Anthony M. Esolen
Encyclopedia
Anthony M. Esolen is a professor of English
at Providence College
and noted translator of classic works, as well as a popular writer for magazines like the Claremont Review and Touchstone, of which he is a senior editor. He has translated Dante's Divine Comedy, Lucretius' On the Nature of Things
, and Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered
. He also writes a column for the Inside Catholic website.
He taught at the University of North Carolina from 1985 to 1988 and then at Furman University from 1988 to 1990. He began teaching at Providence College
in 1990, becoming a full professor in 1995.
Along with teaching, Esolen publishes articles and books on a regular basis, as well as accepting media interviews. Publications frequently appear in The Catholic World Report, Touchstone Magazine. He also serves as an editor with Touchstone Magazine.
, or unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter
(first notable for its use in Milton's Paradise Lost) Esolen writes that the use of blank verse allows him to retain both the "meaning [and the] music" of Dante's original. The works also feature, alongside the English translation, the original Italian text. Esolen notes that this text "is based on the editions of Giorgio Petrocchi (1965) and Umberto Bosco and Giovanni Reggio" (1979)". Finally, the translations include Esolen's notes and commentary on the text, as well as illustrations by Gustave Doré
.
Esolen has also published translations of other classical texts, including Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered and Lucretius' De Rerum Natura (both published by Johns Hopkins University Press).
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at Providence College
Providence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
and noted translator of classic works, as well as a popular writer for magazines like the Claremont Review and Touchstone, of which he is a senior editor. He has translated Dante's Divine Comedy, Lucretius' On the Nature of Things
On the Nature of Things
De rerum natura is a 1st century BC didactic poem by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius with the goal of explaining Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores Epicurean physics through richly...
, and Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem...
. He also writes a column for the Inside Catholic website.
Career
Esolen graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1981. He pursued graduate work from the University of North Carolina, receiving his M.A. in 1981 and his Ph.D. in 1987. His dissertation was titled "A Rhetoric of Spenserian Irony" and was directed by S.K. Heninger.He taught at the University of North Carolina from 1985 to 1988 and then at Furman University from 1988 to 1990. He began teaching at Providence College
Providence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
in 1990, becoming a full professor in 1995.
Along with teaching, Esolen publishes articles and books on a regular basis, as well as accepting media interviews. Publications frequently appear in The Catholic World Report, Touchstone Magazine. He also serves as an editor with Touchstone Magazine.
Translation Work
Esolen is best-known as a translator of the Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri. His translation of the Inferno appeared in 2002, the Purgatory in 2003, and the Paradise in 2005. Esolen's translations are unique for their deliberate choice not to attempt a "preservation of Dante's rhyme in any systematic form". In lieu of Dante's famous terza rima, Esolen's Inferno depends on the use of blank verseBlank verse
Blank verse is poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the sixteenth century" and Paul Fussell has claimed that "about three-quarters of all English poetry is in blank verse."The first...
, or unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter is a commonly used metrical line in traditional verse and verse drama. The term describes the particular rhythm that the words establish in that line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called "feet"...
(first notable for its use in Milton's Paradise Lost) Esolen writes that the use of blank verse allows him to retain both the "meaning [and the] music" of Dante's original. The works also feature, alongside the English translation, the original Italian text. Esolen notes that this text "is based on the editions of Giorgio Petrocchi (1965) and Umberto Bosco and Giovanni Reggio" (1979)". Finally, the translations include Esolen's notes and commentary on the text, as well as illustrations by Gustave Doré
Gustave Doré
Paul Gustave Doré was a French artist, engraver, illustrator and sculptor. Doré worked primarily with wood engraving and steel engraving.-Biography:...
.
Esolen has also published translations of other classical texts, including Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered and Lucretius' De Rerum Natura (both published by Johns Hopkins University Press).
Other Books
Esolen's most recent published work is Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child, released by ISI Press in 2010. Other non-fiction works include The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization; published by Regnery Press in 2008 and Ironies of Faith: The Deep Laughter at the Heart of Christian Literature, also from ISI Press and published in 2007.He has also written an introduction to Etienne Gilson's "Dante the Philosopher" and published a book of poetry, "Peppers" (released in 1991).External links
- Anthony Esolen's entry in Providence College's website
- Anthony Esolen's personal website
- Anthony Esolen's Touchstone articles
- Finding the Masculine Genius An interview with the news service Zenit.
- Lost in Translation An article from the Claremont Review.
- Loss Upon Loss An article from the Claremont Review.