Montale as a translator

Abstract

After examining the range of Montale's translations from various European languages in his Quaderno di traduzioni (1948, 2nd ed. 1975), it is affirmed that translation of poetry involves at least conscious manipulation of words and a more intuitive and creative process. Some significant inaccuracies are seen in Montale's translations of Yeats, but those of Eliot are far better. His translations of Castilian and Catalan poetry also reveal particular sensitivity. The Quaderno exhibits a versatility that we might not have conjectured from Montale's other volumes of verse.