Post 1: Compare Translations (LM)

Lacheal Martin

Comparing Translations: Georgics

In the Georgics, Virgil composes a series of didactic poems to express concern for sustainability practices while portraying the relationship between labor and the natural world. In the first book, John Dryden enhances Virgil’s perception of land use— with lively, poetic language that forms an image of an ideal pastoral life.

Among the other translations of the Georgics, Dryden’s version is not only pleasing to the eye, but it also informs the reader of the issues addressed in each book. Consider the two passages: the first from John Dryden, and the other from James Rhoades:

Nor is the profit small the peasant makes,

Who smooths with harrows, or who pounds with rakes,

The crumbling clods: nor Ceres from on high

Regards his labours with a grudging eye:

Nor his, who ploughs across the furrowed grounds,

And on the back of earth inflicts new wounds;

For he, with frequent exercise, commands

The unwilling soil, and tames the stubborn land. (Lines 137-144)

He serves the fields who with his harrow breaks

The sluggish clods, and hurdles osier-twined

Hales o'er them; from the far Olympian height

Him golden Ceres not in vain regards;

And he, who having ploughed the fallow plain

And heaved its furrowy ridges, turns once more

Cross-wise his shattering share, with stroke on stroke

The earth assails, and makes the field his thrall. (Rhoades)

From the first line, Dryden shifts the structure of the poem into a story by describing the ideal duties of a laborer with a character known as “the peasant” (line 137). Dryden follows Virgil’s intent of the books, which is to please the reader (“Georgics”). In contrast, Rhoades creates ambiguity by choosing a pronoun instead of a noun. While this forces the reader to focus on the words, the technique strays away from Virgil’s vivid and imaginative style. Unlike Rhoades, Dryden remains loyal to Virgil by using a specific noun which the reader can form an image around. The term “peasant” refers to a farm laborer of a lower class (“Peasant”). By using a familiar noun, the reader can better visualize the writer’s words to understand the message.

Further on, Dryden uses storytelling to inform the reader that if the peasant “smooths with harrows” and “pounds with rakes" (line 138), the goddess in the sky will not criticize them. The antithesis and onomatopoeia of “smooth” and “pound” add vitality to the lines. In Rhoades’ translation, the phrases, “the sluggish clods” and “hurdles osier-twined" are dull and unclear compared to Dryden’s. From the diction, Dryden appeals to the senses of sight, sound, and touch, to create the image of a laborer working to repair their land, in hopes the reader will follow. He does not only state what the laborer should do if they have “stubborn land” (Dryden, line 144); he shows them through figurative language. Lastly, Dryden maintains Virgil’s didactic tone by including dominant-related words such as “inflict” (line 142), “command” (line 143), and “tame” into the duties of the peasant (line 144), subtly instructing the readers about agriculture.

Overall, Dryden’s translation allows the audience to understand Virgil’s vision of land use. Unlike Rhoades, whose translation primarily focuses on Virgil’s argument than the emotion behind it, Dryden preserves Virgil’s emotions with figurative language.

Works Cited

Dryden, John. “Book I.” The Oxford Authors: John Dryden, edited by Keith Walker. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1987, pp. 463-480.

“Georgics.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Sept. 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgics.

“Georgics (Rhoades)/I.” Wikisource, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 March 2016, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Georgics_(Rhoades)/I

“Peasant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peasant. Accessed 13 Sep. 2020.