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Második rész. Műfordítás-áramlatok • Part Two. Literary Translation Flows
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“Ink and Paper”: A Study on the English Editions and the Italian Translations of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra • Valentina Rossi
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3. A Focus on Literary Translation: Two Case Studies

3. A Focus on Literary Translation: Two Case Studies

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The present section intends to provide a critical comment about the adoption as well the Italian translation of

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

  1. the adjectives arm(e)-gaunt1/arrogant used by Alexas in the lines “So he [Antony] nodded / And soberly did mount / an arm-gaunt/arrogant steed / Who neighed so high that what I would have spoke / Was beastly dumbed by him” (1.5.49–51; my emphasis);
  2. the nouns Autumn/Ant(h)ony in the final scene of the play, when Cleopatra tells her dream to Dolabella and utters as follows: “[…] For his bounty, There was no winter in’t; / an autumn/Anthony it was / That grew the more by reaping” (5.2.85–87; my emphasis).

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Before focussing on the Italian rendering, it is convenient to investigate the presence/absence of each term in both the ‘historical’ and the most recent English editions of Antony and Cleopatra:
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Table 3. Inclusion/exclusion of the selected words in the English editions of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra
Editions
arm(e)-gaunt
arrogant
Autumn
Ant(h)ony
First Folio (1623)
X
X
Second Folio (1632)
X
X
Third Folio (1664)
X
X
Fourth Folio (1685)
X
X
Rowe (1709)
X
X
Pope (1725)
X
X
Theobald (1733)
X
X
Johnson (1765)
X
X
Alexander
(Collins, 1950)
X
X
Ridley
(Arden1, 1954)
X2
X
Jones3
(New Penguin, 1977)
X
X
Wells & Taylor
(The Oxford Shakespeare, 1986)
X
X
Wilders
(Arden2, 1995)
X
X
Taylor et al.
(The New Oxford Shakespeare, 2017)
X
X
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The data gathered in Table 3 show that “arm(e)-gaunt” and “Ant(h)ony” were used in the four Folios as well as in Rowe’s and Pope’s editions. However, other editors opted for some variations: for instance, Lewis Theobald selected “Autumn” instead of “Anthony,” and he wrote an extensive footnote on the matter:
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

[…] For his bounty, / There was no Winter in’t: an Antony it was, / That grew the more by reaping.] / There was certainly a Contrast, both in the Thought and Terms, design’d here, which is lost in an accidental Corruption. How could an Antony grow the more by reaping? I’ll venture, by a very easy Change, to restore an exquisite fine Allusion: and which carries its Reason with it too, why there was no Winter (i. e. no Want, Bareness) in his Bounty. / —— For his Bounty / There was no Winter in’t: an Autumn ’twas, / That grew the more by reaping. / I ought to take Notice, that the ingenous Dr. Thirlby [Theobald’s collaborator] likewise flarted this very Emendation, and had mark’d it in the Margin of his Book: The Reason of the Depravation might easily arise from the great Similitude of the two Words in the old way of spelling, Antonie and Autumn (Theobald, 1733: 324 note 62).
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Said decision significantly affected the subsequent publications, as demonstrated by the copies of Pope’s WORKS OF SHAKESPEAR IN SIX VOLUMES that were printed in Dublin in 1747: there, he chose “autumn” instead of “Anthony.” The reconsideration finds its reason to be in the following footnote: “(a) Autumn. Mr. Theobald. — Vulg. Antony” (Pope, 1747: 192). “Autumn” was selected by Johnson, too; nevertheless, he selected “termagant” as a potential amendment of “arm-gaunt,” commenting as follows:
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

I.v.48 arm-gaunt steed] [i.e. his steed worn lean and thin by much service in war. So Fairfax, His stall-worn steed the champion stout bestrode. WARB.] On this note Mr. Edwards has been very lavish of his pleasantry, and indeed has justly censured the misquotation of stall-worn, for stall-worth, which means strong, but makes no attempt to explain the word in the play. Mr. Seyward, in his preface to Beaumont, has very elaborately endeavoured to prove, that an arm-gaunt steed is a steed with lean shoulders. Arm is the Teutonick word for want, or poverty. Arm-gaunt may be therefore an old word, signifying, lean for want, ill fed. Edwards’s observation, that a worn-out horse is not proper for Atlas to mount in battle, is impertinent; the horse here mentioned seems to be a post horse, rather than a war horse. Yet as arm-gaunt seems not intended to imply any defect, it perhaps means, a horse so slender that a man might clasp him, and therefore formed for expedition (Johnson, 1765: 134).
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Moving the focus of the investigation towards the English editions published during the twentieth century, the results of the present study show that both Alexander and Jones chose “arrogant” and “Antony”4 in 1950 and 1977, respectively; the Arden editions (Ridley, 19541; Wilders, 19952) presented the opposite variants; in The Oxford Shakespeare (1986), Wells and Taylor selected “arm jaunced”5 and “autumn,” whereas in the New Oxford Shakespeare (2017a), Taylor et al. opted for “argent”6 and “Antony” – providing no explanation for this last change.

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

In any event, said decisions had a major impact on the Italian translators, whose interpretative choices are illustrated in Table 4.7
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Table 4. The Italian translations of the selected words
(1.5.49–51) Alexas: So he nodded / And soberly did mount an arm(e)-gaunt/arrongant steed(e) / Who neighed so high that what I would have spoken / Was beastly dumbed by him.
(5.2.85–87) Cleopatra: […] For his bounty, / There was no winter in’t; an Autumn/Ant(h)ony it was / That grew the more by reaping.
Carlo Rusconi
[…] e con un cenno del capo, montato sull’agile suo destriero partì di volo.
[…] La sua bontà non avea stagioni sterili: ricca e feconda come l’Autunno, più beni accordava, e più ne avea da profondere.
Giulio Carcano
Disse e il capo chinò: poi salì grave / Sul focoso cavallo, il cui nitrito, / Sol ch’io schiudessi il labbro, avria coverto / La mia voce.
Mai sua clemenza non conobbe verno; / Era un autunno, che il ricolto istesso / Vie più feconda.
Diego Angeli
[…] Nel dire questo / Accennò con la testa e sul focoso / Destriero montò che così forte / Nitriva da assordirmi col suo grido / Bestiale se avessi allora voluto Parlare.
[…] La sua / Larghezza non conosceva l’inverno: / era come un autunno fecondato / dalle sue stesse messi.
Cesare Vico Lodovici
[…] Qui, con un cenno del capo, mi salutò e balzò, serio serio, sul suo puledro: e quello diede un così fiero nitrito che soffocò col suo grido ferino quello che stavo per dire io.
La sua munificenza non conosceva inverno: un autunno, era, che più si vendemmiava e più dava frutto.
Gabriele Baldini
(Arden 1954)
[…] Ciò detto, fece un gesto del capo, e balzò dignitosamente in sella al suo destriero provato alle armi, che nitrì tanto alto da impedir bestialmente che s’udisse tutto quel ch’io avrei voluto dire.
Per dire della sua generosità, non c’era inverno in essa: era piuttosto un autunno, che più s’accresceva quanto più se ne mieteva il raccolto.
Goffredo Raponi
(New Penguin 1777, The Oxford Shakespeare 1986)
Indi mi fece appena un breve cenno / e tutto serio in volto balzò in sella / a un cavallo inguantato d’armatura8 / che levò alto in aria un tal nitrito, / da soffocare bestialmente in me / tutto quello che avrei voluto dirgli.
La generosità di quel suo cuore / non conosceva inverno: era un autunno / che diveniva sempre più ferace / col mieter dei raccolti;
Aurelio Zanco
Quindi mi accennò colla testa e dignitosamente montò su un focoso9 cavallo che nitriva così forte da soffocare bestialmente ciò che avessi voluto dire.
Quanto alla sua generosità, non c’era inverno in essa; era un autunno la cui fecondità si accresceva peri raccolti:
Salvatore Quasimodo
[. . .] Poi mi salutò con un cenno del capo, / e salì fiero sul suo cavallo da guerra, / che con un alto nitrito / disperse brutalmente la mia risposta.
[…] Nella sua generosità non c’era inverno, / ma sempre un autunno dove il raccolto / più cresceva dopo il taglio.
Elio Chinol
[. . .] Poi mi salutò con un cenno del capo / E montò con compostezza sul suo focoso cavallo, / che nitrì così alto da soffocarmi nella gola / le parole che avrei voluto dirgli.
[. . .] La sua generosità / Non conosceva inverno: era un perenne autunno / Che la mietitura rendeva ancor più opulento.
Sergio Perosa
[…] Quindi accennò col capo / e compunto montò il suo focoso destriero, / che nitrì così alto, da soffocare / brutalmente quel che volevo dire.
La sua generosità non conosceva inverno: era un autunno che s’accresceva mietendone il raccolto.
Guido Bulla
(New Penguin 1977)
[…] Con un cenno del capo, / Montò poi sobriamente sul bardato10 destriero, / Che nitrì tanto forte che ciò che avrei voluto dire / Fu zittito dall’urlo della bestia.
La sua munificenza / Non conos ceva inverno: era un autunno / Che s’arricchiva ad ogni mieti tura;
Agostino Lombardo
(New Penguin 1977, F1)
[…] Accennò col capo / E grave montò su un destriero bellicoso11 / Che nitrì così forte da soffocare brutalmente / Ciò che avrei voluto dire.
La sua generosità non aveva in verno, era / Un Antonio che tanto più cresceva quanto più / Veniva mietuto.
Gilberto Sacerdoti
(The Oxford Shakespeare, 1986)
[…] Poi accennò col capo e montò sobriamente uno scalpitante12 stallone, il quale nitrì tanto forte che ciò che volevo dire venne bestialmente ammutolito.
[…] Quanto a generosità, non conosceva inverno; era un autunno che più lo si mieteva e più fruttificava.
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

As far as Alexas’ lines are concerned, numerous adjectives qualify Mark Antony’s stallion. However, focoso [fiery] is frequently used to describe the horse, with 5 Italian translators (Carcano, Angeli, Zanco, Chinol and Perosa) out of 13 deciding to emphasise the fiery attitude of the animal. Other options include:
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

  1. provato alle armi [experienced] selected by Baldini;
  2. agile [quick] chosen by Rusconi;
  3. a focus on the harness of the stallion, inguantato d’armatura [wearing a suit of armor] and bardato [harnessed], used by Raponi and Bulla, respectively;
  4. emphasis on the combative spirit of the animal as indicated by the terms da guerra [martial] and bellicoso [belligerent] employed by Quasimodo and Lombardo, respectively;
  5. scalpitante [pawing] as in Sacerdoti’s translation;
  6. finally, Cesare Vico Lodovici decides to neglect such a detail; therefore, he does not add any adjective to qualify the stallion.
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Conversely, a much more uniform framework qualifies the second case study here presented: 12 translators out of 13 opted for “Autumn,” with the sole exception of Agostino Lombardo, who decided to select “Antony”13 in compliance with the First Folio as well as Alexander’s and Jones’ editions, to which he referred (see Lombardo, 1992: 265).
1 Arm-gaunt, adj. Meaning and origin uncertain and disputed. This word has been analysed as a compound of GAUNT adj., although the sense and identity of the first element are both disputed. Some commentators, assuming that the compound refers to service in battle (‘worn lean by much service in war’, ‘gaunt by bearing arms’, etc.) suggest arm, singular of ARMS n., while others assume a more concrete sense ‘with gaunt limbs’ and propose ARM n. (perhaps compare arm-great adj., ARM-STRONG adj.). Alternatively, it has been suggested that arm-gaunt may represent an error for one of several other words: […] Perhaps: either ‘gaunt as a result of bearing arms or serving in war’, or ‘with gaunt limbs’ […] a1616 W. SHAKESPEARE Antony & Cleopatra (1623) (OED, 2023. 07. 23).
2 The editor addresses the case in “Appendix I” (Shakespeare, 1954: 221–222).
3 Emrys Jones (1977) referred to the Complete Works edited by Peter Alexander (1950) who, in turn, based his work on the First Folio.
4 “This is F’s reading. Most editors adopt the emendation ‘an autumn ’twas’. This is plausible, but emendation does not seem absolutely necessary. If it is objected that the F reading does not make sense, it should be remembered that Cleopatra is speaking rhapsodically and with startlingly abrupt metaphors” (Shakespeare, 1977: 140 note 87).
5 In the Selected Glossary, they define “arm jaunced” as follows: “joltes by armour” (Shakespeare, 1986: 1257).
6 In a footnote, Taylor et al. (2017a: 2585) write: “argent: silver (a textual crux).”
7 For the sake of this study, I indicated the English editions used by the Italian translators in parentheses. Nevertheless, the information on the matter is lamentably limited, as most literati did not mention the elected source text. Furthermore, the present table does not include data about Leoni’s, Guidetti’s and Obertello’s works, as I did not have access to the selected passages while pursuing this research.
8 In a footnote, Raponi (2001: 28 note 30) claims that the term “gaunt” derives from “gauntleted,” therefore it indicates a horse wearing an armour.
9 According to Zanco (1954: 239–240 note 48), the term “gaunt” derives from the German “ganz,” which means “whole” or “lusty.”
10 “The term arm-gaunt has infinite interpretations (and amendments). I hereby accept the one according to which it derives from the Anglo-Saxon gaunt = whole, healthful” (Bulla, 2009: 66 note 30; my translation).
11 Lombardo (1992: 262 note 19; 263 note 51) informs the reader of the “philological background” of the terms “arrogant” and “Autumn” in the Notes.
12 “The translation emphasizes the contrast between the ‘moderation’ of the man and the ‘restlessness’ of the animal; it clearly refers to an unrestrained interior strength” (Marenco, 2015: 2915 note 48; my translation).
13 It is worth remarking that in 1988 – four years before publishing his translation –, the scholar actively participated in the staging of the Roman play directed by Giancarlo Cobelli. Being in charge of the translation and the arrangement of the script, he selected “autumn” instead of “Antony.” I would like to thank Dr. Fabio Gambetti for kindly providing me with the original script of Cobelli’s Antonio e Cleopatra. All the edited material regarding the performance are available online at Valeria Moriconi Centre of Theatre Studies and Activities http://www.centrovaleriamoriconi.org/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=129 (2023. 07. 23).
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