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Dante Inferno - The Rap Translation - Canto 2

Having accepted help from the poet Virgil to escape from the dark wood (on condition that they travel all the way through Hell first) Dante is suddenly stricken by paralysing fear. How can Virgil convince him to go through with this incomprehensibly epic quest?


It's seven hundred years since Dante Alighieri penned his epic poem, Commedia, in which he describes in breathtaking detail a journey into three realms of the Catholic afterlife. So insanely inspired was this poetic undertaking, that swiftly after its printing its giddy readers added the epithet Divine to it, and 'La Divina Commedia' has never been surpassed in scope or style in seven centuries of poetry in any language.

Dante made use of a poetic form described as the 'Dolce Stil Novo' which translates as The Sweet New Style. He was determined to prove that the collection of unrefined dialects of the peninsula that we now know as Italy were just as appropriate for writing poetry as the Latin which all other writers of the time felt obliged to favour. He called this principle 'De Vulgari Eloquentia' - the Eloquence of Vulgar Languages (i.e. the eloquence of the vernacular). In exile from his beloved Florence, he set about writing the Commedia, and over the course of 100 canti, not only proved that the disparate dialects were up to the task, but effectively created the Italian language in the process, and immortalised himself to boot.

Over the epic journey, in effortlessly flowing and ingenious rhyme form, he shows the language's ability to run the gamut of tones from the brutal and disgusting tortures of Hell to high flown and awe-inspiring visions of Paradise. So great was his prowess with rhyme, that he effectively placed himself at the top of the all-time great rhymers that humanity has produced for seven centuries.

However, when in the latter half of the 20th Century, in New York, an upstart group of young musical innovators gave birth to a style of music and a subculture called Hip Hop, all of a sudden, in the form of Rap, there arrived poets who took the art of rhyming to obsessive extremes, finally presenting a poetic form that, in terms of rhyming at least, could hold its own alongside and perhaps even surpass that of history's greatest.

Immortal innovators of the art form such as Rakim, Talib Kweli, Eminem, KRS One, Mos Def, Nas, Notorious BIG, Tupac Shakur and Pharoahe Monch, took this rap rhyming to incredible depths, exploring all angles of their own vernacular, spitting intricate multi-syllable rhymed verses over irresistible hip hop beats and delivering their version of the Dolce Stil Novo to an insatiable world, and in the process proving, like Dante, that their Vulgar vernacular could have global relevance in its eloquence.

So, to this project. The basic agenda being simply to retranslate the Inferno using some of the forms of Rap - Multi-syllabic rhyme patterns, driving beats - to reengage with this epic medieval poem, and maybe contribute to garnering it a new audience. Of course, being a mere beginner in this art form myself, I have done my best to do justice to both the form and the source material. Any seeming deficiencies in either are in fact mine, and I apologise in advance.

With this in mind, I humbly present the second Canto of the Inferno, translated into Rap, using the hip hop mix-tape convention of rhyming over existing beats.

The beats respectfully used are
'Moon Dancers' by B. Lewis

'Sundae Pitch' by Populous


As references to the original poem, I have used the following editions

The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri Volume I Inferno, edited and translated by Robert M. Durling (Oxford University Press, 1996) - an excellent side by side Italian/English translation with great commentary

The website Danteinferno.info which places the translations of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), Henry Francis Cary (December 6, 1772 - August 14, 1844) and Charles Eliot Norton (November 16, 1827 - October 21, 1908) alongside each other for easy comparison. I have to admit I favour the Longfellow translation, and have made liberal use of his ideas for this piece. www.danteinferno.info/translations/index.html

Finally, the superlative performance/lecture series 'Tutto Dante' from Roberto Benigni, in which he appeared night after sell-out night in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence to deliver a commentary and reading (from memory) of the entire Inferno. It has been an indispensable resource, and is available on dvd.

Hugo

lyrics

Inferno: Canto II

The day was winding down at dusk
and the fading sky all brown with rust
Called all beasts alive and roaming
To cease creeping and sleep, but I alone

Prepared myself to enter the fray
To walk the path, that lengthy way
The war, the wrath, the sinister fate
Which my unfailing mind shall unflinchingly relate.

I call now upon the eternal muses
The highest intellect to help me through this
And upon my memory which wrote down everything
Now your power will manifest again.

I began to speak 'Poet, who guides me
Please, look right deep inside of me
And inquire if the required strength resides in me
Prior to entrusting me with this giant scheme;

In your grand poem it was written
That Aeneas, the father of Silvius, while still living
Travelled to the Underworld, flesh still intact
And went there and back with all his senses and tact,

In fact, God, the enemy of all that is bad
Extended that grand honour to that man,
Aeneas, considering the effect he would have,
Who and what he was in the ineffable plan,

Which cannot seem unworthy of respect to all sane
In intellect, for he had been selected and ordained
In Empyrean heaven sole and alone
Sire and father of the empire and noble soul of Rome.

And furthermore, that exact city state
To tell the truth, was actually established to take
Its place as the holy and sacred seat of
The church, the successor of great saint Peter.

And during his march into the depth of earth,
The glorious journey you expressed in your work,
Aeneas heard prophecies which came to be
Of his victory and of the nascent papacy.

And later Saint Paul was called to the same walls
And came forth to restore strength to the cause
This faith, which faithfully maintained is
The greatest source and sole path of salvation.

But me? Why me? Why would I be chosen?
Who would ever say that I was appropriate?
I am neither Paul, nor am i Aeneas,
Not I, nor anyone, would ever believe this.

For these reasons, if I relent and agree to
Embark on this journey, i honestly fear that
Lunacy infuses this enterprise and quest
But you are wise, and know me more than I can express'

And just like those who change their minds
And take back a wish they have previously designed,
And at the mercy of tides in their emotional core,
Withdraw from all they'd begun a moment before

Forlorn, I did exactly the same,
Standing upon that dark hillside I became
Fretful and stressed, as thought after thought divested
Me of all the bold intent I'd initially possessed.

'If I have understood your discourse right'
The shade of that great poet replied
'Then your heart and spirit are now eclipsed
By a most ignominious cowardice.

Now this is very often the source
Of obstacles that buffet a man off course
From a noble quest, just as animals scare
And cower from shadows that aren't even there.

Step near, and allow me to make myself clear,
And You will free your heart of fear,
As I relate the tale of how I came here
And the words, when I first grieved for you, I did hear.

I was among those shades without tears
Who remain suspended, when now appeared
A lady, so beautiful, blessed and inspired
That when she called, I begged to attend her every desire.

Her eyes were shining the same as the sun
and then so lightly, in her native tongue
She began to speak and address me alone,
Her voice employing the most angelic of tones

"O, noble and courteous Mantuan spirit,
Whose fame in the world remains undiminished
And which shall endure within it
Without limit, Until the very world is finished;

A dear friend of mine, though no friend of fate,
Has landed himself in a wretched state
Upon the dark hill, and in terror shakes,
Tempted to turn from the path and step away

And may have already strayed
So far that I fear I have attempted too late
To offer him succour, or help him with aid
Given all I have heard of him in heaven of late

Now go to him, make your ways converge
Bring to bear your ornate words
And whatever else he needs to be safe
And thus console my fearful state.

I am Beatrice...

I am Beatrice, who bids you to hear this
I came from and shall return to the dear bliss
And the force which moved me to speak herewith
Was the love divine that shines peerless.

When again I am before God in his presence
I shall be sure to praise and frequently mention
You, and your carrying out this grand deed"
Then she fell silent, so I began to speak

"Lady of divine virtue, who defines the word 'True'
And to whom the elevation of the entire earth is due
For through you humanity assumes
A higher position than the nearest heaven, the moon,

In truth, the order you gave me
Is so pleasing to me that had I already obeyed it
Without hesitation, it would be too late as
For me to carry out your wish, you need only state it

But please enlighten me as to how you deign
To descend to this centre of such burning pain
Leaving behind the vast and eternal plain
To which you yearn to return again."

"Seeing as you so sincerely desire to know
The reason why, briefly I will show"
she answered me, "why I am not afraid
To descend here and enter this place.

The only things that should ever cause us alarm
Are things that could genuinely cause us harm;
For the rest, the contrary is clear
That which cannot hurt us, causes no fear.

I am made and created by God
In the mercy and grace and name of our Lord,
In such a way that the misery that pervades this spot
Taints me not, nor do flames even make me hot.

There is a most gentle lady dwelling
In the very highest position In heaven,
And whom the situation that I've been telling
Grieves so much, that up there, harsh judgement is swelling.

She went and sought st Lucia of Syracuse
And said, 'The one who has held a faithful light for you
Now has need of guidance from you.
I will choose therefore to entrust his life to you'

Lucia, enemy of every cruelty, in haste
Went away, and came through to the place
Where I was sitting in contemplation
With wise Rachel, the lover of Jacob

'Beatrice,' said Lucia, when she came to our spot,
'You who are the essence of the praise of God,
Why do you aid him not,
He who loved you so, and in loving, strayed from the flock?

Do you not hear the pitiful depth of his cries
Can you not see imminent death in his eyes
Can you not see him drowning in the tide
On the floor Of an ocean that has dried?'

No one in the entire world has ever run
So rapidly and urgently towards some
Advantage or away from some peril to come
Than I did immediately when her words were done

So I have come down here and left
The sanctity of my holy seat so blessed
Trusting the words and honesty of your text
Which honour you and all who hear its depth"

Then, immediately after she had said
These words, she turned and I could see she wept,
As her eyes shone then, even brighter
Which made me try to speed my arrival

And I came straightaway from the fire
To find you, exactly as she had desired
And I have rescued you from that terrible beast
That prevented you from ascending the peak

So, what is wrong? Why do you delay?
Why is your heart so craven and afraid?
Why do you wait? why are you paralysed
How can you not have a brave appetite,

When at this very moment in Paradise
Three ladies of the court are standing by,
Watching over you and holding candles bright
And with my own words I have sworn to satisfy'

And then, just like flowers
That Bend low and close, frozen in nocturnal hours
But when illumined by the sun's shower
Of light, stand upright and open, showing renewed power

So did I also, fight back my exhaustion
Stand upright, and feel great courage coursing
Through my heart, imparting such new purpose
That I burst forth and spoke like an intrepid person

'I give thanks for Beatrice, her compassion
Love, and charity, and her swift actions in
Calling you, Mantuan, and for your reactions
In acting without delay to obey the words she had to say:

You have inflamed my heart with such Fire
And raised my desire for this entire
Adventure together, for when my spirit was tired,
Your words inspired my intent from the mire.

Now let us hasten our departure and go
For henceforth one sole will charges us both
You are my Leader, Lord and master,' I spoke
As he moved off, and I entered the wild and dark road.

credits

from Dante's Inferno - The Rap Translation by Hugo The Poet - Cantos 1​-​6, released January 6, 2013
The beats respectfully used are
'Moon Dancers' by B. Lewis

'Sundae Pitch' by Populous

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