emotion, an opinion echoed by Pound in the essay of 1913, "Troubadours—Their Sorts and Conditions," Literary Essays of Ezra Pound, p. 103.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

sonally in libraries around Italy or in photographic reproduction if the manuscripts were abroad. "There was little need for a new editor," he explained in an essay intended for the new book, "but before putting out a bilingual edition I had a just curiosity."13 In 1927 he drafted an introduction to the printing history of Cavalcanti's poems, which he entitled "The Text and Its Tradition," and by 1928 he had completed his translation of the "Donna mi prega," and written a prose commentary to accompany it. Work was in progress on the Italian texts, new translations of some poems, and notes on the text and significance of all the poems in Sonnets and Ballate. When it is published, the correspondence between Pound and T. S. Eliot will probably reveal some details of the planning that went into this second bilingual edition. We know that Faber and Gwyer published Pound's Selected Poems in November 1928, after Eliot took a position with that firm, and that Pound also tried to interest Faber and Gwyer in his Cavalcanti book. A typed title page survives among his papers, which announces hopefully: Guido Cavalcanti / Le Rime / His Poems / Critical Text, with Translation and Commentary and Notes by / Ezra Pound / with a Partial Translation of the Poems by D. G. Rossetti / and with 48 Reproductions of the More Important Codices / Giving a Full Text of the Work in Facsimile / Faber and Gwyer / London, 1929 / (Russell Square W. C. I)14 If Pound was allowing a year for production of the book this title page must have been written sometime in 1928. A dedication page closely resembling the one Pound printed in Guido Cavalcanti Rime in 1932, and therefore probably composed after the title page for Faber and Gwyer, explicitly recalls the role of Eliot in the early planning of the new edition. The dedication begins, as in Rime, with an expression of thanks to Manlio Dazzi for his help in preparing the Italian texts, but it adds, as the dedication printed in Rime does not, that: 13 From the Italian preface to Rime (1932); see below, "Forewords and Prefaces." There is a touch of false modesty in the statement, for Pound had been aware since 1910-1912 of corrupt passages in the received text. See his notes with the trans­ lations of Sonnet XXVII and Ballata xi. 14 Yale University, Ezra Pound Center, "Rime MSS."

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

80% of all blame for the present edition must however be ascribed to Mr. Thos. S. Eliot who asked me in the first place to reprint my translations, and in the second to add annota­ tions.15 Having failed to get a contract for the new edition from Faber and Gwyer, Pound turned to another London publishing house, the Aquila Press. In the spring of 1929 Aquila agreed to publish "The Complete Works of Guido Cavalcanti" within the year, a volume of Pound's collected prose in the fall of 1930, and a volume of the "Odes of Confucius," translated by Pound, sometime there­ after.16 Like the book offered to Faber and Gwyer, the "Complete Works" was to reproduce the bilingual format and many of the translations of Sonnets and Ballate, with the addition of "Donna mi prega," its commentary, new translations of some other poems by Cavalcanti, a critical edition of the Italian texts with tables of variant readings, and photographic reproductions of the most im­ portant manuscripts. But Aquila declared bankruptcy shortly after printing of the "Complete Works" began, and sent to Pound in Rapallo about 500 copies of the fifty-six pages that had been printed.17 Before the "Complete Works" was scheduled to appear, Pound had sent three excerpts from his new book to The Dial. "Mediaevalism and Mediaevalism (Guido Cavalcanti)," an essay that ap­ parently was going to serve as the opening chapter of the "Com­ plete Works," came out in The Dial 84 (March 1928), followed by "Donna mi Prega by Guido Cavalcanti with Traduction and Com­ mentary by Ezra Pound," a translation with the original text and interpretive notes, in The Dial 85 (July 1928). Although sixteen years had passed since Pound had last published an entirely new translation of one of Cavalcanti's poems, his approach to the task remained much the same. The new "traduction" was a "translation of accompaniment": As to the atrocities of my translation, all that can be said in excuse is that they are, I hope, for the most part intentional, and committed with the aim of driving the reader's perceptions 15

Ibid. Stock, Life, p. 370. 17 Ibid., p. 374. 16

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

further into the original than it would without them have penetrated.18 Another essay, entitled "Guido's Relations," appeared the next year in The Dial 86 (July 1929). Unlike the two pieces that came out in 1928, "Guido's Relations" does not appear in the fifty-six pages of the "Complete Works" that Aquila printed before de­ claring bankruptcy. Consequently it is difficult to say what role Pound foresaw for this essay in the book, or even that he intended to include it in the new bilingual edition. However, Pound did collect all three of the Dial essays under the title "Cavalcanti" in Make It New (1934), which suggests that "Guido's Relations" would have appeared in the "Complete Works" as well.

RIME, 1932

As for the bilingual edition, Aquila had gotten only to the fifth translation and the sixth Italian text before the presses stopped in the summer of 1929, and Pound did not find another publisher for his book in those hard times. Over the next two years, he arranged to have the Italian texts and five new translations (of Sonnets vii, XIII, xrv, xvi, and xvn) printed in Italy, and forty pages of pho­ tographic reproductions of manuscripts made in Germany, all at his own expense. In January 1932, Edizioni Marsano of Genoa issued these "fragments" of the "Complete Works," along with the fifty-six pages from Aquila, as Guido Cavalcanti Rime: Edizione rappezzata fra Ie rovine, a large paperback with attractive red covers and a preface in Italian. Appending the Aquila fragment to Rime saved the expense of printing "Donna mi prega" and the commentary again, but it meant that Rime would have a patchwork appearance. Essentially a critical edition of the Italian texts ad­ dressed to an Italian audience, the book ends with a series of essays in English and the first few pages of a bilingual edition. Rime got good reviews in the English press, but the Italian scholarly journals failed to show any interest in the book. Only Mario Praz wrote at length of Rime, and he ridiculed its disorderly 18

From "Hendecasyllables" (1928); see below.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

appearance and suggested that Pound was not a good philologist.19 In contrast, A. Hyatt Mayor praised Pound's edition and especially the new English translations in a review for The Hound and Horn, while the distinguished French medievalist Etienne Gilson gave the book his strong vote of approval in T. S. Eliot's Criterion. 20 These two reviewers responded sympathetically to different aspects of Pound's work and may still be read with profit. Mayor put his finger on the most happy change in Pound's technique since Son­ nets and Ballate, the musical quality of his English versions. Pound had praised the musicality of Cavalcanti's rime as early as the "Introduction" of 1910, and his 1928 translation of "Donna mi prega" was dedicated "To Thomas Campion his ghost, and to the ghost of Henry Lawes, as a prayer for the revival of music." Whereas the earlier translations did not attempt to represent Cavalcanti's "music,"—in the "Introduction" to Sonnets and Ballate Pound sends us to the original texts in search of it—the five new sonnets done for the "Complete Works" and published in Rime manage to do so while remaining faithful to the sense of the Italian texts. With a variation on an old metaphor that is surprisingly successful, Mayor describes the effect of these sonnets: The verse sounds as free as a finch twittering in the dips of its flight. And just as each line has its various rhythm, so each sonnet uses a different rhyme scheme. The quaint lan­ guage is not a pastiche of pre-Shakespearean sonnets, or an attempt to make Cavalcanti talk Elizabethan the way Andrew Lang made Homer try to talk King James. Ezra Pound is matching Cavalcanti's early freshness with a color lifted from the early freshness of English poetry.21 During the summer of 1932, Pound composed an opera entitled "Cavalcanti," with a libretto based on poems by Cavalcanti and Sordello. He was not able to get it performed in full. 19 Originally published in 1932, and reprinted in Praz's Cronache letterarie anglosassoni, 4 vols. (Rome, 1950-1966), l:175ff. 20 A. Hyatt Mayor, "Cavalcanti and Pound," The Hound and Horn 13 (AprilJune 1932):168-71; Etienne Gilson, review of Guido Cavalcanti Rime, reprinted in The Criterion, 1922-1939, ed. T. S. Eliot (London: Faber & Faber, 1967), vol. 12 (October 1932-July 1933):106-12. 21 Mayor, "Cavalcanti and Pound," pp. 470-71.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

Rime was reviewed for Eliot's Criterion by an expert in scholastic philosophy, who focused on Pound's interpretation of the canzone "Donna mi prega." Etienne Gilson liked the design of Rime, with its large selection of photographic plates, but he disputed the inter­ pretation of key words that appeared in Pound's translation and commentary. Pound had recognized the difficulty of the issues raised by Gilson, the "whole philosophic and scholastic back­ ground" of the poem, upon which its precise meaning depends. Indeed, it seems to have been this technical vocabulary that kept Pound away from the poem in 1910-1912.22 After the publication of Rime and throughout the 1930s, he returned frequently to the problem. He apparently sent Gilson photographs of Dino del Garbo's early commentary on the canzone, hoping in vain to engage the scholar in further debate, and he enthusiastically supported the project of a graduate student named Otto Bird, to edit the Del Garbo commentary. As late as January, 1940, Pound was notifying Bird of a possible new line of inquiry: Dear Bird: If you are still plugging at that thesis, I think you will find a good deal of interest in J. Scotus Erigena, vol. 122 of Migne['s Patrologia Latina] . . . Re Cavalcanti: Erigena certainly throws doubt on various readings [in the "Donna mi Prega"]: /ormato and m/ormato, etc. I wonder whether lots of copyists didn't each emend the text to suit their own views. I at any rate have got to digest Erigena and then review the whole "Donna mi Prega." And I shd. like a fellow-trav­ eller.23 Though Pound mentioned the same plans to Eliot in a letter of January 18, the "Cavalcanti" essay with its commentary on "Donna mi prega" was never revised, and the manner in which Pound's investigations into medieval philosophy after the publication of Rime in 1932 may have influenced his second translation of the canzone for Eleven New Cantos (1934), is not entirely clear.24 22

23 Letters, ed. Paige, p. 332. See n. 12, above. Ibid., p. 334; See Walter B. Michaels, "Pound and Erigena," Paideuma 1 (1972) :37-54; and James J. Wilhelm, "Guido Cavalcanti as a Mask for Ezra Pound," PMLA 89 (1974):332-40. 24

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

In designing the "Complete Works" and Guido Cavalcanti Rime, Pound reached a number of conclusions about editing Cavalcanti's works and presenting them to the reading public. Like the editors of Cavalcanti who preceded him, Pound did not establish a stemma or otherwise attempt to determine the genetic relationships among the versions that survive in manuscript. He may have considered stemmatics a fruitless approach to the problem, because he believed that Cavalcanti had revised his poems from time to time.25 In any case, rather than seek to reconstruct a single, hypothetical text from which all surviving texts might be derived, Pound simply compared different manuscript readings with those of the earliest printed editions, constructing a variorum edition with all significant variants recorded in an apparatus or a marginal gloss. He usually adopted the text of an early printed edition as his base, but he occasionally printed a diplomatic edition of a poem as it appears in an authoritative manuscript. His decisions about which text to print in full were occasionally influenced by what he called "aes­ thetic" standards, which meant Ezra Pound's taste. He was per­ fectly aware of what he was doing, and not hesitant to explain why he was doing it. For example, as a philologist he admitted and duly recorded in his notes on Sonnet VII that there is a good case for the reading "tremare l'are" in line 2. But as a poet he greatly preferred "L'aer tremare" which appeared in some man­ uscripts, because it improved both the rhyme and the cadence of the verse. This second reading, he noted, ". . . may be the result of the good taste of the renaissance," but historical accuracy should not be the only consideration in establishing a text for a bilingual edition, especially since tables of variants would also be included. In his comments on orthography, he again challenged orthodox assumptions about textual criticism: If the great poet Anonimo has added a particle here and there, thus improving the original text, I am very loath to efface the results of his labor.26 Such unorthodoxy is clearly beneficial in a translator. The Italian texts Pound was dealing with did not, in some places, make good 25 26

See below, "The Manuscripts and pp. 261, 264. See below, "The Text and Its Tradition."

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

sense. By comparing and recording the variant readings of man­ uscripts and early editions, he availed himself of the opinions of medieval and renaissance men of letters who, in copying the poems, had tried to deal with the same enigmas that confronted him. Pound did this collecting with great energy and care, and the resulting edition was eminently suited to face his translations. A translator, unlike an editor, does not have the luxury of leaving a passage obscure, and Pound's edition would invite readers to recognize the difficulties he faced and allow them to formulate an alternate opin­ ion. Unfortunately, the "Complete Works" was not published as planned, and Pound's remarks on textual criticism did not appear in Rime. However, Rime did salvage other parts of the "Complete Works," such as the anthology of photographic reproductions that Pound had thought important enough to mention in the title page he composed in 1928 or 1929. When Rime finally appeared, he was eager to draw attention to the innovative plan of that edition. He wrote to H. B. Lanthrop in December of 1931: My Cavalcanti nearly ready. I don't know whether you can put me through to yr. Romance dept. or in fact any part of Univ. dealing with polyglot letters. The edtn. ought to serve as START for a new method of handling international texts.27 With his friend Manlio Dazzi, who had helped with the Italian texts, Pound hoped to write a "review of the reviews" of Rime. A lack of Italian reviews to answer may have discouraged the project, but two typescript defenses of Rime do survive among Pound's papers, a longish piece in Italian and a shorter summary in English. The first may be the result of collaboration between Dazzi and Pound while the second is certainly Pound's own. The second reads, in part: Ultimately if or when the one thousand and seventy-six in­ stitutions of higher learning in the U.S.A. (called higher be­ cause they have graduate schools as well as college instruction) arrive at an intellectual curiosity I think certain features of my Genova edition (Guido Cavalcanti Rime) will probably 27

Letters, ed. Paige, p. 237.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

serve as a model for edition of such texts as are worth the trouble: especially in the typographic disposition, relation of text to gloze, the tables, the photostat reproductions (Manuldruck) of the complete text taken from 32 different MSS. in such a way as to give a fairly clear idea of the paleographic history without waste of the student's time, substituting the photos for description, and ending all that kind of useless discussion and repetition. Obviously, had I been spared the defection of a particular ape, and had I possessed a little more money, I could have included another dozen illustrations. But at any rate the road toward the really right edition is now very clear, and the volume can point the way to it. A very limited number of texts are worth such minute attention. And of these several cases would be, I surmise, rather simpler.28 Pound obviously believed that the failure of the Aquila Press could have been avoided, and the incident itself stuck in his mind, taking on the quality of an exemplum of the general failure of western economies to provide for the distribution of essential goods: "With plenty of printers, plenty of paper, plenty of ink, it is manifestly idiotic that we couldn't have the editions we want, but it is equally obvious that with more food than humanity can eat, more clothes than it can wear, it is quite idiotic for men to starve and go rag­ ged."29

"TRE CANZONI," 1949

There was to be no third bilingual edition, despite Pound's con­ tinued interest in the puzzle of Cavalcanti's technical vocabulary and in the distribution of "international texts." However incom­ plete his labors might be, he certainly had reason to feel he had given them enough of his time and trouble. But the story of the first two editions went on, almost without Pound's intervention. In 1949, he gave the translations of Sonnets vii and xvi that had appeared in Rime to the Quarterly Review of Literature, and in 28 29

Yale University, Ezra Pound Center, "Rime MSS." Ibid.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

the same year "Tre Canzoni di Guido Cavalcanti," a kind of ap­ pendix to Rime, was published in Italy. While Rime was in the works, Pound examined a Sienese man­ uscript, a "canzoniere" or miscellaneous collection of dolce stil nuovo and other verse, that he had reason to believe would contain copies of Cavalcanti's works with no textual authority or interest to an editor. To his surprise, he found relatively good texts of three canzoni, all ascribed to Cavalcanti, that frequently appear in early printed editions of Cavalcanti's works but which had been judged apochryphal by modern philologists. Pound himself had believed when he wrote The Spirit of Romance that at least the first strophe of one of the poems was Cavalcanti's. Though he had been persuaded to include no more than that one strophe in Rime, the Sienese manuscript set him speculating anew about the au­ thorship of all three poems. He wanted to include photographs of the manuscript in Rime, but the plates were already made, and he could do nothing. So matters stood until 1949, when Olga Rudge managed to have a facsimile of the three texts in the Sienese "canzoniere" published on Pound's behalf. "Tre Canzoni di Guido Cavalcanti" appeared in the Quaderni monographs of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, where Miss Rudge worked. In a short introduction, she explains that her aim has been to complete Pound's Rime, and that she has followed his editorial policy of printing the text along with a facsimile of the manuscript. COLLECTIONS AND ANTHOLOGIES

Though Pound did not take up his Cavalcanti translations again after the mid-1930s, he authorized their republication on more than one occasion, and made a few minor adjustments in their texts before the most important reissue, in the Translations of Ezra Pound (1953). The editorial staff of Faber & Faber made the final selections for that volume, working from a list of suggestions provided by Pound. One translation of each poem was printed opposite the Italian texts from Rime, even though most of them had been made in 1910-1912 when Pound was using Zanzotto's edition. Pound was concerned about the mixing up of his trans­ lations, done at different times, and his editors first considered

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

dating each of them, but finally abandoned the plan.30 An an­ thology of poetry that Pound edited with the assistance of Marcella Spann appeared in 1964 with the title Confucius to Cummings, and included translations of Cavalcanti's Sonnet VII and Ballata v, with a short note on the ballata. Then in 1966, the typographer Giovanni Mardersteig printed a limited edition of Ezra Pound's Cavalcanti Poems, which included the "Introduction" from Son­ nets and Ballate and all of the English versions previously selected for Translations, printed here without the Italian texts. Ezra Pound's Cavalcanti Poems ends with two parts of the "Cavalcanti" essay, "Mediaevalism" and "The Other Dimension." Pound's short foreword to the Mardersteig edition, dated 1965, was his last public act of homage to a poet whose work he had approached with such profound respect almost sixty years before, and to which he had returned with such persistent energy throughout the first thirty years of his career. Though Pound had on occasion looked for other ways to "bring over" Cavalcanti's poetry—the canzone in Canto xxxvi and the opera "Cavalcanti" come first to mind—his main effort over the years adopted the "translation of accompaniment" as its vehicle. That he chose to translate this poet in this way, while for others he developed very different strategies—and here one thinks of Cathay, the No dramas, and Homage to Sextus Propertius, none of which he cared to print with their original texts—finds some explanation in his early remarks on Rossetti. In 1910-1912, he hoped to improve on, or perhaps it is more accurate to say com­ plement, the "melodious" translations of his predecessor. And at the same time, Pound saw that the "vivid personality of Guido" appeared only to a reader paying careful attention to the "exact significance" of the poems. These two considerations led him to define the English version as a guide to the facing original, a composition designed to occupy a central place in a larger literary form. With the "Complete Works" project of the late 1920s, he followed out the implications of this strategy for other formal aspects of the bilingual edition. The Italian texts—with their new 30

Peter du Sautoy, in a letter to the editor dated 27 June 1979.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

typography, variants, and photographs—and the prose commen­ tary—extensive, always candid, often lightened by humorous asides—both reflect the premise that Cavalcanti's voice has qual­ ities at once so important and so difficult to recover that no trans­ lation in the usual sense will do; that the reader must be given the original and helped or cajoled to find his way into it. The vigor of Pound's drive to bring over Cavalcanti in this way, and the resulting innovations in 1910-1912 and 1927-1931, give these writ­ ings considerable appeal as a single, long-running experiment in literary form; and this beyond the interest they have as separate translations, notes, and essays. I offer the present collection in hope that the results of his experiment, once fully available, will prove useful, or, as Pound would always have it, "in hope of better things."

ABBREVIATIONS

I. WORKS BY EZRA POUND

(All manuscripts listed here are in the Beinecke Library at Yale University. I identify the folders in which the manuscripts are currently filed.) 1910 SR: The Spirit of Romance (London: Dent, 1910). 1910 W: Folder: CAVALCANTI Sonnets: "Ten Sonnets . . ." Twenty-one numbered leaves (8½" X 11"); text in a bold, cur­ sive hand; black ink. A title page reads: "Ten Sonnets / of / Guido Cavalcanti: / (A.D. 1250-1300) / Translated by / Ezra Pound / [in pencil:] 164 Waverley Place, / New York) / [in square brackets:] Sonnets, 5, 7, 8, 15, 17, 18, / 22, 23, 33, 35. / enu­ meration of the Antonelli edition." 1910: Folder: CAVALCANTI Sonnets MS. Folder: CAVALCANTI Madrigal. Thirty-six leaves in the first folder, one in the second (all 8½" X 11"); black ink and pencil. Drafts of Sonnets I-IX, xrv-xvin, xxi-xxiii, xxv-xxxi, "Madrigal." 1910 long: Folder: CAVALCANTI Sonnets MS. Seventeen leaves (8" X 13"), black ink and pencil. Sonnets v, vii, x, xi-xrv, xvi, XVII, XIX-XXI, xxiv, xxv, xxxv, "Madrigal." 1910 TS. long: Folder: CAVALCANTI Sonnets T. Two leaves (8½" X 13"), typescript with corrections in pencil. Sonnets x, xvm, xxix. 1910 TS. copies: Folder: CAVALCANTI Sonnets Typescript (0 & c). Nineteen leaves (8½" X 11"), blue copies and black original

ABBREVIATIONS

typescripts, with corrections in pencil and black ink, and four leaves (10½" X 7½"), typescripts with corrections in pencil. Sonnets i-ix, xrv, xvii, xxi, xxv-xxx. 1910 Provenga: Provenga (Boston: Small, Maynard, [November], 1910). 1911 LO: "I Gather the Limbs of Osiris—III," The New Age 10 (14 De­ cember 1911):155-56. 1912 SBb: The Sonnets and Ballate of Guido Cavalcanti (Boston: Small, Maynard, [April], 1912). 1912 SB: Sonnets and Ballate of Guido Cavalcanti (London: Stephen Swift, [May], 1912). The "Introduction" and some of the translations in 1912 SBb were revised before the London printing of 1912 SB. When the two printings are in accord, I cite only 1912 SB. 1912 corrected copy: A corrected copy of 1912 SB, with inscriptions in Pound's hand: "5 Holland Place Chambers W 8" [inside front cover], and "Ezra Pound corrected copy" [flyleaf]. The book was given by Pound to Agnes Bedford, who in turn gave it to Omar S. Pound in 1955. 1912 corrected copy 2: A copy of 1912 SBb containing notes in Pound's hand for the edition of 1927-1932. Now in the possession of Sheri Martinelli. 1920 TS.: Folder: Cavalcanti? BALLATE? Folder: CAVALCANTI Ballate. Three leaves in the first folder, one in the second (8" x 10"), typescript in light blue ink with added notes in pencil. Sonnet xv, Ballate ι, π, v, vii, ix. A list of numbers in the MS. corre­ sponds to the numbers of the sonnets selected for printing in Umbra.

ABBREVIATIONS

1920 Umbra: Umbra (London: Elkin Matthews, 1920). 1927-31 Rime MSS.: Folders: CAVALCANTI Rime. These include notebooks that Pound kept while examining the various manuscripts of Cavalcanti's poems, correspondence re­ garding his planned edition, and, most importantly, the type­ script drafts for the "Notes," the essay "The Text and Its Tra­ dition," and other writings intended for "The Complete Works of Guido Cavalcanti." A detailed listing of the contents of these folders cannot be attempted here. 1928 DMP MSS. Folder: CAVALCANTI Donna mi prega T (o). Nine leaves (8¾" X 11½") and seven leaves (81/¾" X 12¾"); typescripts, with corrections in pencil. Drafts of the 1928 Dial translation of "Donna mi prega." 1928 DMP : "Donna Mi Prega by Guido Cavalcanti with Traduction and Commentary by Ezra Pound . . . ," The Dial 85 (July 1928):120. 1929 GR "Guido's Relations," The Dial 86 (July 1929):559-68. 1932 Rime: Guido Cavalcanti Rime (Genoa: Marsano, [January, 1932]). 1934 Cantos: Eleven New Cantos (New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1934). 1934 Make It New: Make It New (London: Faber, 1934). 1949 Tre Canzoni: Tre Canzoni di Guido Cavalcanti, edited by Oflga] R[udge]. Quaderni dell'Accademia Chigiana, no. 19 (Siena: Ticci, 1949). 1953 Faber: The Translations of Ezra Pound (London: Faber, 1953). The

xxxin

ABBREVIATIONS

translations are those of 1912 SBb, Umbra, and Rime. Only very minor changes in the texts were made for this edition. The Italian texts were reprinted from Rime and the translation of "Donna mi prega" from 1929 Aquila fragment. 1964 Confucius to Cummings: Confucius to Cummings: An Anthology of Poetry, edited by

Ezra Pound and Marcella Spann (New York: New Directions, 1964). 1966 Mardersteig: Ezra Pound's Cavalcanti Poems (Milan: Vanni Scheiwiller, 1966; printed by Giovanni Mardersteig in Verona). A reprint of the translations of 1953 Faber, without Italian texts, and including a foreword by Pound dated 1965, the "Introduction" of 1910, and two parts of the "Cavalcanti" essay: "Mediaevalism" and "The Other Dimension."

II. EDITIONS OF CAVALCANTI'S Rime The Italian texts printed here are based on the edition that Pound used in the years 1910-1912, the "Antonelli" edition mentioned in the title page of 1910 W (see above): "Guido Cavalcanti," edited by Francesco Zanzotto, in Parnaso Italiano, Vol. II (Venice: G. Antonelli, 1846), cols. 240-76. I have eliminated some of the superfluous punctuation in Zanzotto's texts, and I have corrected a few obvious misprints. Variants to the Italian texts, in addition to those from Pound's 1932 Rime, have been drawn from the following recent editions: Favati 1957: Guido Cavalcanti Rime, edited by Guido Favati (Milan: Ric-

ciardi, 1957). Contini 1960: Poeti del Duecento, edited by Gianfranco Contini (Milan: Ric-

ciardi, 1960). Marti 1969: Poeti del Dolce Stil Nuovo, edited by Mario Marti (Florence:

Le Monnier, 1969). XXXlV

ABBREVIATIONS

III. OTHER ABBREVIATIONS [

]

Editorial commentary

[. .. ]

In Pound's prose: A deletion of repetitive passages in the drafts for "The Complete Works of Guido Cavalcanti." In Pound's poetry: An illegible word or phrase in the drafts for Sonnets and Ballate of Guido Cavalcanti.

(

)

Pound's parenthetical marks, whatever shape they take in his manuscripts and printed works.

(

)

Words scored through in Pound's manuscripts.

+

Used for "and" in some of Pound's manuscripts.

IV. NOTES ON EDITORIAL PROCEDURE 1. I have chosen one version of each translation—usually the latest—to print in full. The apparatus criticus records those words or lines from earlier states of the translation that differ from the text printed in full. Thus, for Sonnet HI, the version printed in full is from 1920 Umbra. A manuscript in the group I have named 1910 gives the same version, except for lines 1, 3, 4, 10, and 11. An early typescript draft (1910 TS. copies) varies from the text in Umbra only in lines 1, 3, and 4. The Boston and London editions of Sonnets and Ballate give the same version as 1920 Umbra, except for line 3.1record most, but not all, variants in punctuation. 2. I have transcribed Pound's manuscripts diplomatically, re­ producing his spelling and punctuation with little editorial inter­ ference. He used archaic forms of speech throughout these trans­ lations, and I have used "sic" to mark only the most unlikely forms. At least one of the slips of his early pen is revealing (see Sonnet XVIII, 1910 TS. long, lines 11-14). 3. Pound's use of white spaces between the lines of his printed translations differs from sonnet to sonnet. I reproduce his spacing. 4. When there are multiple manuscripts or printings of a single version, I include only the earliest in the apparatus. Thus, the version of Sonnet m that appeared in 1920 Umbra was reprinted in

ABBREVIATIONS

1953 Faber and 1966 Mardersteig, but only 1920 Umbra appears in this edition. 5. On occasion, when two manuscripts from 1910-1912 are in very close accord, I give one composite text from the two sources. At those points where the two texts differ, I select the most at­ tractive reading. For the most part, these choices involve only the placement of a comma. Italian Texts 6. When a variant from the texts in 1932 Rime or one of the recent editions of Cavalcanti's works begins with a capital letter, that letter marks the beginning of a verse. I have followed this usage even in recording variants from Contini 1960, where the words at the beginning of verses are not capitalized unless they also begin a new sentence. 7. Pound's texts in 1932 Rime had both interpretive notes and textual variants printed beside them as a marginal gloss. I include here all of the interpretive notes, but none of the the textual variants.

XXXVl

1910 W

Title Page

Reproduced by permission of the Center for the Study of Ezra Pound and His Contemporaries, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

FOREWORDS AND PREFACES

We can be sure that Pound would want the "Introduction" from Sonnets and Ballate (1912) to precede his Cavalcanti translations in this or any other reissue of them, for that was his editorial policy in 1912,1929,1953, and 1966. For the projected "Complete Works" of 1929, for Rime in 1932, and for the deluxe edition of the translations printed in 1966, he wrote short prefaces to the earlier "Introduction" and it seems best to begin the present edition with a review of these. Thereafter, the sequence of parts follows more or less naturally, with the "Introduction" leading to the translations and then the prose commentary. A reconstruction of the "Complete Works" would have a slightly different order, with a translation of "Donna mi prega" coming before the "Introduction." We know that the Aquila Press printed fifty-six pages of the "Complete Works" before going bankrupt in 1929, and that copies of those pages were sent to Pound in Rapallo. He later appended them to Rime, where they appear at the end of the book but carry page numbers from 1 to 56. Thus we can be sure that pages 1-56 of the "Complete Works" were to contain (in this order): "Mediaevalism," "Donna mi prega" (the translation), "Partial Explanation," "The Canzone" (the Italian text), "The Other Dimension," "The Vocabulary," and "The Canzone: Further Notes," followed by a section called "Sonnets and Ballate" which begins with the "Introduction to Edition of 1912" and the first few sonnets and translations. The fragment breaks off with the Italian text of Sonnet vi. The essay entitled "Guido's Relations," which Pound published in The Dial in July 1929, does not appear in the Aquila fragment, although Pound later added it to the group of essays beginning with "Mediaeval­ ism" when they reappeared under the general title "Cavalcanti" in Make It New (1934). "Guido's Relations" was almost certainly intended for the "Complete Works" and it is tempting to conclude that this short essay, with its observations on the special problems faced by a translator of Cavalcanti, was conceived as a preface to the bilingual edition of 1929. But whatever Pound's original in-

FOREWORDS AND PREFACES

tentions may have been, he eventually found a place for "Guido's Relations" at the end of the "Cavalcanti" essay when it reappeared in 1934, and it is reprinted here in that position. In the Aquila fragment, there is a short transition between the end of Pound's commentary on "Donna mi prega" and the "In­ troduction" of 1912. Of course, Pound deleted this transition when he rearranged the essay as "Cavalcanti" in 1934. It reads: [1929 Aquila fragment, p. 36 (appended to 1932 Rime)] Save for a few necessary corrections, by which I mean corrections not emendations; and for a few sonnets completely recast, I have left my early translations of the Sonnets and Ballate as they were originally printed, and perforce, for I am further removed from the years 1910-1912 than from the original Italian. There is simply no use my trying to mix the two periods. The work for the rest of the poems in this edition has been spent on the Italian text, and shows more in the table of variants than anywhere else. Pound was to quote part of this statement in the "Foreword" to Cavalcanti Poems (1966). Among the typescripts for the "Complete Works" we find drafts of a longer transition to the "Introduction" which, at some early stage in the preparation of that volume, must have stood in the place of the paragraph in the Aquila fragment. The paragraphs are headed "Postscript (1927)": [1927-1931 Rime MSS.] I leave my early preface as I wrote it; it contains all that the reader need know, and probably all the introductory mat­ ter that the reader ought to be bothered with, before gaining conviction from the text. I leave it as a preface instead of putting it more modestly into the appendices on the chance that those who read prefaces at all may as well know before­ hand that in certain passages neither Rossetti's English nor my own can be taken as a substitute for the Italian mastery. If my adolescent language be somewhat katachrestical, the main contentions still hold, and the proportion of the state-

FOREWORDS AND PREFACES

ments is I still think quite valid. All that I then cared for, and all that I now think greatly worth care is the quality of Guido's poems. I thought of them, and hardly thought of the sec­ ondary group: I mean the various letters, replies, gibes, oc­ casional rhymed correspondence. Guido's manner is not sharply changed when moving from one of these categories to the other, but the translator might, with profit, have accentuated the differences and used for the occasional pieces a lighter, a more Browningesque, and less heavy Swinburnian language. [ . . . ] the earlier translation [s . . . have] faults in plenty, but I find that tampering with them does the whole no general good, the new patch pulling too greatly against the old fabric. Even if I now managed to get back into Guido's skin, or into some skin that I for a moment hallucinate myself into thinking of as the skin of Guido, it [is] a different me, and I enter the pelt from a different angle. I improve a line, and it no longer pertains to the rest of the poem; or improve a line, and it no longer has any relation to the original text, or at least a relation so tenuous that it needs a paragraph to explain it. [ . . . ] If the translations have bored the reader, no amount of apology will placate him; if he has enjoyed them even a little, it is perhaps useless to dampen his pleasure, or arouse a pu­ ritanic conscience in his aestheticism by suggesting he ought not, in that degree, have enjoyed them. The translations began with ancillary intentions. Rossetti had already made a poetic translation, and my English began with the intention of serv­ ing as a gloze. I could not stand my prose interpretations. I did not, in 1910-1911, know as much as I now know about music. The zealot had, however, better turn his attention to the text of the original, that will show him where I have fallen short and where I should be left free of censure. [ . . . ] The translation of a poem having any depth ends by being one of two things: Either it is the expression of the translator, virtually a new poem, or it is as it were a photograph, as exact as possible, of one side of the statue. In some places I hope mistranslation may serve to concen­ trate attention on a passage. For words in certain contexts, as

FOREWORDS AND PREFACES

umiltate [in] Sonnet x, [1.] 6, or onesta leggiadria [in] Sonnet xii, [1.] 2, one can only send the reader back to the original. The meaning obviously is not in the word but in the passage. Even the most "correct" translation (verbal) is useless unless the reader is more or less held up and made to reflect on the possibilities of significance. Also among the unpublished typescripts of the "Complete Works" we find an "Apologia" which states that all the tables of variants, indices, and other notes in the bilingual edition were to appear at the back, the texts and translations in the front of the book: [1927-1931 Rime MSS.] If the gentle reader finds the matter of this book presented all hindside before and out of the order in which he is accus­ tomed to find such stuff treated, I can only say that I have left the parts in the sequence that seemed easiest to read. Any peruser earnestly desiring the sensation of contact with a truly learned, scholastic work may attain same by the simple process of commencing at the last page (or anywhere he likes among the indices) and reading thence toward the front of the vol­ ume. Any other departures from habitual typography or order are intended to emphasize my reason for issuing the edition at all, namely that ten or a dozen of these poems of Guido's are as important as anything we possess, by which I include Sappho's fragments, the verses of Catullus, Bion on the death of Adonis or any other poetry whatsoever. A good deal of the rest is marginalia, sonnets in lieu of letters, etc. A few of the poems—you might even narrow it to a matter of lines and passages—mark, as I see it, a definite stage in the human consciousness, and can not be replaced or substituted by an equivalent quantity, or by any quantity of anyone else. After 1929, when Pound "pieced together the fragments" of his labor toward the "Complete Works," he abandoned the idea of a bilingual edition in favor of a critical edition without English texts. No doubt this decision was influenced by the fact that he now planned to publish the work in Italy, and at his own expense.

FOREWORDS AND PREFACES

Excepting the fifty-six pages from the aborted Aquila edition of the "Complete Works" that Pound appended to it, Guido Cavalcanti Rime of 1932 was a thoroughly Italian book, and Pound wrote a preface to it in Italian: [1932 Rime] Ad Lectorem E. P. [English translation by the editor] Cavalcanti's fame needs no new affirmation. There has al­ ways been a tradition among the perspicacious that, "sur­ passed by Dante, he never became as the moon to the sun." He did not have the patience to write a Heretical Comedy, but his fifteen years' seniority practically gives him the right to be considered the father of Tuscan poetry. All this is known; it is known that Cunizza spent at least a day in the Cavalcanti home, and one may speculate about the effect of this nearly imperial figure on the mind of Guido, then fifteen, and later, perhaps, on that of the young Dante through the tradition of Ezzelino's and Sordello's deeds. Explanations are perhaps due for the somewhat fragmen­ tary state of this edition, but they belong rather to my personal biography than to the history of poetry. Let it suffice to say that I passed Between the wall of earth and the torments. [Inferno x, 1. 2] And if, in the end, I jump over the tomb and leave the Betti Brunelleschis, the damned English, a weak-minded friend, etc., let us wait until I find a good-natured or poetical way to say it cheerfully. Celso Cittadino suffered a similar fate with his edition, delayed from 1592 until 1602. I add pages 1-56 of the malastruc English edition because they were already printed, and because my commentary on the "Donna mi prega" need only be printed once. The plan for that bilingual edition was to give a critical text with the differences between it and the Giuntine [edition of 1527] in the margin, and the other variants at the end of the book. These differences were minimal in every case, and never touched the meaning; nevertheless, I have added some of the other, more vigorous variants to the marginal apparatus. I

FOREWORDS AND PREFACES

can think of only one variant among the other poems [i.e., other than "Donna mi prega"] that interests me, and that is "pesanza" as opposed to "possanza," which corresponds to a similar difference in the variants for the canzone. A complete text of the Rime in Manaldruck reproductions will serve to show whatever it left of the paleographic history, and show immediately, without imposition, all that would be learned from the usual paleographic notes, namely, which manuscript is old, which decorated, which was made carefully, and the degree of authority each deserves. [. . .]1 It is a matter of record that Bernardo Di Giunta put together a very competent and attractive edition in 1527, using, it is believed, documents we no longer possess. Cicciaporci pro­ duced a very competent and attractive edition in 1813. The publication of the variants from Ca. [MS. Chigi. L. VIII. 305 in the Vatican Library] (in Propugnatore, then by Arnone) obscured the text, and almost uselessly. But all of the editors— Ercole, Arnone, and recently Rivalta—have contributed some­ thing to the philology of the subject. Wherever I do not follow the Giuntine text to the letter, I do not wish to oppose it, nor that of Cicciaporci. I simply give other variants that seem interesting to me. I am, generally speaking, "against" the succeeding editors, but I understand, alas, the temptation to print an innovation. The text was already established for the most part. There was little need for a new editor. But before putting out a bilingual edition I had a just curiosity. I had to know and not just suppose that the text of Cicciaporci was correct. [. . .] The work of Luigi Valli has been a stimulant for me in recent years [II Linguaggio Segreto di Dante e dei Fedeli d' Amore (Rome: Optima, 1928); Vol. II, Discussione e note aggiunte (Rome: Optima, 1930)]. I do not agree with many of the details of his explanations, but I am truly sorry that he died before I had the opportunity to discuss them with him. He was not always convincing, but that is no reason to ignore 1 I have deleted two passages from "Ad Lertorem E. P." that deal with editorial policy in Rime. These comments are no more than a summary of Pound's essay, "The Text and Its Tradition," which appears in full below.

FOREWORDS AND PREFACES

his intuition that there is often a hidden or indirect meaning in these poems. The most materialistic of critics concedes there are incomprehensible allusions. Without Valli, my interpre­ tation of the sonnet of Pinella and the "great river" would never have occurred to me. It may be erroneous, but at least it offers one intelligent interpretation where before there had been none.2 For all the scholastic portion, my true debt is to the illus­ trious Michele Barbi (Studi sul Canzoniere di Dante). And for courtesy and assistance received in various libraries, I would like to thank Monsignor Enrico Carusi, Monsignor Giovanni Galbiati, Elias Lowe, Professor Schneider of Jena, the directors of the Laurenziana and the Capitolare, the Martellis for having sent their codex to the Laurenziana with such celerity one day when I was in Florence, Professor Alfredo Saviotti, and for their diligence the photographers L. Ciacci and P. Sansaini, and John Sibthorpe, typographer of the Eng­ lish commentary. For whatever interest they may excite, there are also five new translations (of sonnets) that did not appear in my first bilingual edition. Those who do not read English may gather my critical position from these few words: that Guido is not inferior to Dante in quality; that these two gave the poetry of the world something that did not exist and does not exist elsewhere; and that for six centuries after their exiles Italian poetry has not reached their level. Rapallo, Anno IX [1931] The arrangement of the section dedicated to Cavalcanti in The Translations of Ezra Pound (1953), in which Pound probably took a hand, places the "Introduction" from Sonnets and Ballate alone before the texts and translations. In 1965-1966, he arranged the reprint of his Cavalcanti Poems in a similar fashion. It begins with a foreword, dated 1965, which is followed by the "Introduction" and the translations (in this case without facing Italian texts). The volume concludes with two parts of the "Cavalcanti" essay, "Me2

See below, "Notes" from "The Complete Works of Guido Cavalcanti."

FOREWORDS AND PREFACES

diaevalism" and "The Other Dimension." The foreword to Cavalcanti Poems is as follows: [1966 Mardersteig] Foreword "I have left my early translations of the sonnets and ballate as they were originally printed, and perforce, for I am farther removed from the years 1910-1912 than from the original Italian." Written in 1932, in a note to the Marsano edition, this statement holds good for 1965. If in all these years I have not got round to revising the sonnets, as I did the "Donna mi prega," it is because "toils urged other." Free-lance writers of my generation were not supported, during their best working years, by fellowships, "founda­ tions," grants, advances from editors, artist-in-residence ar­ rangements, etc. I am as aware as any of my critics that it is ridiculous to introduce a few obscure archaisms, having more or less to do with the text, and lopsided metaphors, as I did in the sonnets. It seemed more useful to publish a bilingual edition, adding photos of early manuscripts, than to polish the earlier trans­ lations. This I did, at my own expense, in 1932. In 1949, while "poet in residence" at St. Elizabeth's Hos­ pital, I obtained the publication of the three canzoni with reproduction of the Sienese manuscript, not included in the Marsano edition, as Volume XIX of the series: Quaderni dell'Accademia Musicale Chigiana, sumptibus: Count Guido Chigi Saracini "ghibellino." Time prevents my adding a translation of the ballata "Fresca rosa novella," which I would have been glad to see in the imprint of that "Prince of Typographers," Giovanni Marder­ steig. Venezia, 1965

[1929 Aquila fragment (1932 Rime) and 1966 Mardersteig]

THE "INTRODUCTION" TO SONNETS AND BALLATE1

Cimabue thought that in portraiture He held the field; now Giotto hath the cry And all the former fame is turned obscure; Thus hath one Guido from the other reft The glory of our tongue, and there's perchance One born who shall un-nest both him and him. 2 Even the qualification in the last line of this speech which Oderesi, honour of Agobbio, illuminator of fair pages, makes to Dante in the terrace for the purgation of Pride, must be balanced by Dante's reply to Guido's father among the burning tombs (Inferno X), sic. Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti: If by the height of genius thou dost go Through this blind prison house; where is my son? Why is he not with thee? Dante: I come not of myself, But he, who awaiteth there (Virgil) doth lead me through. After these passages from the Commedia there should be small need of my writing introductions to the poems of Guido Cavalcanti, 1 The essay is dated "November 15, 1910" m Sonnets and Ballate, and there is no reason to believe that it was not completed, in all essentials, by that date. Pound revised a few passages between April 1912, when the Boston edition of Sonnets and Ballate appeared, and May of the same year, when the London edition was published. He added one sentence and one footnote to the biographical section of the essay in 1929, and this version finally appeared in Rime in 1932. The Trans­ lations of Ezra Pound (1953) reprinted the earlier version (from the London edition of Sonnets and Ballate), but Mardersteig (1966) reprinted the revised text of 1932. It is the 1932 text I follow here, recording the more significant variants from earlier versions in the footnotes. 2 From Dante's Purgatorio xi. In Sonnets and Ballate, the Italian text of Purgatorio xi, 79-102 appeared on the page facing the beginning of the "Introduction."

INTRODUCTION

for if he is not among the major prophets, he has at least his place in the canon, in the second Book of the Arts, with Sappho and Theocritus; with all those who have sung, not all the modes of life, but some of them, unsurpassedly; those who in their chosen or fated field have bowed to no one. It is conceivable the poetry of a far-off time or place requires a translation not only of word and of spirit, but of "accompaniment," that is, that the modern audience must in some measure be made aware of the mental content of the older audience, and of what these others drew from certain fashions of thought and speech. Six centuries of derivative convention and loose usage have ob­ scured the exact significances of such phrases as: "The death of the heart," and "The departure of the soul." Than Guido Cavalcanti no psychologist of the emotions is more keen in his understanding, more precise in his expression; we have in him no rhetoric, but always a true delineation,3 whether it be of pain itself, or of the apathy that comes when the emotions and possibilities of emotion are exhausted, or of that stranger state when the feeling by its intensity surpasses our powers of bearing and we seem to stand aside and watch it surging across some thing or being with whom we are no longer identified. The relation of certain words in the original to the practice of my translation may require gloze. L'anima and la Morte are fem­ inine, but it is not always expeditious to retain this gender in English. Gentile is 'noble'; 'gentleness' in our current sense would be soavitate. Mente is 'mind,' 'consciousness,' 'apperception.' The spiriti are the 'senses,' or the 'intelligence4 of the senses,' perhaps even 'the moods,' when they are considered as 'spirits of the mind.' Valore is 'power.' Virtute, 'virtue,' 'potency,' requires a separate treatise. Pater has explained its meaning in the preface to his The Renaissance, but in reading a line like Vedrai la sua virtu nel del salita. one must have in mind the connotations alchemical, astrological, metaphysical, which Swedenborg would have called the corre­ spondences. 3 4

Both editions of Sonnets and Ballate read: ". . . a true description, . . ." 1912 SB and 1912 SBb: intelligences.

INTRODUCTION

The equations of alchemy were apt to be written as women's names and the women so named endowed with the magical powers of the compounds. La virtu is the potency, the efficient property of a substance or person. Thus modern science shows us radium with a noble virtue of energy. Each thing or person was held to send forth magnetisms of certain effect; in sonnet XXXV the image of his lady has these powers. It is a spiritual chemistry, and modern science and modern mys­ ticism are both set to confirm it. Vedrai la sua virtu nel del salita. The heavens were, according to the Ptolemaic system, clear con­ centric spheres with the earth as their pivot; they moved more swiftly as they were far removed from it, each one endowed with its virtue, its property for affecting man and destiny; in each its star, the sign visible to the wise and guiding them. A logical astrology, the star a sort of label of the spiritual force, an indicator of the position and movement of that spiritual current. Thus "her" presence, his Lady's, corresponds with the ascendency of the star of that heaven which corresponds to her particular emanation or potency. Likewise, Vedrai la sua virtu nel del salita. Thou shalt see the rays of this emanation going up to heaven as a slender pillar of light, or more strictly, in accordance with the stanza preceding: thou shalt see depart from her lips her subtler body, and from that a still subtler form ascends and from that a star, the body of pure flame surrounding the source of the virtu, which will declare its nature.5 I would go so far as to say that "Il Paradiso" and the form of the Commedia might date from this line; very much as I think I find in Guido's "Place where I found people whereof each one 5

1912 SB: "Thou shalt see the rays of this emanation going up to heaven as a slender pillar of light." Or returning and correlating this line with the first stanza of the ballata, one subtle body issues from the lips of the lady, from that a subtler body, and from that a body of pure flame, "the star," in which is heard the voice.

INTRODUCTION

grieved overly of Love," some impulse that has ultimate fruition in Inferno V. These are lines in the sonnets; is it any wonder that "F. Z." is able to write: "His (Guido's) canzone solely on the nature of love was so celebrated that the rarest intellects, among them "il beato Egidio Colonna," set themselves to illustrating it with commentaries, of which the most cited is that of Mazzuchelli." Another line, of which Rossetti completely loses the significance is E la beltate per sua Dea la mostra. (sonnet vn, 11) "Beauty displays her for her goddess." That is to say, as the spirit of God became incarnate in the Christ, so is the spirit of the eternal beauty made flesh dwelling among us in her. And in the line preceding, Ch'a lei s'inchina ogni gentil virtute means, that "she" acts as a magnet for every "gentil virtute," that is, the noble spiritual powers, the invigorating forces of life and beauty bend toward her; not To whom are subject all things virtuous.6 The inchina implies not the homage of an object but the direction of a force. In the matter of these translations and of my knowledge of Tuscan poetry, Rossetti is my father and my mother, but no one man can see everything at once.7 The twelfth ballata, being psychological and not metaphysical, needs hardly be explained. Exhausted by a love born of fate and of the emotions, Guido turns to an intellectual sympathy, Love that is born of loving like delight, and in this new force he is remade, formando di disio nova persona 6 7

1912 SB adds: ". . . virtuous, as Rossetti translates it." 1912 SB: ". . . but one man cannot be expected to see everything."

INTRODUCTION

yet with some inexplicable lack. His sophistication prevents the complete enthusiasm. This "new person" which is formed about his soul amar gia non osa knowing "The end of every man's desire." The facts of Guido's life, as we know them from other evidence than that of his own and his friends' poems, are about as follows: Born 1250 (circa), his mother probably of the Conti Guidi. In 1266 or 1267 "Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti gave for wife to his son Guido one of the Uberti," i.e. the daughter of Farinata. Thus Villani. Some speak of it as a "betrothal." In 1280 he acted as one of the sureties of the peace arranged by Cardinal Latino. We may set 1283 as the date of his reply to Dante's first sonnet. In 1284 he was a member of the grand council with Dino Compagni and Brunetto Latini. In party feuds of Florence Guelf, then a "White" with the Cerchi, and most violent against Corso Donati. 1292-96 is the latitude given us for the pilgrimage to the holy house of Galicia. Corso, it is said, tried to assassinate him on this pilgrimage. It is more plausible to accept 1292 as the date of the feud between the Cavalcanti and the Buondelmonti, dating so the sonnet to Neronne. For upon his return from the pilgrimage, which had extended only to Toulouse, Guido attacks Corso in the streets of Florence, and for the general turmoil ensuing, the leaders of both factions were exiled. Guido was sent with the "Whites" to Sarzana, where he caught his death fever. Dante at this time (1300) being a prior of Florence, was party to the decree of exile, and perhaps aided in procuring Cavalcanti's speedy recall. "II nostro Guido" was buried on August 29, whence writes Villani, "and his death is a great loss, for as he was philosopher, so was he man of parts in more things, although somewhat punctilious and fiery." Boc­ caccio considers him "probably" the "other just man," in Dante's statement that there were two in Florence. Benvenuto says so positively, "alter oculus Florentiae." In the Decameron we hear that "he was of the best logicians in the world, a very fine natural philosopher. Thus was he leggiadrissimo," and there is much in this word with which to confute those who find

INTRODUCTION

no irony in his sonnets; "and habile and a great talker." On the "sixth day" (novel nine) the queen herself tells how he leapt over an exceeding great tomb to escape from that bore Betto Brunelleschi. Sacchetti's anecdote shows him so absorbed in a chess game that a small boy is able to nail down his coat-tails, first scrunching up several folds of the cloth, so that the nail might get a good hold.8 Other lines we have of him as: "noble and pertinent and better than another at whatever he set his hand to"; among the critics, Crescimbene notes, "robustezza e splendore"; Cristoforo Landiano, "sobrio e dotto, and surpassed by a greater light he became not as the moon to the sun. Of Dante and Petrarch, I speak elsewhere." Filippo Villani, with his translator Mazzuchelli, set him above Petrarch, speaking of him as "Guido of the noble line of the Cavalcanti, most skilled in the liberal arts, Dante's contemporary and very intimate friend, a man surely diligent and given to specula­ tion, physicus (? natural philosopher) of authority . . . worthy of laud and honour for his joy in the study of rhetoric,9 he brought over the fineness of this art into the rhyming compositions of the common tongue (eleganter traduxit). For canzoni in vulgar tongue and in the advancement of this art he held second place to Dante, nor hath Petrarch taken it from him." Dino Compagni, who knew him, has perhaps left us the most apt description, saying that Guido was cortes' e ardito, ma sdegnoso e solitario, at least I would so think of him, "courteous, bold, haughty and given to being alone." It is so we find him in the poems themselves. Dante delays in answering the elder Cavalcanti's question (In­ ferno X) "What said you? 'He (Guido) hadV Lives he not still, 8 The previous sentence was added in 1929 and was elaborated in the following note: "As bearing on the position of the Cavalcanti, I have also come on the notice of an 'instrument' for freeing certain slaves, drawn up for Cunizza sister of Eccelin Romano, in 1265, in the house of Chavalcante de Chavalcantis. 'Ibique dna. Cunizzaj omnip dei, pro remissione anime patris.' " 91912 SBb contains the following note: " 'Rhetonc' must not here be understood in the current sense of our own day. 'Exact and adequate speech' might be a closer rendering."

INTRODUCTION

with the sweet light beating upon his eyes?" This delay is, I think, a device for reminding the reader of the events of the year 1300. One who had signed a decree of exile against his friend, however much civic virtue was displayed thereby, might well delay his answer. And if that matchless and poignant ballad, Perch'io non spero di tornar gia mai had not reached Florence before Dante saw the vision, it was at least written years before he wrote the tenth canto of the Inferno. Guido left two children, Andrea and Tancia. Mandetta of Tou­ louse is an incident. As to the identity of "our own Lady," that Giovanna "presumably" of whom Dante writes in the Vita Nuova, sonnet fourteen, and the prose preceding, weaving his fancy about Primavera, the first coming Spring, St. John the Forerunner, with Beatrice following Mona Vanna, as the incarnate love; again in the sonnet of the enchanted ship, "Guido vorrei. . ." we find her mentioned in the chosen company. One modern writer would have us follow out the parallels between the Commedia and The Book of His Youth, and identify her with "Matilda" of the Earthly Paradise. By virtue of her position and certain similarities of phras­ ing in Purgatory XXVIII and one of the lives of the saint, we know that Matilda in some way corresponds to or balances John the Baptist. Dante is undoubtedly reminded of his similar equation in the Vita Nuova and shows it in his Tu mi fai rimembrar dove e qual era Proserpina nel tempo che perdette La madre lei, ed ella primavera. Dante's commentators in their endless search for exact correspond­ ences, seem never to suspect him of poetical innuendo, of calling into the spectrum of the reader's mind associated things which form no exact allegory. So far as the personal Matilda is concerned, the great Countess of Tuscany has some claims, and we have nothing to show that Giovanna was dead at the time of the vision. As to the actual identity of Guido's lady—granting her to have been one and not several—no one has been rash enough to suggest

INTRODUCTION

that il nostro Guido was in love with his own wife, to whom he had been wedded or betrothed at sixteen. True, it would have been contrary to the laws of chivalric love, but Guido was not one to be bound by a convention if the whim had taken him otherwise.10 The discussion of such details and theories is futile except in so far as it may serve to bring us more intimately in touch with the commune of Florence and the year of grace one thousand three hundred. As for the verse itself: I believe in an ultimate and absolute rhythm as I believe in an absolute symbol or metaphor. The per­ ception of the intellect is given in the word, that of the emotions in the cadence. It is only, then, in perfect rhythm joined to the perfect word that the two-fold vision can be recorded. I would liken Guido's cadence to nothing less powerful than line in Blake's draw­ ing. In painting the colour is always finite. It may match the colour of the infinite spheres, but it is in a way confined within the frame and its appearance is modified by the colours about it. The line is unbounded, it marks the passage of a force, it continues beyond the frame. Rodin's belief that energy is beauty holds thus far, namely that all our ideas of beauty of line are in some way connected with our ideas of swiftness or easy power of motion, and we consider ugly those lines which connote unwieldy slowness in moving. Rhythm is perhaps the most primal of all things known to us. It is basic in poetry and music mutually, their melodies depending on a variation of tone quality and of pitch respectively, as is com­ monly said, but if we look more closely we will see that music is, by further analysis, pure rhythm; rhythm and nothing else, for the variation of pitch is the variation in rhythms of the individual notes, and harmony the blending of these varied rhythms. When we know more of overtones we will see that the tempo of every masterpiece is absolute, and is exactly set by some further law of rhythmic accord. Whence it should be possible to show that any given rhythm implies about it a complete musical form—fugue, 10 1912 SB adds: "Such explanations might give us one more reason, which were superfluous, for the respect paid to Fannata (Inferno X)."

INTRODUCTION

sonata, I cannot say what form, but a form, perfect, complete. Ergo, the rhythm set in a line of poetry connotes its symphony, which, had we but a little more skill, we could score for orchestra. Sequitur, or rather inest: the rhythm of any poetic line corresponds to emotion. It is the poet's business that this correspondence be exact, i.e. that it be the emotion which surrounds the thought expressed. For which cause I have set here Guido's own words, that those few of you who care may read in them the signs of his genius. By the same token, I consider Carducci and Arnone blasphemous in ac­ cepting the reading E fa di claritate tremar Γ are instead of following those mss. which read E fa di clarita I'aer tremare. I have in my translations tried to bring over the qualities of Guido's rhythm, not line for line, but to embody in the whole of my English some trace of that power which implies the man. The science of the music of words and the knowledge of their magical powers has fallen away since men invoked Mithra by a sequence of pure vowel sounds. That there might be less interposed between the reader and Guido, it was my first intention to print only his poems and an unrhymed gloze. This has not been practicable. I cannot trust the reader to read the Italian for the music after he has read the English for the sense. These are no sonnets for an idle hour. It is only when the emotions illumine the perceptive powers that we see the reality. It is in the light born of this double current that we look upon the face of the mystery unveiled. I have lived with these sonnets and ballate daily month in and month out, and have been daily drawn deeper into them and daily into contemplation of things that are not of an hour. And I deem, for this, that voi altri pochi who understand, will love me better for my labour in proportion as you read more carefully. For the rest, I can but quote an envoi, that of Guido's canzone "Donna mi prega":

INTRODUCTION

Thou mayest go assured, my Canzone, Whither thou wilt, for I have so adorned thee That praise shall rise to greet thy reasoning Mid all such folk as have intelligence; To stand with any else, thou'st no desire.11 11

1912 SB and 1912 SBb add: "Ezra Pound / November 15, 1910."

THE TRANSLATIONS

SONETTO I

5

10

Voi, che per gli occhi miei passaste al core, E svegliaste la mente che dormia, Guardate a L'angosciosa vita mia, Che sospirando la distrugge Amore: E' va tagliando di si gran valore Che i deboluzzi spiriti van via: Campa figura nova in signoria, E boce e quando mostra lo dolore: Questa vertu d'Amor che m'ha disfatto, Da' vostri occhi gentil presta si mosse, Lanciato m'ha d'un dardo entro lo fianco; Si giunse il colpo dritto al primo tratto Che l'anima tremando si riscosse, Veggendo morto il cor nel lato manco.

[Coittini 1960. i = x m ] 1. occhi mi passaste 2. E destaste 5. E' vert 7. Riman figura sol en segnoria 8. E voce alquanta, che parla dolore 11. Un dardo mi gitto dentro dal fianco. 12. Si giunse ritto '1 colpo al

22

[1910 and 1910 TS. copies c]

SONNET [I]

5

10

You, who to reach my heart pass through the eyes And rouse the mind from sleep's security, Lo, all my life lies bound in agony. Love bears it down with overbearing sighs And slasheth in his going with such might That all my smothered senses turn to flight. New is the face that's set in seigniory, And new the voice that maketh loud my grief. Love, who hath drawn me down in devious ways, Might from your noble eyes so swiftly come! See, he hath hurled his dart, wherefrom my pain First shot's resultant! And in flanked amaze See how my af[f] righted soul recoileth from That sinister side wherein the heart lies slain.

[1912 SBb]

SONNET I

5

10

You, who do breach mine eyes and touch the heart, And start the mind from her brief reveries, Might pluck my life and agony apart, Saw you how love assaileth her with sighs, And lays about him with so brute a might That all my wounded senses turn to flight. There's a new face upon the seigniory, And new is the voice that maketh loud my grief. Love, who hath drawn me down through devious ways, Hath from your noble eyes so swiftly come! 'Tis he hath hurled the dart, wherefrom my pain, First shot's resultant! and in flanked amaze See how my affrighted soul recoileth from That sinister side wherein the heart lies slain.

[1912 SB] 3. apart. 14. slain [1920 LimH I. breech 3. apart. [1929 Aquila fragment (1932 Rtme)] II. 'Tis he who hath

SONETTO II

5

10

Io vidi gli occhi dove Amor si mise, Quando mi fece di se pauroso, Che mi sguardar come fosse annoioso; Allora dico che il cor si divise; E se non fosse che donna mi rise, Io parlerei di tal guisa doglioso, Ch'Amor medesmo ne faria cruccioso, Che fe' l'immaginar che mi conquise. Dal ciel si mosse un spirito in quel punto, Che quella donna mi degno guardare, E vennesi a posar nel mio pensiero. E Ii mi conta si d'amor Io vero, Che ogni sua vertu veder mi pare, Si come fossi dentro al suo cor giunto.

[1932 Rime] [Above title:] (come nel Mg. Magliabechiano π. rv. 250, folio 61 verso.) [Title:] S. Ghuidonis de Chavalchantibus Io vidi gl ochi dove amore si mise Quando mi fece di se pauroso Che mi sguardaro chome fosse noioso Allora dicho che 1 cor si divise 5 E se non fosse che Ua donna rise Io parlerei di tal ghuisa doglioso Ch amor medesimo ne farei anghoscioso Chon quello inmaginar che mi conquise. Di ciel si mosse uno spirto in quel punto 10 Che quella donna non ghuardo ghuardare E vennesi a posar nel mio pensero E poi mj conta sj d amore il vero Che ogni sua virtu ver di me pare Sj com jo fossj nel suo chor gia giunto. [Contini 1960. ii = xxm] 3. guardar com'io fosse noioso 5. che la donna rise, 7. ne farei cruccioso 12. Elli mi conta 14. Si com'io fosse nello suo

[1912 SB]

SONNET II

5

10

I saw the eyes, where Amor took his place When love's might bound me with the fear thereof, Look out at me as they were weary of love. I say: The heart rent him as he looked on this, And were't not that my Lady lit her grace, Smiling upon me with her eyes grown glad, Then were my speech so dolorously clad That Love should mourn amid his victories. The instant that she deigned to bend her eyes Toward me, a spirit from high heaven rode And chose my thought the place of his abode With such deep parlance of love's verities That all Love's powers did my sight accost As though I'd won unto his heart's mid-most.

[1910 and 1910 TS. copies c] 1-8. I see the eyes, where love doth station him When me he bindeth in the bands of dread, Looking upon me when his wrath is fed. My heart's divided valour burneth dim, And did my lady not then light her grace, Smiling upon me, [. . .] Then were my speech so dolorously clad, That love should mourn amid his victories. [1920 Umbra] [Divided 8/3/3] 1. place, 11. abode, 12. verities,

66

S O N E T T O III

5

10

O donna mia, non vedestu colui, Che su lo core mi tenea la mano, Quand'io ti rispondea fiochetto e piano Per la temenza de gli colpi sui? El fu Amore, che trovando vui Meco ristette, che venia lontano A guisa d'uno arcier presto soriana, Acconcio sol per ancidere altrui. E trasse poi degli occhi miei sospiri, I quai si gittan da lo cor si forte, Ch'io mi partii sbigottito fuggendo. Allor mi parse di seguir la morte, Accompagnata di quelli martiri, Che soglion consumar altrui piangendo.

[1912 SB] 6. [Note:] Cioe, io credo, da venere.—E. P. [1932 Rime] 2. Che 'n su 5. El fu . . . trovando nui 10. mi saetto nel cor [Contini 1960. m = xxi] 5. trovando noi, 9. de li occhi tuo' sospiri 10. I qua' me saetto nel cor 12. m'aparve di sicur la Morte,

[1920 U m b r a ] SONNET III

5

10

O Lady mine, doth not thy sight allege Him who hath set his hand upon my heart, When dry words rattle in my throat and start And shudder for the terror of his edge? He was Amor, who since he found you, dwells Ever with me, and he was come from far; An archer is he as the Scythians are Whose only joy is killing someone else. My sobbing eyes are drawn upon his wrack, And such harsh sighs upon my heart he casteth That I depart from that sad me he wasteth, With Death drawn close upon my wavering track, Leading such tortures in his sombre train As, by all custom, wear out other men.

[1910] 1. Mistress of me, doth not thy vision hold 3-4. When parched responses from my faint throat start / And tremble for his torments manifold? 10-11. He casteth sighs so harshly on my heart / That I myself from my worn self depart [1910 TS copies] 1. Mistress of me, doth not thy vision hold 3-4. When parched responses from my faint throat start / And tremble for his torments manifold? [1912 SB] 3. When parched responses from my faint throat start [1929 Aquila fragment (1932 Rime)] 5. found us, dwells

SONETTO IV

5

10

S'io priego questa donna che pietate Non sia nemica del suo cor gentile, Tu di' ch'io sono sconoscente e vile E disperato e pien di vanitate. Onde ti vien si nova crudeltate? Gia rassimigli a chi ti vede umile, Saggia e adorna ed accorta e sottile E fatta a modo di soavitate. L'anima mia dolente e paurosa Piange nei sospiri che nel cor trova, Si che bagnati di pianto escon fore: Allor mi par che ne la mente piova Una figura di donna pensosa Che vegna per veder morir Io core.

[1932 Rime] 3. Tu di ch'io 7. Saggia, adorna, ed 8. E facta 10. Piange nel sospirar che 12. Allhor [Contini 1960. IV = XVII]

[1910 and 1910 TS. copies c]

SONNET IV

5

10

If I should pray this Lady now that mercy Should be no foeman of her noble heart, You'd say that I am base and ignorant And past all hope and filled with vanity. Where find you now this novel cruelty, For still you humble seem, to whom so sees you Wise, and adorned, alert and subtle even, And fashioned out in ways of gentleness. My soul weeps through his sighs for grief and fear And all those sighs which in the heart are found Deep drenche[d] with tear forth issue sighing, And then, meseems, there raineth down a clear Image of a lady thoughtful, bound Hither to keep death watch o'er that heart's dying.

[1912 SBb]

SONNET IV

If I should pray this lady pitiless That Mercy to her heart be no more foeman, You'd call me clownish, vile, and say that no man Was so past hope and filled with vanities. 5

10

Where find you now these novel cruelties? For still you seem humility's true leaven, Wise and adorned, alert and subtle even, And fashioned out in ways of gentleness. My soul weeps through her sighs for grievous fear And all those sighs, which in the heart were found, Deep drenched with tears do sobbing thence depart, Then seems that on my mind there rains a clear Image of a lady, thoughtful, bound Hither to keep death-watch upon that heart.

[1912 SB] 8. gentleness? 9. fear. [1929 Aquila fragment (1932 R i m e ) ] [Divided 8/6] 2. no mere foeman, 8. fashioned to the mode of gentleness

66

SONETTO V

5

10

Gli miei folli occhi, che 'n prima guardaro Vostra figura piena di valore, Fur quei che di voi, donna, m'accusaro Nel fiero loco ove tien corte Amore. Immantenente avanti a lui mostraro Ch'io era fatto vostro servitore, Perche sospiri e dolor mi pigliaro Vedendo che temenza avea lo core. Menarmi tosto senza riposanza In una parte l a ' v e trovai gente, Che ciaschedun si dolea d'Amor forte, Quando mi vider, tutti con pietanza Dissermi: "Fatto sei di tal servente, Che non dei mai sperare altro che morte.'

[1932 Rime] 10. l a ' v e 14. Che mai non dei sperare [Contini 1960. v = v] 5. E mantinente

[1910 W and 1910 TS. copies ο]

SONNET V

5

10

My most rash eyes, yea they who first regarded That face of yours which is so full of power, Were those, O Lady, that accused me of you In that harsh place where Amor holdeth court: And there before him they adduced the proof That I was he, who was made your servitor, Sith sighs and grief had made me prisioner; Albeit fear already held the heart. And then sans respite did they drag me swiftly Apart and to a place where I found people Whereof each one made great lament of love, Who, when they saw me, cried all, piteously; "Now are thou servant unto such a one, Thou'lt have none other lord save only death."

[1910] [Many of these lines were scored through, and the text as it appears in 1910 W written above them. The notes on 11. 10 and 14 appear on a separate sheet, headed "Sonnet v."] 1. they that first regarded 2. that is so full 4. where love doth hold his court 5. And straightway there before him did they prove 6. How I was 8. Seeing that fear already 9. then 'thout respite did the[y] set me quickly 10. [Note:] "in una parte." / Dante's debts / The poetic debt that / is not plagiarism 12. There when they saw me, all with piteousness 13. (Said unto me) cried unto me, now is thy master one 14. That thou shalt serve non other Lord save death. / Thou'lt get none other Lord save only death. [Note:] (no 1st cause) / unity of the art. / the 1" cause of morte wo[man?]

[1920 Umbra]

SONNET V

5

10

Lady, my most rash eyes, the first who used To look upon thy face, the power-fraught, Were, Lady, those by whom I was accused In that proud keep where Amor holdeth court. And there before him was their proof adduced, And judgment wrote me down: "Bondslave" to thee, Though still I stay Grief's prisoner, unloosed, And Fear hath lien upon the heart of me. For the which charges, and without respite, They dragged me to a place where a sad horde Of such as love and whom Love tortureth Cried out, all pitying as I met their sight, "Now art thou servant unto such a Lord Thou'lt have none other one save only Death."

[1910 long] 4. in that harsh place where Amor's rights are wrought 7. Tho' 8. Fear holds lien upon the heart o'me [1912 SB] [not divided] 4. In that harsh place where [1929 Aquila fragment (1932 Rime)] 4. In that harsh place where 5. was there proof 8. me,

66

S O N E T T O VI

5

10

Tu m'hai si piena di dolor la mente Che l'anima sen briga di partire: E gli sospir che manda il cor dolente Dicono a gli occhi che non puon soffrire. Amore, che lo tuo gran valor sente, Dice: " E l mi duol che ti convien morire Per questa bella donna, che neente Pur, che pietate di te voglia udire." Io fo come colui ch'e fuor di vita, Che mostra a chi lo guarda, ched el sia Fatto di pietra, o di rame, o di legno: E porto ne lo core una ferita, Che si conduca sol per maestria, Che sia, com'egli e morto, aperto segno.

[1932 Rime] 3. E li sospir, 7. Per questa fera donna 8. Par, 12. Che si conduca sol per maestria, 13. E porti nello core una ferita, [Contini 1960. vi = vin] 4. che non pud soffrire 7. questa fiera donna, 8. Par, che 9. I' vo come 10. Che pare, a chi lo sguarda, ch'omo sia 11. Fatto di rame o di pietra o di legno, 12. Che si conduca sol per maestria 13. E porti ne lo core una ferita

[1910 and 1910 TS. copies c]

SONNET VI

5

Thou hast my mind so high heaped up with grief, That my soul irks him to be on the road, Mine eyes cry out: "We can not bear the load Of sighs the grievous heart sends down on us." Love, who is to thy great worth sens[i]tive, Saith, "Sorrow is mine that thou must take thy death From this fair lady who will hear no breath In argument for aught save pitying thee."

[1910] [This earlier draft is cancelled with violent strokes of the pen.] I-8. Thou hast my mind so high heaped up with grief That my soul riseth up to take departure Now of the sighs that my heart grieving sendeth Thus speak the eyes "We may (can) not suffer them." Love, who doth feel greatness of thy power Sayeth, "It grieves me that thou canst but die." Because of this fair lady who in no case Will hear of thee with pity in her heart. 9. 10.

I am, / While I'm as one who stands beyond life's compass am seen of who so looks to be but fashion and shows such semblance to whom regards him

II-14.

As he were made of stone, or bronze or wood + I do bear a wound within my heart A wound that hath in it much mastery That 'tis of that heart's death an open sign.

[1912 SBb]

SONNET VI

5

10

Thou fill'st my mind with griefs so populous That my soul irks him to be on the road. Mine eyes cry out, "We cannot bear the load Of sighs the grievous heart sends upon us." Love, sensitive to thy nobility, Saith, "Sorrow is mine that thou must take thy death From this fair lady who will hear no breath In argument for aught save pitying thee." And I, as one beyond life's compass thrown, Seem but a thing that's fashioned to design, Melted of bronze or carven in tree or stone. A wound I bear within this heart of mine Which by its mastering quality is grown To be of that heart's death an open sign.

[1910 TS. copies o] 11. in (wood) tree or 13. Which by some magic mastery is grown [1912 SB] I. grief [1953 Faber] II. [Note:] Moved only by mechanical device.

SONETTO VII

5

10

Chi e questa che vien, ch'ogni uom la mira, Che fa di clarita 1'aer tremare! E mena seco Amor, si che parlare Null'uom ne puote, ma ciascun sospira? Ahi Dio, che sembra quando gli occhi gira! Dicalo Amor, ch'io nol saprei contare; Cotanto d'umilta donna mi pare, Che ciascun'altra in ver di lei chiam'ira. Non si potria contar la sua piacenza, Ch'a lei s'inchina ogni gentil virtute, E la beltate per sua Dea la mostra. Non fu si alta gia la mente nostra, E non si e posta in noi tanta salute, Che propriamente n'abbiam conoscenza.

[1932 Rime] 5. Ahi Dio, . . . gira? [1953 Faber] 2. [Note:] This is by far the better reading if the sonnet is spoken, but the other reading: tremare Vare, can be sung, and that perhaps explains the persistent di­ vergence between the best manuscripts at this point. [Contini 1960. vn = rv] 2. Che fa tremar di chiaritate 1'are 8. Ch'ogn'altra ver' di lei i' la chiam'ira. 9. Non si poria contar la sua piagenza, 13. non si pose 'n noi

[1910 W]

SONNET VII

Who is she coming, whom all gaze upon, Who makes the whole air tremulous with light, And leadeth with her Love, so no man hath Power of speech, but each one sigheth? 5 Ah God! the thing she's like when her eyes turn, Let Amor (speak it,) tell! Tis past mine utterance: And so she seems mistress of modesty That every other woman is named "Wrath." Her charm could never be a thing to tell 10 For all the noble powers lean toward her. Beauty displays her for an holy sign. * Our daring ne'er before did look so high; But ye! there is not in you so much grace That we can understand her rightfully.

* "E la beltate per sua Dea la mostra." The metaphysics of this line requires a separate treatise. [1910 SR] [Prints lines 1-2, p. 98.] [1910] 6. Let Amor speak it for I can not reckon. 7. So great me seems this lady's modesty 8. is called "Wrath" 9. Her charms 11. Beauty hath founded her[e?] our cult of Her / Beauty disp[layeth] in her, [. . .] div[mity?] / Beauty shows her for an holy sign / Beauty's godhead is in her displayed / And beauty shows her for her / i.e. beauty's Dea / Goddess 14. That (ye) we can understand [1910 TS. copies o] 3. so that no man 4. Hath power of speech, 5. Ah God! when her eyes turn what thing she's like

[1910 Provenga]

SONNET: CHI E QUESTA?

5

Who is she coming, that the roses bend Their shameless heads to do her passing honour? Who is she coming with a light upon her Not born of suns that with the day's end end? Say, is it Love who hath chosen the nobler part? Say, is it Love, that was divinity, Who hath left his godhead that his home might be The shameless rose of her unclouded heart?

If this be Love, where hath he won such grace? 10 If this be Love, how is the evil wrought, That all men write against his darkened name? If this be Love, if this O mind give place! What holy mystery e'er was noosed in thought? Own that thou scan'st her not, nor count it shame!

[1912 SB]

SONNET VII

Who is she coming, drawing all men's gaze, Who makes the air one trembling clarity Till none can speak but each sighs piteously Where she leads Love adown her trodden ways? 5

10

Ah God! The thing she's like when her glance strays, Let Amor tell. 'Tis no fit speech for me. Mistress she seems of such great modesty That every other woman were called "Wrath." No one could ever tell the charm she hath For all the noble powers bend toward her, She being beauty's godhead manifest. Our daring ne'er before held such high quest; But ye! There is not in you so much grace That we can understand her rightfully.

[1910 long] [This draft contains many phrases from the 1910 W version that are scored through and replaced by the text as in 1912 SB.] 8. were named "wrath" 10. For toward / Herward do / all the noble powers incline [1911 LO] 10. For toward her all the noble Powers incline, [1912 SBb] 10. For toward her all the noble Powers incline, 10-14. [Printed in smaller type below the sonnet:] For all the noble powers bend toward her She being beauty's godhead manifest. Our daring ne'er before held such high quest. But ye! There is not so much grace astir In you that we may rightfully regard her.

[1932 Rime]

SONNET VII

Who is she that comes, makyng turn every man's eye And makyng the air to tremble with a bright clearenesse That leadeth with her Love, in such nearness No man may proffer of speech more than a sigh? 5

10

Ah God, what she is like when her owne eye turneth, is Fit for Amor to speake, for I can not at all; Such is her modesty, I would call Every woman else but an useless uneasiness. No one could ever tell all of her pleasauntness In that every high noble vertu leaneth to herward, So Beauty sheweth her forth as her Godhede; Never before was our mind so high led, Nor have we so much of heal as will afford That our thought may take her immediate in its embrace.

[1927-31 Rime MSS.] 5-6. By God, her appearance when her owne eye (turneth) is / (Is) fit 5. (By God, what she looketh with the turn of her glance) 8. Other women by comparison but insensate disturbance. 11. So that beauty 12-14. (Never yet did our mind so mount on high / Nor is there so much of health in us / That we may have of her immediate comprehension.) 12-14. (To mount up so high, never cleared our mind yet / Nor is there so much health in us / That we may have of her comprehension immediate.) 12-14. Never before so high was our mind led / Nor have we so much of heal as will afford / That our mind may take her immediate m its embrace. [1929 GR] 12. Never before so high was our mind led, 14. That our mind may

66

S O N E T T O VIII

5

10

Perche non furo a me gli occhi miei spenti, O tolti si, che de la lor veduta Non fusse ne la mente mia venuta A dire: "Ascolta se nel cor mi senti?" Una paura di nuovi tormenti M'apparve allor si crudele ed acuta Che 1'anima chiamo: "Donna, or ci aiuta, Che gli occhi ed io non rimagniam dolenti." Tu gli hai lasciati si, che venne Amore A pianger sovra lor pietosamente Tanto, che s'ode una profonda boce, La qual da suon: "Chi grave pena sente Guardi costui, e vedera '1 suo core, Che Morte '1 porta in man tagliato in croce."

[Contini 1960. vm = xii] 1. gli occhi dispenti 5. Ch'una 8. ed i' non rimagnan dolenti! 11. voce 12. La quale dice: Chi gran pena 7-14. [One prayer from " D o n n a " to "croce"]

[1920 Umbra]

SONNET VIII

Ah why! why were mine eyes not quenched for me, Or stricken so that from their vision none Had ever come within my mind to say[:] "Listen, dost thou not hear me in thine heart?" 5

10

Fear of new torments was then so displayed To me, so cruel and so sharp of edge That my soul cried, "Ah mistress, bring us aid, Lest the eyes and I remain in grief always." But thou hast left them so that Love's self cometh And weepeth over them so piteously That there's a deep voice heard whose sound in part Turned unto words, is this: "Whoever knoweth Pain's depth, let him look on this man whose heart Death beareth in his hand cut cruciform."

[1910 W] 3. to say: 5-8. A fear of torments then appeared to me, / New and so cruel and so sharp of edge / That my soul cried "Ah Mistress, aid us here, / Lest th'eyes and I remain here grieving ever." 9. so, that Amor cometh 11-12. That there's a deep voice heard, the sound of which / Given in words, is this: "Whoever feeleth [1912 SB] [Divided 8/6] 8. Lest th'eyes 9. so that Amor cometh

SONETTO IX

A me stesso di me gran pieta viene Per la dolente angoscia ch'io mi veggio Di molta debolezza: quand'io seggio, L'anima sento ricoprir di pene: 5 Tanto mi struggo, perch'io sento bene Che la mia vita d'ogni angoscia ha Ί peggio: La nova donna, a cui mercede io chieggio, Questa battaglia di dolor mantiene: Pero che quand'io guardo verso lei, 10 Drizzami gli occhi de Io suo disdegno Si fieramente, che distrugge il core: Allor si parte ogni vertu da' miei; Il cor si ferma per veduto segno, Dove si lancia crudelta d'Amore.

[1932 Rime] 6. Γ peggio. [Contini 1960. IX = xvi] 2-3. veggio: / di molta debolezza quand'io seggio, 5. Tutto mi 6. Che d'ogni an­ goscia la mia vita e peggio

[1912 SB]

SONNET IX

At last I am reduced to self compassion, For the sore anguish that I see me in; At my great weakness; that my soul hath been Concealed beneath her wounds in such a fashion 5 Such mine oppression that I know, in brief, That to my life ill's worst starred ills befall; And this strange lady on whose grace I call Maintains continuous my stour of grief, For when I look in her direction, 10 She turns upon me her disdeigning eyen So harshly that my waiting heart is rent And all my powers and properties are spent, Till that heart lieth for a sign ill-seen, Where Amor's cruelty hath hurled him down.

[1910 and 1910 TS. copies c] 1-5. Self-pity's self's the den wherin I languish By grievous torments and I am ashamed Of my much weakness and I bow, ill-famed, To see my life so over-roofed with anguish; So much it strains me that I know, in brief, 10. disdeignful eyes 14. hath cast him down [1912 SBb] 1. I am reduced at last to

SONETTO Χ

5

10

Deh spirti miei, quando voi me vedite Con tanta pena, come non mandate Fuor de la mente parole adornate Di pianto doloroso e sbigottite? Deh, voi vedete che Ί core ha ferite Di sguardo, di piaceri e d'umiltate; Deh, io vi priego che voi Ί consoliate, Che son da Iui Ie sue vertu partite. Io veggio a Iui spirito apparire Alto e gentile e di tanto valore, Che fa Ie sue vertu tutte fuggire. Deh, io vi priego che deggiate dire A l'alma trista, che parla in dolore, Com'ella fu, e fia sempre d'Amore.

[1932 Rime] 4. Di pianto, doloros e sbigottite? 6. Di sguardo, e di piacere e d'umiltate [Contini 1960. x = vi] 4. Di pianto, dolorose e sbigottite?

[1912 SB]

SONNET X

5

10

Alas, my spirits, that ye come to find me So painful, poor, waylaid in wretchedness, Yet send no words adorned with deep distress Forth from my mind to say what sorrows bind me. Alas, ye see how sore my heart is wounded By glance, by fair delight and by her meekness; 'Las! Must I pray ye that ye aid his weakness, Seeing him power-stripped, naked, confounded. And now a spirit that is noble and haut Appeareth to that heart with so great might That all th' heart's virtues turn in sudden flight. Woe! And I pray you greet my soul as friend, Who tells through all her grief what things were wrought On her by Love, and will be to the end.

[1910 long] 10-14. so great valliance / That all the heart's virtue t[urns] in sudden flight /Love now I pray you that you speak aright / To my soul sad, which saith for am[orous] dalliance / Thus was I + shall be [1910 TS. long] 1-8. Alas my spirits, when ye see me thus / heavy with pain, how send ye not / adorned words from the mind / adorned with tears, dolorous, domfounded [sic]. / Alas ye see the heart hath wounds, / of glance, of dilectation, and of humility, / Ah, io [sic] pray you, give him consolation, / for his potencies, for he (his) hath lost his every potency. / 9-11. I see in / to him a spirit appear / high and gentle, and of such valourous (potency) / That all his spirits turn to flight

SONETTO XI

Se merce fosse arnica a' miei desiri, E Ί movimento suo fosse dal core; Di questa bella donna il suo valore Mostrasse la vertute a' miei martiri; 5 D'angosciosi diletti i miei sospiri, Che nascon de la mente ov'e Amore, E vanno sol ragionando dolore, E non trovan persona che gli miri; Girieno agli occhi con tanta vertute, 10 Che Ί forte e duro lagrimar che fanno, Ritornarebbe in allegrezza e 'n gioia: Ma si e al cor dolente tanta noia, Ed a l'anima trista tanto danno, Che per disdegno uom non da lor salute.

[1912 SB] [Above sonnet:] Cf. "Se fosse amico il re del universo." Inf. V, 1. 91. 9. [Note:] Of Guido's relentless irony, in this case directed against himself, the artistic temperament, and "service" generally, this sestet may serve as example. [1932 Rime] [Above sonnet:] "Se fosse amico il re del universo" 8. miri, 11. Ritornerebbe 12. Ma si e [Contini 1960. Xi = xv] 2-3. fosse dal core / di questa bella donna, [e] Ί su' valore 4. martin, 8. min,

[1912 SB]

SONNET XI

5

10

If Mercy were the friend of my desires, Or Mercy's source of movement were the heart, Then, by this fair, would Mercy show such art And power of healing as my pain requires. From torturing delights my sighs commence, Born of the mind where Love is situate, Go errant forth and naught save grief relate And find no one to give them audience. They would return to the eyes in galliard mode, With all harsh tears and their deep bitterness Transmuted into revelry and joy; Were't not unto the sad heart such annoy, And to the mournful soul such rathe distress That none doth deign salute them on the road.

[1910 long] [Note:] "Se fosse amico il re dell'universe," Inf. v, 91. 8. find not one 10-11. So all (my) harsh tears + my deep bitterness / Were turned to exultation + to joy [1912 SBb] 5. delight

SONETTO XII

5

10

Una giovane donna di Tolosa, Bella e gentil, d'onesta leggiadria, Tant'e diritta e simigliante cosa Ne' suoi dolci occhi de la donna mia, Che fatto ha dentro al cor desiderosa L'anima in guisa che da Iui si svia, E vanne a lei; ma tanto e paurosa, Che non Ie dice di qual donna sia. Quella la mira nel suo dolce sguardo, Ne Io qual fece rallegrare Amore, Perche v'e dentro la sua donna dritta Poi torna piena di sospir nel core, Ferita a morte d'un tagliente dardo Che questa donna nel partir Ie gitta.

[Contim 1960. XII = XXIX] 3. E tant' e dritta 14. h gitta.

[1912 SB]

SONNET XII

5

10

The grace of youth in Toulouse ventureth; She's noble and fair, with quaint sincerities, Direct she is and is about her eyes Most like to our Lady of sweet memories. So that within my heart desirous She hath clad the soul in fashions peregrine. * Pilgrim to her he hath too great chagrin To say what Lady is lord over us. This soul looks deep into that look of hers, Wherein he rouseth Love to festival, For deep therein his rightful lady resteth. Then with sad sighing in the heart he stirs, Feeling his death-wound as that dart doth fall Which this Tolosan by departure casteth.

* [Dante,] Vita Nuova XLI, 1.46: "In guisa che da Iui si svia e vanne a lei," and [Cavalcanti,] Sonnet xxrv and Sonnet v, 1.4. [1910 long] 11. Because it is his rightful Lady resteth

SONETTO XIII

Per gli occhi fiere un spirito sottile, Che fa in la mente spirito destare, Dal qual si muove spirito d'amare, Ch'ogn'altro spiritel si fa gentile. 5 Sentir non puo di Iui spirito vile, Di cotanta vertu spirito appare: Questo e Io spiritel che fa tremare Lo spiritel, che fa la donna umile. E poi da questo spirito si muove 10 Un altro dolce spirito soave, Che segue un spiritello di mercede; Lo quale spiritel spiriti piove; Ch'ha di ciascuno spirito la chiave, Per forza d'uno spirito che Ί vecle.

[1932 Rime] 4. spiritello fa gentile. [Contini 1960. xm = xxvni] 4. spiritel[lo] fa gentile. 7-8. tremare, / Lo spiritel che fa 12. piove, 13. Che di ciascuno spirit'ha la chiave

[1912 SB]

SONNET XIII Concerning the source, the affects and the progeny of the little spirit of pure love: Born of the perception of beauty, he arouseth that power of the mind whence is born that quality of love which ennobleth every sense and every desire; misunderstood of base minds who comprehend not his power, he is the cause of that love in woman which teacheth modesty. Thus from him is born that love in woman whence is born Mercy, and from Mercy "as a gentle rain from heaven" descend those spirits which are the keys of every spirit; perforce of the one spirit which seeth.

5

10

Subtle the spirit striking through the eyes Which rouseth up a spirit in the mind Whence moves a spirit unto love inclined Which breeds, in other sprites, nobilities. No turbid spirit hath the sense which sees How greatly empowered a spirit he appeareth; He is the little breath which that breath feareth, Which breedeth virginal humilities. Yet from this spirit doth another move Wherein such tempered sweetness rightly dwells That Mercy's spirit followeth his ways, And Mercy's spirit as it moves above Rains down those spirits that ope all things else, Perforce of One who seeth all of these.

[1910 long] 4. Which breaks through every sense / Which breeds in other sense nobilities 5. Noturpid spirit 8. Whichbreathesth]. . .] a (maiden) humbleness / a maid humility

[1932 Rime]

SONNET XIII

A breath of thy beauty passeth through my eyes And rouses up an air within my mind That moves a spirit so to love inclined It breedeth, in all air, nobilities. 5

10

No vile spirit to discern his vertu is able So great is the might of it, He is the spryte that putteth a trembling fyt On spirit that maketh a woman mercyable. And then from this spirit there moveth about Another yet so gentle and soft that he Causeth to follow after him a spirit of pity From the which a very rain of spirits poureth out, And he doth carry upon him the key To every spirit, so keen is his breath to see.

[1927-31 Rime MSS.] 7. Spynte 10. Another, [Another draft:] 1. mine eyes 7. spryte [1953 Faber] [Headnote as in 1912 SB] 1. passes

S O N E T T O XIV

5

10

Certo non e da l'intelletto accolto Quel che staman ti fece disonesto: Or come ti mostro mendico presto II rosso spiritel che apparve al volto. Sarebbe forse che t'avesse sciolto Amor da quella ch'è nel tondo sesto, O che vil raggio t'avesse richiesto A far te lieto ov'io son tristo molto? Di te mi duole in me puoi veder quanto: Che me ne fiede mia donna a traverso, Tagliando cio, che Amor porta soave, Ancor dinanzi mi e rotta la chiave, Che del disdegno suo nel mio cor verso; Si che amo l'ira, e la tristezza, e 'L pianto.

[1932 Rime] 6. [Note:] SestoEmpirico: "Ogmsillogismoèperluiuncircolovizioso. . . F. Fiorentino Storl.] Filos. Vol. I. pp. 1 4 0 - 1 4 3 . 6. nel tondo di Sesto, 14. Si che amo l'ira, ed allegrezza e '1 pianto. [Contini 1960. xrv = XLII] 3. O i come gia ['n] men [che non] dico, presto 4. T'aparve rosso spirito nel volto? 8. A por te 9. mi dole: di me guata quanto 10. Che me 'n fiede la mia donna 'n traverso 13. Del su' disdegno che nel mi' cor verso 14. Si che n'ho l'ira, e d'allegrezza e pianto. 66

[1912 SBb]

SONNET XIV

5

10

Surely thine intellect gives no embrace To him who hath bred this day's dishonesty; How art thou shown for beggared suddenly By that red spirit showing in thy face! Perhaps it is some love within thee breedeth For her who's folly's circumscription, Perhaps some baser light doth call thee on To make thee glad where mine own grief exceedeth. Thou art my grief, my grief to such extent That I trust not myself to meet Milady, Starving myself of what Love sweetest lent me So that before my face that key's forbent Which her disdeign turned in my heart and made me Suitor to wrath and sadness and lamenting.

[1910 and 1910 TS. copies c] 9-14. Of thee I grieve, + thou canst see how greatly / Since I trust not myself to meet (see) my Lady / Starving myself of what Love sweetest lent me / Till m my face that key is broken lately / Which her disdeign turned on my heart + made me / Suitor of wrath + sadness + lamenting. [1910 long] 7. Or that some baser 10. That I lack confidence to meet 11-14. + cut me off from what Love gently bore / (has not [. . .] creation) / and thus before me is that key for-bent / Turning my heart disdeigning, as if I were / (which her disdeign turned in my heart + made me) / Suitor of mournful wrath + lamentation [1912 SB] 9. Thou are my

[1932 Rime]

SONNET XIV

Surely thy wit giveth not welcome place To that which this morn madeth thine honour to want, Fye, how swiftly art thou shown mendicaunt By that red air that is suffusing thy face. 5

10

Perhaps thou art let on rampage By love of what is caught in Sesto's ring Or some vile beam is come here to engage Thee to make merry, whereof I am sorrowing, Aye, sorrowing, so much as thou mayst see In that before my Lady I dare not to flaunt, Whereby I lose all of love's agrement; The key brok'n off before me, her disdeign Stuck in my heart to turn, making me To love confusion, or to be gaye, or playne.

Tondo di Sesto, printed tondo sesto and unexplained or atrociously explained in previous editions. "Taken m an empty hoop of sophistries." I find m Fr. Fiorentino's Manuale di Storia della Filosofia: "Sesto Empirico. . . . Ogni sillogismo e per Iui un circolo vizioso, perche la premessa maggiore dovrebbe essere assicurata da una mduzione completa: ora, affinche possa dirsi completa, e evidente che vi si debbia trovar compressa anche la conclusione del sillogismo che ancora si ha da dimostrare," etc. The application here must be considered in relation to the whole philosophic and scholastic background, the attribution of "Da piu a uno fece sillogismo," etc. [1927-31 Rime MSS.] 3-4. How swiftly that red air suffusing thy face / Showeth thee, fye on it, a mendicaunt. 5-8. Thou art, perchance, loosed of Love's control / Or taken in an empty hoop of sophistries / Led by base light, so that [. . .] ease / In merrymaking, by th'which I am in doole [dolor?]

S O N E T T O XV Avete in voi li fiori e la verdura, E ciò che luce, o è bello a vedere. Risplende più che 'L sol vostra figura, Chi voi non vede, mai non puo valere. In questo mondo non ha creatura Si piena di belta, né di piacere: E chi d'Amor temesse, L'assicura Vostro bel viso, e non puo piu temere. Le donne che si fanno compagnia Assai mi piacen per lo vostro amore; Ed io le prego per lor cortesia Che qual piu puote, piu vi faccia onore, Ed aggia cara vostra signoria, Perche di tutte siete la migliore.

5

10

[ 1 9 1 2 SB] [ N o t e : ] E lo n o m e di questa donna era Giovanna, salvo che per la sua beltade, secondo ch'altre crede, imposto l'era nome Primavera: e cosi era chiamata. Dante, Vita Nuova Cf. Purgatorio

xxrv. XXVIII, 4 9 et circa; ref. " M a t e l d a , " by Adolfo Borgognom (S. Lapi,

Citta di Castello.) [1932

Rime]

9. che vi fanno [Contirti 1 9 6 0 . XV = II] 3. che sol vostra figura: 8. Vostro bel vis' a tanto 'n se volere. 9. che vi fanno

66

[1920 Umbra]

SONNET XV

5

10

Thou hast in thee the flower and the green And that which gleameth and is fair of sight, Thy form is more resplendent than sun's sheen; Who sees thee not, can ne'er know worth aright. Nay, in this world there is no creature seen So fashioned fair and full of all delight; Fearers of Love who fearing meet thy mien, Thereby assured, do solve them of their fright. The ladies of whom thy cortege consisteth Please me in this, that they've thy favour won; I bid them now, as courtesy existeth, To prize more high thy lordship of their state, To honour thee with powers commensurate, Since thou dost shine out far above them all.

[1910] 2. is fair to see 3. Thy face (gives out more light than doth) (is more resplendent) the sun. 4-6. Who see thee not can never be much worth. / And in this world there is no thing created / So full of beauty + of so much charm. 7-8. Who feareth love, Io his security / is thy fair face, which cureth him his fear 7-8. If one fear love, then let thy face assure him / By thy fair face then can he fear no more. 913. The ladies that do form thy company / Please me enough that they have gained thy favour / And I do pray them by their courtesy / To honour thee with powers commensurate / seignory of them 14. Since thou art thou who art sans paragon. / Sith thou art she (who) that art surpassing all. 14. [Note:] of sight [1910 W] [Note:] Comparisons: Sonnet XV. 7-8. Who fears Amor and fearing meets thy mein, / Thereby assured he solveth (endeth) him his fright 12-14. Holding most dear thy lordship of their state, / To honour thee with powers commensurate, / Sith thou art thou that art sans paragon. Variants continued on p. 71.

S O N E T T O XVI A Guido Orlandi

La bella donna dove Amor si mostra, Che tanto è di valor pieno ed adorno, Tragge lo cor de la persona vostra, E prende vita in far con lei soggiorno. 5 Perché ha si dolce guardia la sua chiostra Che il sente in India ciascun Unicorno: E la vertii de l'armi a farvi giostra Verso di noi fa crudel ritorno. Ch'ella e per certo di si gran valenza, 10 Che gia non manca a lei cosa di bene, Ma creatura lo creo mortale. Poi mostra che in cio mise prowidenza; Che al nostro intendimento si conviene Far pur conoscer quel, che a lei sia tale.

[1932 Rime] 4. Che prende 6. che '1 sente 10. cosa da bene, 11. Ma che natura la creo mortale. 13. Che al vostro [Contini 1960. XVI = XLIX] 3. vostra: 4. E' prende vita in far co-llei soggiorno. 7. E la vertude l'arma a fera giostra; 8. Vizio pos' dir no i fa crudel ritorno, 10. i-llei cosa da bene, 11. Ma' che Natura la creo mortale. 13. Ch'al vostro 14. Far, per conoscer, quel ch'a lu' sia tale.

68

[1912 SB]

SONNET XVI To Guido Orland

5

10

This most lief lady, where doth Love display him So full of valour and so vestured bright, Bids thy heart "Out!" He goes and none gainsay him; And he takes life with her in long delight. Her cloister's guard is such that should you journey To Ind you'd see each unicorn obey it; Its armed might against thee in sweet tourney Cruel riposteth, thou canst not withstay it. And she is surely in her valliancies Such that she lacks not now worth's anything, And yet He made her for a mortal creature. Then showed her forth, and here His foresight is, And His providence, Ah, how fair a thing If by her likeness thou mayst learn its nature!

[1910 long] 1. This most fair Lady 4. and taketh life with her 8. we may not withstay it. 9. Though she be surely 11-14. Still I believe her to be mortal creature / Whence seemst that (there some foresight is,) / If thou were made aware of this, thou'dst bring / Her to partake somewhat of some such nature. [1912 SBb] 9. Though she be surely 11-14. Still I believe her to be mortal creature; Whence seems it, that (and here some foresight is) If thou wert made aware of this, thou 'Idst bring Her to partake somewhat of some such nature. [Note ] For the final lines Rossetti gives: Yet she's created for a mortal creature; In her is shown what God's providence is; Sufficeth she unto thy mind to bring Knowledge of it, seeing it shares her nature.

[1932 Rime]

SONNET XVI To Guido Orlando

This fayre Mistress, whereby Love maketh plain How full he is of prowesse, adorned to a marvel, Tuggeth the heart out of thy masking-shell, The which enhaunceth his life in her domain. 5

10

For her quandrangle is guarded with such a sweet smell Every unicorn of India smelleth it out, But her vertue against thee in jousting-bout Turneth against us for to be cruel. She is, certes, of such great avail Nothing of all perfectness in her lacketh That can be in creature subject to death, Neither in this mortality did foresight fail. 'Tis fitting thy wit make known Only that which it can take, or mistake, for its own.

[1927-1931 Rime MSS.] 1-4. The fair lady, where Amor shows himself, / So full of valor, and adorned, / Draws the heart from your (our) body, / And takes (he, she) life m sojourning with? he HER, persona.

Variants from p. 67 (cont.) [1912 SB] 7-8. Who fears Amor, and fearing meets thy mein, / Thereby assured, he solveth him his fnght. 12. Holding most dear thy lordship of their state, 14. Sith thou art thou, that art sans paragon. [1912 corrected copy 2] 14. Because no man may find thy paragon. [1920 TS.] 1-4. You have in you the flower and the green And all that gleams, and falls fair on the sight. Your form is more resplendent than sun's sheen [Who] sees you not, can not know worth aright. 14. Thou dost shine out so abo[v]e them all / Since y[ou]

SONETTO XVII A Bernardo di Bologna

5

10

Ciascuna fresca e dolce fontanella Prende in se sua chiarezza e vertute, Bernardo amico mio; e sol da quella, Che ti rispose a Ie tue rime acute. Perocche in quella parte ove favella Amor de Ie bellezze che ha vedute, Dice che questa gentilesca e bella Tutte nuove adornezze ha in se compiute. Awegnache la doglia io porti grave Per Io sospiro, che di me fa lume, Lo core ardendo in la disfatta nave, Mando io a la Pinella un grande fiume Piena di lamie, servito da schiave, Belle ed adorne di gentil costume.

[1912 SB] [Title:] A Bernardo da Bologna 2. [Note:] Var. 1. 2, Prende in Liscian 13. Piena di lancie [1932 Rime] [Title:] A Bernardo da Bologna 2. Prende in Liscian sua 13. Pieno [Contini 1960. xvn = XLivb] 2. Prende in Liscian[o] chiarezz' 9. Avegna che 10. che di me 13. Pieno 14. adorn'e di gentil

[1910 W]

SONNET XVII Of why they find sweet water in Galicia (In answer to a sonnet of Bernardo di Bologna)

5

10

Now every cool small spring that springeth sweetly In Liscian,* takes its clearness and its virtue, Bernard my friend, from naught else save that maid Who gives thee answer in thy sharpened rimes; For in that place where Amor gives report Of all the beauties he hath looked upon, He saith that this so gracious one and fair Hath gathered all strange graces to herself And since I bear the grief of this so gravely, Yea, by that sigh which maketh me its light, My heart a burning, on the vanquished ship, I send Pinella, on a river wide, Filled full of fairies, by attendants served Who're fair adorned in all noble ways.

* Note: Liscian? Galicia. [1910] 1. every fresh small (fount) spring 4. answer to thy sharpened rhymes. 5. Since in that (very) place where Amor (speaketh) gives report 6. of (those same) all the beauties (that amor hath seen) he hath looked upon. 7. that this gracious one 8. Hath all strange graces in her self complete 9-10. Since I am he who got most grief from this / Yea by that sigh that turns into a taper 14. [. . .] (send the burning heart upon a ship) 9-10. Because I bear this grief most heavily / upon that sigh which makes of me its (taper) candle 9-11. And since I bear [. . .] the grief of this so grand / In charge of that same sigh which lighteneth me / (My heart a burning on a vanquished ship) / My burning heart m the dismantled ship [Note:] Of why they have sweet waters in Galicia / and of the gift he sends to the cause

[1912 SB]

SONNET XVII Concerning Pinella, he replies to a sonnet by Bernardo da Bologna and explains why they have sweet waters in Galicia (Liscian)

5

10

Now every cool small spring that springeth sweetly Takes clarity and virtue in Liscian climes, Bernard my friend, from one sole source, discretely: So she who answereth thy sharpened rimes. For in that place where Love's reports are laid Concerning all who to his sight are led, He saith that this so gracious and fair maid Hath in herself all graces gathered. Whereas my grief in this is grown more grave And sighs have turned me to one light and flame, I send my burning heart, in her acclaim Unto Pinella, upon a magic stream Where fairies and their fair attendants gleam, In this wrecked barque! where their show is so brave!

[1910 long] 3. source completely. 4. Tis she who answereth thy 9. From which behold my grief is grown more grave 10. to their candle flame 11-14. Whence a dismantled ship doth brest the mam, Bearing my burning heart in her acclaim Unto Pinella, upon a magic stream Where fairies + and their fair attendants gleam. [1912 SBb] 4. 'Tis she

[1932 Rime]

SONNET XVII Concerning Pinella, he replies to a sonnet by Bernardo da Bologna and explains why they have sweet waters in Galicia (Liscian)

Every fresh and sweet-flavoured water-spring Hath in Galicia its taste and its clearness,* Bernardo, my friend, from but the one enchanteresse; It was she that answered thy sharp rhyming. 5

10

And in that Court where Love himself fableth Telling of beauties he hath seen, he saith: This pagan and lovely woman hath in her All strange adornments that ever were. Though I be heavy with the pain of that sigh That maketh my heart burn but as a light In shipwracke, I send Pinella a river in full flood Stocked with Lamia-nymphs, that are foreby Served each with her slave hand-maids, fair to sight And yet more fair by manner of gentlehood.

* With other texts this is: Hath of itself, or hath by clarity as it floweth clearing itself, its savour my friend, from the one enchanteresse. [Note:] Mi pare che questo sonetto accompagnava un commento ο traduzione di qualche filosofo arabo, diciamo Avicenna, del quale parla allegoncamente. [1966 Mardersteig] [Headnote:] . . . Galicia (the modern Lizzano [near Bologna]).

SONETTO XVIII

5

10

Belta di donna, e di saccente core, E cavalieri armati che sian genti, Cantar d'augelli e ragionar d'amore, Adorni legni in mar, forti, e correnti: Aria serena quando appar l'albore, E bianca neve scender senza venti, Rivera d'acqua e prato d'ogni fiore, Oro, e argento, azzurro in ornamenti. Cio che puo la beltade e la valenza, De la mia donna in suo gentil coraggio, Par che rassembre vile a chi cio guarda; E tanto ha piu d'ogni altra conoscenza Quanto Io ciel di questa terra e maggio, A simil di natura ben non tarda.

[1932 Rime] [Note:] Seguendo prmcipalmente MS. Laurenziano-Rediano 9 (Li.) fol. 129r. 1. donna di piagente core, 5. Aire sereno quand'appar 7. Rivera d'aigua 8. Oro, argento, azzurro inn 9. Passa Ia gran beltate e la piagensa 10. donna el suo 11. Siche rassenbra vile a chi cio sguarda, 12. E tanto apio d'ogn altra canoscenza 13. Quanto Io celo dela terra e maggio: 14. Assimil [Contini 1960. χνιπ = πι] 4. η mar forte correnti; 8. oro, argento, 9. Cio passa la beltate 10. donna e Ί su' gentil 11. Si che rasembra 13. ciel de Ia terra e maggio

[1912 SB]

SONNET XVIII

5

10

Beauty of woman, of the knowing heart, And courtly knights in bright accoutrement And loving speeches and the small birds' art, Adorned swift ships which on high seas are sent, And airs grown calm when white the dawn appeareth And white snow falling where no wind is bent, Brook-marge and mead where every flower flareth, And gold and silver and azure and ornament: Effective 'gainst all these think ye the fairness And valour of my Lady's lordly daring? Yea, she makes all seem base vain gathering, And she were known above whome'er you'd bring As much as heaven is past earth's comparing; Good seeketh out its like with some address.

[1910] [An early draft, incomplete, and scored through with violent strokes of the pen.] 1-12. Beauty of woman, of the crafty heart / + of our knights at arms, such as be noble / the song of birds + reasoning of Love / Strong ships at sea, adorned + swiftly moving / And air grown calm, when the white dawn appeareth, / And snow come white when no wind stirreth it / The rives [sic] of water, meadows of every flower, / + gold + silver + azure in ornament. /Whattheseavailbyfairness and by power / Seemeth but light against my lady [. . .] / vileness if one look upon / but light if over [. . .] / Against my lady and her noble heart. [1910 W] 1. Beauty of woman and of knowing heart 5. The dawn him showeth 7. every flower gloweth 11. vain-gathering 12-14. And so surpasseth others in wit's rare­ ness / As heaven's way surpasseth earthly faring / To what's like natured she doth ill delaying. Variants continued on p. 85.

SONETTO XIX

Novella ti so dire, odi Nerone, Che i Buondelmonti trieman di paura, E tutti e' Fiorentin non gli assicura Vedendo, che tu hai cor di lione. 5 E piu treman di te che d'un dragone, Veggendo la tua faccia, che e si dura: Che non Io riterrian ponti, ne mura, Ma si la tomba del re Faraone. O come fai grandissimo peccato, 10 Si alto sangue voler discacciare, Che tutti vanno via senza ritegno! Ma ben e ver, che rallargar Io pegno, Di che potresti 1'anima salvare, Se fussi paziente del mercato.

[1932 Rime] 3. tutti i Fiorentin 4. Udendo che 7. non la riterrian [Contini 1960. XIX = LII] 4. Udendo dir che 7. Che no la ritterria ponte 8. Se non la 9. Deh, con'tu fai 12 ver che ti largar Io pegno 13. pot[e]rai 14. Si fosti

[1912 SB]

SONNET XIX He suggests to his kinsman Nerone that there may be one among all the Buondelmonti of whom they might in time make a man

5

10

News have I now for thee, so hear, Nerone, How that the Buondelmonti shake with fear, And all the Florentines cannot assure them, Seeing thou hast in thee the lion-heart. They fear thee more than they would fear a dragon, Seeing that face of thine, how set it is That neither bridge nor walls could hold against it Lest they were strong as is King Pharaoh's tomb. Oh how thou dost of smoky sins the greatest In that thou wouldst drive forth such haughty blood Till all be gone, gone forth without retention. But sooth it is, thou might'st extend the pawn Of one whose soul thou mightest give salvation Wert thou more patient in thine huckstering.

[1910 long] 4. lion's heart. 10. such haughty blood drive forth, 11. fled, retention. 14. patient in the bargaining.

+ gone without

SONETTO XX

5

10

L'anima mia vilmente e sbigottita De la battaglia ch'ella sente al core; Che se pur si awicina un poco Amore Piu presto a lei che non soglia, ella muore. Sta come quei che non ha piu valore, Ch'e per temenza dal mio cor partita: E chi vedesse com'ella n'e gita, Diria per certo: "Questa non ha vita." Per gli occhi venne la battaglia pria, Che ruppe ogni valor immantenente, Si che dal colpo fier strutta e la mente. Qualunque e quel che piu allegrezza sente, S'ei vedesse il mio spirito gir via, Si grande e la pieta, che piangeria.

[1932 Rime] 5. come quella che non ha valore, 9. Ia battaglia in pria, [Contmi 1960. xx = vn] 2. ch'e[l]l'ave dal core: 3. Che s'ella sente pur un poco Amore 4. Piu presso a Iui che non sole, 5. Sta come quella, che non ha valore, 6. da Io cor 7. com'ell'e fuggita 8. "Questi non 9. in pria 11. del colpo fu strutta la mente 12. quei 13. Se vedesse Ii spirti fuggir via. 14. Di grande sua pietate piangeria.

[1912 SB]

SONNET XX So vilely is this soul of mine confounded By strife grown audible within the heart, That if toward her some frail Love but start With unaccustomed speed, she swoons astounded. 5

10

She is as one in whom no power aboundeth; Lo, she forsakes my heart through fearfulness, And any seeing her, how prone she is, Would deem her one whom death's sure cloak surroundeth. Through th' eyes, as through the breach in wall, her foes Came first to attack and shattered all defence, Then spoiled the mind with their down-rained blows. Whoe'er he be who holdeth joy most close Would, should he see my spirit going hence, Weep for the pity and make no pretence.

[1910 long] 6. (So she, girt round with fears, my heart forsaketh) 7. (and should you see what) [. . .] 9. As through the breach in wall, (so through mine eyes) [Note:] C f . Sonnet I .

S O N E T T O XXV

5

10

Veder potesti, quando voi scontrai, Quello pauroso spirito d'Amore, Lo qual suol apparer quand'uom si more, Che in altra guisa non si vede mai. Egli mi fu si presso, che pensai, Ch'egli ancidesse il mio dolente core, Allor si mise nel morto colore L'anima trista in voler tragger guai. Ma poi si tenne quando vide uscire Da gli occhi vostri un lume di mercede, Che porse dentro al cor una dolcezza. E quel sottile spirito che vede Soccorse gli altri, che credean morire Gravati di angosciosa debolezza.

[1932 Rime] 1. Veder poteste, quando vi scontrai, [Contini 1960. XXI = XXII] 1. Vedere poteste, quando v'inscontrai, 4. E 'n altra 6. uccidesse lo dolente core: 8. trista per voler trar guai; 9. Ma po' sostenne, 11 al cor nova dolcezza; 82

[1910 and 1910 TS. copies c]

SONNET XXI

5

10

(You folk) Thou may'st see, who meet me face to face, The most dred spirit (sprite whom) Amor summoneth, (And) The one who appeareth when a man greets death And ne'er is seen in any other case. So close to me did that dark presence show, I thought he'd slay in me, my heart, my dolour; The grievous soul clad her in the dead colour Which most accords the will and ways of woe. Then he held back, as he saw issue out From your fair eyes the lights of misericorde, Which bore a sweetness in upon the heart And then the subtle spirit of perception Rescued those others who'd awaited death, Borne down by weakness and the pain of it.

[1912 SB]

SONNET XXI The Dred Spirit

5

10

Thou mayest see, who seest me face to face, That most dred spirit whom Love summoneth To meet with man when a man meets with Death; One never seen in any other case. So close upon me did this presence show That I thought he would slay my heart his dolour[,] And my sad soul clad her in the dead colour That most accords the will and ways of woe. Then he restrained him, seeing in true faith The piteous lights forth-issue from your eyes The which bore to my heart their foreign sweetness, While the perceptive sense with subtle fleetness Rescued those others* who had considered death The one sure ending for their miseries.

* The senses or the spirits of the senses. [1910 long] 13. who'd [1910 TS. copies o] 5. (dred) (dark) presence show, 7. m a dark colour 8. As most accords 9. And then he reined him to see the flash 10. pityful light

Variants from p. 77 [1910 TS. long] 11-14. These seem but fustian all, against her grace / seem gathered cheap, against her poetencies, / beauty is hers, and nobleness of heart, / (From) earth to heaven (is the gap between) / As earth to heaven be wide set apart / Her sense and other's senses, / knowledge of her and knowledge of aught else, /to its likeness, / knowledge] of her is past all knowledge / Good moves in nature, and with no delay [1912 corrected copy] 12-13. She is exalted past all wisdom's worth / As high as heaven is above this earth 14. And good seeks out [1927-31 Rime MSS.] 9-14. O'er towered by the beauty and the lure And by her height of heart seem little worth And set to eye they can but tittles prove; She is above all knowledges secure And high as heaven is great above the earth: Good to its like in nature is swift to move.

SONETTO XXII A Dante Alighieri

5

10

Vedesti, al mio parere, ogni valore E tutto gioco e quanto bene uom sente, Se fusti in pruova del signor valente Che signoreggia il mondo de l'onore: Poi vive in parte dove noia muore, E tien ragion ne la piatosa mente: Si va soave ne' sonni a la gente, Che i cor ne porta sanza far dolore. Di voi Io cor se ne porto, veggendo, Che vostra donna la morte chiedea: Nodrilla d'esto cor, di cio temendo. Quando t'apparve che sen gia dogliendo, Fu dolce sonno, ch'allor si compiea, Che Ί suo contrario Io venia vincendo.

[1912 SB] [Note]: In Vita Nuova HI, Dante writes: "Many replied to this sonnet (Λ ciascun'alma presa e gentil core) with varying interpretations; among those who replied was he whom I call first of my friends; he wrote at that time a sonnet which began: "Vedesti al mio parere Ogtii valore." And this was, as it were, the inception of the friendship between us, when he learned that I was the one who had sent him this (sonnet)." [1932 Rime] 6. pietosa 7. Si va 9. Di te Io core ne porto, veggendo, 10. Che la tua donna 11. Nudrilla d'esto 13. Fu 1 dolce [Contini 1960. XXII = xxxvn] 1. Vedeste, 3. Se foste 6. nel cassar de la mente; 7. per sonno a 8. Che Ί cor 9. cor ne porto, 10. donna alia morte cadea: 11. Nodriala dello cor, 12. Quando v'apparve che se 'n gia 13. Fu Ί dolce 14. Che

[1953 Faber]

SONNET XXII To Dante, in answer to the first sonnet of the Vita Nuova

Thou sawest, it seems to me, all things availing, And every joy that ever good man feeleth. Thou wast in proof of that lord valorous Who through sheer honour lords it o'er the world. 5

10

He liveth in a place where baseness dieth, And holdeth reason in the piteous mind, Moving so gently to mankind in sleep That the heart bears it 'thout the feel of pain. Love bore away thy heart, because in his sight Was Death grown clamorous for one thou lovest, Love fed her with thy heart in dread of this, Then, when it seemed to thee he left in sadness, A dear dream was it which was there completed[,] Seeing it[s] contrary came conquering.

Note: Dante, Vifa Nuova seen by anyone."

HI.

"The true significance of the dream was not then

[1910] 5. Thou livest 6. And holdest 7. So gently move the people in this sleep 8. feel of grief. 14. Seeing that its contrary / Note: either Beatrice fears to eat or she fears lest death claim her: "lei paventosa umilmente parcea." [1910 W and 1912 SB] [Identical to the translation in 1910, except for line 14.] 14. Seeing it contrary [1912 SB prints the note as m 1953 Faber, and divides the text 8/6].

[1927-31 Rime MSS.]

SONNET XXII

I think that thou has looked on every valour and all Of playe and good that any man may feel, Thou'st put to proof that overlord of such weal As, by his honour, holdeth the world in thrall. 5

10

Where he dwelleth unease ceaseth amain For he hath reasonableness in a piteous mind, When folk lie in dream he goeth softly to find And pluck their hearts out, yet giv'th no pain. He carried thine heart, seeing that death Made claim against thy mistress, And fed her with thine heart in her fearfulnesse; That he appeared to weep as he went Is a fair omen, whereby the presage saith That the contrary of what was shown, is meant.

S O N E T T O XXIII Al medesimo.

5

10

Io vengo il giorno a te infinite volte E trovoti pensar troppo vilmente: Molto mi duol de la gentil tua mente E d'assai tue vertu che ti son tolte. Solevati spiacer persone molte; Tuttor fuggivi la noiosa gente: Di me parlavi si coralemente, Che tutte le tue rime avea accolte. Or non mi ardisco, per la vil tua vita, Far dimostranza che '1 tuo dir mi piaccia; Ne 'n guisa vegno a te, che tu mi veggi. Se '1 presente sonetto spesso leggi, Lo spirito noioso che ti caccia Si partira da l'anima invilita.

[1932 Rime] 5. Solevan ti spiacer 8. rime avei accolte [Contim 1960. xxin = x u ] 5. Solevanti 8. rime avie ricolte. 9. non ardisco, 10. Far mostramento che tu' dir

90

[1912 SBb]

SONNET XXIII To Dante, rebuking him for his way of life after the death of Beatrice.

I daily come to thee uncounting times And find thee ever thinking over vilely; Much doth it grieve me that thy noble mind And virtue's plenitude are stripped from thee; 5

10

Thou wast so careless in thy fine offending, Who from the rabble alway held apart, And spoke of me so straightly from the heart That I gave welcome to thine every rime. And now I care not, sith thy life is baseness To give the sign that thy speech pleaseth me, Nor come I to thee in guise visible, Yet if thou 'It read this sonnet many a time, That malign spirit which so hunteth thee Will sound forloyn* and spare thy affrighted soul.

* The recall of the hounds. [1910] 13. (That wounded spirit) 14. [Note:] The note to recall the hounds. / Chaucer, "deth of Blaunche the duchesse," 386. [1912 SB] 6-7. alway held'st apart, / And speaking of me

S O N E T T O XXIV Al medesimo.

5

10

Se vedi Amore, assai ti prego, Dante, In parte l a ' v e Lappo sia presente, Che non ti gravi di por si la mente Che mi riscrivi s'egli il chiama amante, E se la donna gli sembra aitante, E se fa vista di parer servente: Che molte fiate cosi fatta gente Suol per gravezza d'Amor far sembiante: Tu sai che ne la corte la ove regna, Non puo servire uomo che sia vile A donna che la dentro sia perduta: Se la soffrenza lo servente aiuta, Puoi di leggier conoscer nostro stile, Lo quale porta di mercede insegna.

[1932 Rime] 11. sia renduta. [Contini 1960. XXIV = XXXIX] 5. donna li sembla avenante, 6. Ch'e' si le mostra vinto fortemente: 10. E' non vi puo servir 11. sia renduta: 13. Puo di leggier cognoscer nostro sire,

92

[1912 SB]

SONNET XXIV

5

10

Dante, I pray thee, if thou Love discover In any place where Lappo Gianni is,— If't irk thee not to move thy mind in this, Write me these answered: "Doth he style him Lover?" And, "Doth the lady seem as one approving?"; And, "Makes he show of service with fair skill?"; For many a time folk made as he is, will To assume importance, make a show of loving. Thou know'st that in that court where Love puts on His royal robes, no vile man can be servant To any lady who were lost therein; If servant's suff'ring doth assistance win, Our style could show unto the least observant, It beareth mercy for a gonfalon.

[1912 corrected copy] 11. lost, therein;

SONETTO XXV

5

10

Guarda, Manetto, quella sgrignutuzza, E pon ben mente com'e sfigurata, E come bruttamente e divisata, E quel che par quand'ella si raggruzza. E s'ella fosse vestita d'un'uzza Con cappellina e di vel soggolata, E apparisse di di accompagnata D'alcuna bella donna gentiluzza, Tu non avresti iniquita si forte, Ne tanta angoscia, o tormento d'amore, Ne si rinvolto di malincorua, Che tu non fossi a rischio de la morte Di tanto rider che aprirebbe il core, O tu morresti, o fuggiresti via.

[1912 SB] [Note:] He is in part parodying Guido Guinicelli's technically questionable sonnet, "Chi vedesse a Lucia un var

capuzzo."

[Contini 1960. xxv = u ] 1. Guata, 2. e divisata 3. E com'e drittamente sfigurata 4. s'agruzza! 5. Or, 10. Ne saresti angoscioso si d'amore 13. che farebbe '1 core:

94

[1910 and 1910 TS. copies c]

SONNET XXV

5

10

Come, come Manetto, look upon this scarecrow And set your mind to think how 'tis deformed, Name its degree of coarseness in device, Say what it looks like when she slinks away! Nay were she well concealed within a cloak And bundled in behind a hood and veil, And should appear by day accompanied By any dame of fair nobility, You could not be so laden with your sins, So bound in anguish, or by love's abstraction, Nor so enwrapped in (sombre) naked melancholy, But you'd be borne to peril of your death From laughter, of the sort that splits the sides, Sooth! You would die or save yourself by running

Vid. Madrigale.

[1912 SB]

SONNET XXV "Hoot ZahM\"

Come, come Manetto, look upon this scarecrow And set your mind upon its deformations, Compute th' extent of its sad aberrations, Say what it looks like where she scarcely dare go! 5

10

Nay, were she in a cloak most well concealed And snugly hooded and most tightly veiled If, by her, daylight should once be assailed Though by some noble woman partly healed, Still you could not be so sin-laden or quite So bound by anguish or by love's abstractions Nor so enwrapped in naked melancholy But you were brought to deathly danger, solely By laughter, till your sturdy sides grew fractions, 'Struth you were dead, or sought your life in flight.

[1910 long] 7. be once 9. You could not be with sins so over laden quite

•

SONETTO XXVI

5

10

Certo mie rime a te mandar vogliendo Del grave stato quale il mio cor porta, Amor m'apparve in un'imagin morta, E disse: "Non mandar, ch'io ti rispendo; Pero che se l'amico e quel ch'io 'ntendo, E non avra gia si la mente accorta, Ch'udendo la ingiuriosa cosa e torta Che io ti fo soffrir tuttora ardendo, Temo non prenda tale smarrimento, Che avanti che udito abbia tua pesanza Non si diparta da la vita il core. E tu conosci ben ch'io sono Amore, E ch'io ti lascio questa mia sembianza, E portone ciascun tuo pensamento."

[1912 SB] [Title:] L'Imagin Morta [Below sonnet:] Note.—To him who understands it this is the most terrible of all the sonnets. [1932 Rime] [Title:] L'Imagin Morta 1. Certe mie 4. ch'io ti riprendo 10. avante [Contini 1960. XXVI = XXXVI] 1. Certe mie 2. che Io meo cor 3. Amor aparve a me in figura morta 4. ch'i' ti riprendo, 6. E' non 8. fo sostener tuttora 9. Ched e' non prenda si gran smarrimento 13. Pero ti lascio

[1910 TS. copies c]

SONNET XXVI

5

10

Wishful in short, to send my verses to thee, Stating how harshly my heart's burdened, Love stood before me like an image dead, Yet spoke these words: "Say not that I foredo thee, For if thy friend is who I think he is, And have not yet his mind strung in accord By all thy tangled harms, tho he get word How I have sent thee flames continuous. Yet were his mind not decently distraught, For when he heard of thy grief's weight before His heart still lingered in life's ways secure. But thou! thou knowest well that I'm Amor, And that I leave you this my portraiture, And bear away from thee thine every thought. ["]

[1910] 1. in sooth, to

[1920 Umbra]

SONNET XXVI

5

10

Nay, when I would have sent my verses to thee To say how harshly my heart is oppressed, Love in an ashen vision manifest Appeared and spake: "Say not that I foredo thee. For though thy friend be he I understand He is, he will not have his spirit so inured But that to hear of all thou hast endured, Of that blare flame that hath thee 'neath its hand, Would blear his mind out. Verily before! Yea, he were dead, heart, life, ere he should hear To the last meaning of the portent wrought. And thou; thou knowest well I am Amor Who leave with thee mine ashen likeness here And bear away from thee thine every thought."

[1912 SB] [Title:] Of Love in a Dead Vision [Divided 4/4/3/3] 4. thee, 6. He will not yet have his mind so enured

S O N E T T O XXVII

5

10

S'io fossi quello che d'Amor fu degno, Del qual non trovo sol che rimembranza, E la donna tenesse altra sembianza, Assai mi piaceria si fatto segno. E tu, che se' de l'amoroso regno La onde di mercé nasce speranza, Riguarda se '1 mio spirito ha pesanza, Ch'un presto arcier di lui ha fatto segno; E tragge l'arco, che li tese Amore, Si lietamente, che la sua persona Par che di giuoco porti signoria. Or odi maraviglia, ch'ella fia, Lo spirito fedito li perdona Vedendo che li strugge il suo valore.

[1932 Rime] 4. [Note:] Ercole [Pietro Ercole, Guido Cavalcanti e le Sue Rime (Livorno, 1885)] legno. Significando nave? [Contini 1960. xxvn = xxxvin] 4. siffatto legno. 8. segno 12. ch'el disia:

102

[1912 SB]

SONNET XXVII

Were I that I that once was worthy of Love (Of whom I find naught now save the remembrance) And if the lady had another semblance, Then would this sort of sign please me enough. 5

10

Do thou, who art from Love's clear realm returned, Where Mercy giveth birth to hopefulness, Judge as thou canst from my dim mood's distress What bowman and what target are concerned. Straining his arc, behold Amor the bowman Draweth so gaily that to see his face You'd say he held his rule for merriment, Yet hear what's marvelous in all intent: The smitten spirit pardoneth his foeman Which pardon doth that foeman's power debase.

[Note:] Anyone who can, from the text as it stands, discern what happens to whom in the final lines of this sonnet, is at liberty to emend my translation. [1910 and 1910 TS. copies] [Title:] A Reply 1. If I were such that I were worthy of Love, 2. naught but the gaunt remembrance, 4. would the given sign 5. But thou who 7. Judge as thou lookest upon my mood's distress 8. What bowman and what bull's eye are con­ cerned; 14. foeman's powers erase.

SONETTO XXVIII

5

10

Un amoroso sguardo spiritale M'ha rinovato Amor tanto piacente, Che assai piu, che non suole uomo, m'assale, Ed a pensar mi stringe coralmente Ver la mia donna, verso cui non vale Merce, ne pieta, ne esser soffrente, Che sovent'ore mi da pena tale, Che 'n poca parte il cor la vita sente. Ma quando sento che si dolce sguardo Per mezzo gli occhi passo dentro al core E posevi uno spirito di gioia, Di fame a lei merce giammai non tardo: Cosi pregata fosse ella d'Amore Che un po' di pieta non fusse noia.

[1932 Rime] 2. piacente, 3. suole ora m'assale, 6. ne star soffrente, 14. no i fusse noia. [Contini 1960. xxvm = xxrv] 2. Amor, tanto 3. Ch'assa' piu che non sol ora m'assale 4. E stringem' a pensar coralemente 5. Delia mia 6. ne star soffrente 7. Che 8. il mi' cor vita sente. 10. Dentro degli occhi mi passo al core 12. merce, di cio non 14. no i fosse noia!

[1912 SBl

SONNET XXVIII

5

10

A love-lit glance, with living powers fraught, Renewed within me love's extreme delight, So love assails me with unwonted might, And cordially he driveth me in thought Towards my lady with whom 'vaileth not Mercy nor pity nor the suffering wrought, So oft and great, her torments on me fall That my heart scarce can feel his life at all. But when I feel that her so sweet regard Passeth mine eyes and to the heart attaineth Setting to rest therein spirits of joy, Then do I give her thanks and without retard; Love asked her to do this, and that explaineth Why this first pity doth no annoy.

[1910 and 1910 TS. copies c] 2. Hath roused 6-7. nor pity nor my suffering, wrought / So oft, + much 11. and setteth to rest within the light of joy, 13. Love prayeth her for this thing, which cause explaineth 14. Why this small pity doth her so annoy. [1912 corrected copy] 6. wrought.

S O N E T T O XXIX A Dante Alighieri

5

10

Dante, un sospiro messagger del core Subitamente m'assali dormendo, Ed io mi disvegliai allor, temendo, Ched egli fosse in compagnia d'Amore: Poi mi girai, e vidi il servitore Di Mona Lagia, che venia dicendo, "Aiutimi pieta," si che dicendo Io presi di pieta tanto valore, Ch'io giunsi Amore, che affilava i dardi: Allor lo domandai del suo tormento, Ed elli mi rispose in questa guisa: " D i ' al servente che la donna e presa, E tengola per far suo piacimento; E se nol crede, di' che agli occhi guardi.'

[1932 Rime] 7. si che piangendo 14. no '1 crede, [Contini 1960. XXIX = XL] 4. Ched e' non fosse 7. che piangendo 8. di merze tanto

106

[1912 SB]

SONNET XXIX

Dante, a sigh, that's the heart's messenger Assailed me suddenly as I lay sleeping; Aroused, I fell straightway into fear's keeping, For Love came with that sigh as curator. 5

10

And I turned straight and saw the servitor Of Monna Lagia, who came there a-crying, "Ah pity! Aid me!" and at this his sighing I took from Pity this much power and more: That I found Love a-filing javelins And asked him of both torment and solution, And in this fashion came that Lord's replies: "Say to the servant that his service wins. He holds the Lady to his pleasure won. If he'd believe it, let him watch her eyes."

[1910 TS. long] I-.14. A sigh, Dante, that bore the heart's news / tidings, / assailed me suddenly as I lay asleep / and I awoke fearful / lest he be in Love's company, and love with him, / Then turning saw Lagia's servant, / Who came, saying: aid me pity, / so that he moved me to weep, / and I took such valor of pity, /That I went to Love, dart filer, / and ask of torment / and he replied, m this way, / Tell the serv[a]nt, the lady is taken / and I have her to his pleasure, / if he believe not, let him look into her eyes. [1910 and 1910 TS. copies c] 3-4. + roused me straightway + I was afeared / Since he came there m Amor's company 6. came there a-saying: 7-9. his speaking, / I took from pity e'vn so much of power, / That I accosted Love, who files the darts, II-14. And Love replied to me after this fashion: "Say to the servant that the Lady is taken, And that he hath her for his merriment; If he believe not, let him watch her eyes." Variants continued on p. 111.

SONETTO XXX

5

10

lo temo che la mia disawentura Non faccia si ch'io dica: " l o mi dispero,' Pero ch'io sento nel cor un pensiero, Che fa tremar la mente di paura. E par ch'ei dica: "Amor non t'assicura In guisa che tu possa di Ieggiero A la tua donna si contare il vero, Che morte non ti ponga in sua figura." De la gran doglia che 1'anima sente, Si parte da lo core un tal sospiro, Che va dicendo: "Spiritei, fuggite." Allor null'uom, che sia pietoso, miro, Che consolasse mia vita dolente, Dicendo: "Spiritei, non vi partite."

[1912 SB!] Cf. A.C.S[winburne], "Triumph of Time," stanza 30, 1. 7-8. [1932 Rime] 8. [Note on "figura":] astrologica [Contini 1960. x x x = xxxm] 5. E par che dica: 10. uno sospiro

114

[1910 TS. copies c]

SONNET XXX I fear me lest unfortune's counter thrust Drive me to publishing my bleak despair, Feeling a thought within my heart which must With trembling terror to the mind repair. 5 It seems he saith "Love doth not give thee ease, So that thou canst as of a light amount Speak to thy Lady with full verities, Lest Death should reckon thee in his account."

10

From this great dolour which the soul sustaineth, There riseth from my heart a sigh so great, It crieth to the senses, "Flee away!" And then no heart so much pity containeth As will console my life disconsolate Even by saying to those spirits, "Stay!"

[1910] 5. give thee care, 10. from the heart 11. [That sayejth to

[1912 SB]

SONNET XXX

5

10

I fear me lest unfortune's counter thrust Pierce through my throat and rip out my despair. I feel my heart and that thought shaking there Which shakes the aspen mind with his distrust, Seeming to say, "Love doth not give thee ease So that thou canst, as of a little thing, Speak to thy Lady with full verities, For fear Death set thee in his reckoning." By the chagrin that here assails my soul My heart's partured of a sigh so great It cryeth to the spirits: "Get ye gone!" And of all piteous folk I come on none Who seeing me so in my grief's control Will aid by saying e'en: "Nay, Spirits, wait!"

no

Variants from p. 107 (conf.) [1910 TS. copies o] 3-4. into Fear's keeping. / For he came 9. Till I accosted Love, who files the darts, 11-13. And Love replied to me after this wise (fashion): / "Say to the servant that the lady is (taken) his / And that he hath her for his merriments,

S O N E T T O XXXI

5

10

O tu, che porti ne gli occhi sovente Amor tenendo tre saette in mano, Questo mio spirto che vien di lontano Ti raccomanda l' anima dolente: La qual ha gia feruta ne la mente Di due saette l'arcier soriano, E a la terza apre 1'arco, ma si piano Che non m'aggiunge, essendoti presente Perche saria de l'alma la salute, Che quasi giace infra le membra morta Di due saette, che fan tre ferute. La prima da piacere e disconforta, E la seconda desk la virtute De la gran gioia, che la terza porta.

[Contim 1960. xxxi = xx] 10. le membra, morta

114

[1912 SB]

SONNET XXXI

You, who within your eyes so often carry That Love who holdeth in his hand three arrows, Behold my spirit, by his far-brought sorrows, Commends to you a soul whom hot griefs harry. 5

10

A mind thrice wounded she* already hath, By this keen archer's Syrian shafts twice shot. The third, less tautly drawn, hath reached me not, Seeing your presence is my shield 'gainst wrath. Yet this third shot had made more safe my soul, Who almost dead beneath her members lies; For these two arrows give three wounds in all: The first: delight, which payeth pain his toll; The second brings desire for the prize Of that great joy which with the third doth fall.

The Soul. I have kept the Italian gender m those few sonnets where there is no danger of confusing "her," the soul, with the subjects of other feminine pronouns. * I. e .

[1910] 1. {O thou that in) within thine eyes