The Liberation of Jerusalem

I am perplexed at the negative reviews of this translation (if they were even about this translation). I find it remarkable. A verse translation of an epic in ottava rima is obviously a difficult thing, and I think that Esolen does a fantastic job. The poem itself, while horrendously inappropriate as a template for international relations in the twenty-first century, is a stunning accomplishment. Tasso's painterliness is first class, and his skill as an allegorist is sublime. In good Miltonian fashion he makes the evil and wayward figures the most appealing. As for the wizardry...Tasso is the best thing since Merlin.

The original must be an astonishing work! Fierce battles, passionate romance, stirring orations, even scenes of cosmic splendor succeed one another; there's the sense of real genius here, of an artist who is fulfilling his intention. This translation reads very, very well indeed. A remarkably satisfying book. C. S. Lewis relished this epic poem -- see his essay "Tasso" in his book of essays on medieval and Renaissance literature. I wonder if Tolkien also had read it, as a number of scenes reminded me of the Siege of Minas Tirith, etc. For those who want to move on from the authors and works that everyone knows influenced and/or impressed Lewis (and Tolkien?) such as Chesterton, George MacDonald, et al., Tasso may be recommended. I wonder if Lewis didn't get the idea for the severed head, of the criminal Alcasan, who seems to speak, but is really manipulated by a devil, and which the heroine of That Hideous Strength sees in a dream, from Tasso, where a Fury from hell makes a severed head talk (deceivingly) in a dream to one of the Christian warriors. The gruesome descriptions are similar, and Lewis even calls Alcasan "the Saracen"; and Alcasan certainly could be the name of one of the Saracen knights in Tasso. Who knows...?

Most every reader of literature in English is familiar with Arthurian romance and legend, from Malory's medieval masterpiece "Mort d'Arthur" to Tennyson's "Idylls of the King" to contemporary writers like Mary Stewart and Marion Zimmer Bradley.But how many of these readers are aware that there exists in Western literature another, parallel stream of myth and legend called Carolingian, which celebrates the exploits and heroes of the Age--not of Arthur--but of Charlemagne?Carolingian epic and romance may safely be said to begin with "The Song of Roland" (available in W.S. Merwin's excellent translation in the Modern Library volume "Medieval Epics"), but the tradition includes scores if not hundreds of contributors--and three of these constitute together a magnificent achievement: Pulci's "Morgante," Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso," and Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered." Maybe due to the hyper-popularity of Arthurian material, these three major authors and their respective masterpieces have a shockingly undistinguished and short list of english translations. Happily, Anthony Esolens has supplied us with a truly superb, vivid, and beautiful rendering of Tasso's neglected epic. It is so good, in fact, that I second the reviewer below in hoping for a future translation of Ariosto. For what it's worth, Bernard Knox wrote a highly favorable review of this edition in the New York Times Book Review, in which he called Esolen's work "a triumph." Don't hesitate.

This magical epic poem tells the story of the First Crusade, led by Godfrey of Bouillon and other European noblemen and warriors. The story is full of supernatural characters and events. It develops during the bloody siege of Jerusalem, against the Moors and their famous leader, Soliman. The story is violent and erotic, especially the torrid love affair between Tancred, the bravest of the Christians, and Clorinda, a fierce but beautifl warrioress. Written in the XVI century, this book captures the spirit and ideology of the Middle Ages, specifically the XI century. Like in "Curial and Guelfa", Christian symbols mix with Greco-Roman ones, in a tale of war and sex. Tasso's images are powerful and the poem is anything but childish or naive. As I said, it is violent and full of action. It contains no boring digressions or reflections, but pure action.

Mr. Esolen has done the english-bound reader a fine service: we are drowning in Dantes, up to our eyeballs in Homers and Virgils and Ovids, but where are the compulsively readable and poetically enjoyable modern translations of Pulci, Boiardo, Ariosto, and not least of all Camoes, who has written the most neglected major epic in Western literature, "The Lusiads"! Most thankfully, Mr. Esolen has given us Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered," which in his magnificent translation is quite simply a pleasure to read--I could not put it down! If you are intimidated by "classic literature," don't be--this english Tasso is just a jolly good adventure/love story. If you enjoy this, and you will, then let's hope Mr. Esolen will favor us with his rendition of Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso" in the not-to-distant-future!!!