A Critical Evaluation of the Confisyon del Amante, the Castilian Translation of Gower's Confessio Amantis.

Author/Editor
Hamm, R. Wayne

Title
A Critical Evaluation of the Confisyon del Amante, the Castilian Translation of Gower's Confessio Amantis.

Published
Hamm, R. Wayne. "A Critical Evaluation of the Confisyon del Amante, the Castilian Translation of Gower's Confessio Amantis." Medium AEvum 47 (1978), pp. 91-106.

Review
Whereas earlier scholars such as Manly and Russell were primarily interested in tracing the Portuguese translation (and its translator) of the CA in the historical records, Hamm seeks to assess the quality of the Castilian prose translation. Hamm divides his article into four sections: Changes in Tone, Style, and Emphasis; Conscious Changes or Emendations; Unconscious Changes (primarily errors and mistranslations); and Changes in Textual Machinery, Organization, and Structure. Overall, Hamm finds the translation "surprisingly faithful to the English version" (92). Some differences include “a de-emphasis of the poem's English setting” (93), less focus on politics, a more devout tone, and (in contrast to the last point) an increase in sexually overt language. The translator reduced a lot of Gower's padding (especially the poetic tags used to fill out the line), yet added new embellishments. Some of the most dramatic changes are the omission of 419 lines in Book 4, the extensive rewriting of the Tale of Deianira and Nessus, and the addition of a long and artistic speech by the emperor in the Tale of Constantine and Silvester. Much of the Latin framework of the CA is removed, yet a new introduction and synoptic index are supplied. The result of all this is "a highly sensitive and intelligent interpretation of letter and spirit of Gower's original" (105). [CvD]

Date
1978

Gower Subjects
Style, Rhetoric, and Versification
Facsimiles, Editions, and Translations
Confessio Amantis