Text: Thomas Ollive Mabbott, “Translation from Tasso,” The Collected Works of Edgar Allan PoeVol. I: Poems (1969), p. 13 (This material is protected by copyright)


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[page 13, continued:]

[TRANSLATION FROM TASSO]

In The Independent, September 13, 1900 (reprinted by James A. Harrison in The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, I, 45-47), there are given the reminiscences of Poe drawn up in 1869 by William Wertenbaker, Librarian of the University of Virginia, a classmate of Poe's there in 1826. Wertenbaker wrote:

On one occasion Professor Blaettermann requested his Italian class to render into English verse a portion of the lesson in Tasso, which he had assigned them for the next lecture. He did not require this of them as a regular class exercise, but recommended it as one from which he thought the students would derive benefit. At the next lecture on Italian the Professor stated from his chair that Mr. Poe was the only member of the class who had responded to his suggestion, and paid a very high compliment to his performance.

We have no clue to what passage was translated. The date must fall within the few months after February 14, 1826, when Poe was at Charlottesville.


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Notes:

None.


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[S:1 - TOM1P, 1969] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Editions-The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe (T. O. Mabbott) (Translation from Tasso)