Poetry Group

Question:


oracleman
Student
Community / Jr. College

I need help in translating a verse of Italian poetry and determining its meaning.

 

Per correr miglior acque alza le vele

ornai la navicella del mio ingegno,

che lascia dietro a sé mar sì crudele.

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Posted by oracleman on Friday October 2, 2009 at 7:34 PM and tagged with italian, italy, literature, meaning, other, poem, poetry, translation.

Answers:

  1. ophelious
    ophelious Teacher
    Vocational

    eNotes Editor

    This is a line from Dante's poem "The Divine Comedy," Purgatorio, Canto I.  It means: "To run over better waters the little vessel of my genius now hoists her sails, as she leaves behind her a sea so cruel."

    Sources:
    http://download.franklin.com/cgi-bin/franklin/ebookman_fr...
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy

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    Posted by ophelious on Saturday October 3, 2009 at 4:24 PM