The Lover's Confession: A Translation of John Gower's Confessio Amantis,
- Author/Editor
- Gastle, Brian, trans.
Carter, Catherine, trans.
- Title
- The Lover's Confession: A Translation of John Gower's Confessio Amantis,
- Published
- Gastle, Brian, and Catherine Carter, ed. and trans. The Lover's Confession: A Translation of John Gower's Confessio Amantis, Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 2024.
- Review
- This translation of the "Confessio Amantis" finally brings to the contemporary English reader a complete version of Gower's poem in Modern English verse. The only prior translation of the CA was Terence Tiller's 1963 Penguin edition, which summarized as much as it versified the poem. The enormity of translating the entire CA perhaps caused many others to think less about a subsequent book's portability and more about its parkability. However, Carter and Gastle's is a manageable single volume with a clear and friendly two-column format per page. Their translation tries to keep Gower's octosyllabic line, if not his rhyme or word order, to achieve "clarity and contemporary presentation over form" (xxx). The elegance of their translation captures the poet's inventiveness, profundity, and occasional grumpiness. Footnotes contain Andrew Galloway's translations of the Latin rubrics as well as explanatory notes for lines or passages. Three Appendices appear at the back: Appendix A contains the Ricardian Recensions (the main text uses the Third Recension); Appendix B is a glossary of names and their locations in the poem; Appendix C lists the sources and analogues of the CA. This book will cast a long shadow, especially when enjoyed by a sunny window. [CEB. Copyright. John Gower Society. eJGN 43.1]
- Date
- 2024
- Gower Subjects
- Confessio Amantis
Facsimiles, Editions, and Translations