Giovanni Boccaccio is famous for his masterpiece The Decameron, but
his Latin Eclogues are relatively unknown. David R. Slavitt's English
translation makes these important pieces accessible to a new audience of
readers.
Elegant and engaging, these pastoral poems address the great issues of
Boccaccio's Italy, including the political and military intrigues of the
day. Boccaccio modeled his poems on Petrarch's eclogues and, before him,
those of Virgil and Theocritus. Slavitt's impeccable translations are
highly readable, while his editorial interjections both elucidate the
poet's intended meaning and frame the poems for the reader.
These charming works offer wonderful insight into daily life in
Renaissance Italy. A prolific and award-winning translator, Slavitt
turns the Eclogues into vibrant modern English, capturing not only the
words of Boccaccio but the flavor of the original language.
The availability of The Latin Eclogues in English is a major
contribution to the study of the literature and history of the Italian
Renaissance.