Translator's Note on the Sonnets

Abstract

Translating poetry is a complex process. The translation of a single sonnet, for example, involves dozens of complex decisions, and as each decision may entail choosing one word from among several options, one could reasonably argue that translating a sonnet results from making not dozens, but hundreds of decisions. So trying to explain in any detail how one translates a sonnet is not a practical goal unless one wishes to dedicate an entire book to the endeavor. Nonetheless, it is certainly reasonable, and indeed necessary, that the translator give a brief accounting of some of the principles that guided his or her work.