Trissino's Sophonisba and Aretino's Horatia: Two Italian Renaissance Tragedies

"The primary merit of this volume is that it provides for the first time an English translation of two significant Cinquecento tragedies. . . . Sharman sketches a clear and concise life of Trissino, longer than the standard in other Italian introduction to this tragedy. . . Sharman's introduction, however, is not limited to the brief biography but extends, in lucid prose, over a wide range of issues, including many that will be useful to readers coming to this author and play for the first time. . . . Sharman's extended analysis of the different meters for spoken dialogue, lyric passages, and choral odes, is particularly meticulous. Her translation aims for a midpoint between literal accuracy (which would sound too stilted for performance) and a natural-sounding version (which would be an adaptation). . . . one has to say that this translation is, indeed, highly readable.

In his introduction to the Horatia, Michael Lettieri provides a thorough but schematic view of Aretino's life before proceeding to the play itself, the editions of the tragedy, and the work's influence in Europe. . . . as for the translation itself, Michael Ukas has aimed for 'an exact rendering of the author's ideas and sentiments' in 'acceptable literary English' and in this he has been eminently successful, going so far as to maintain, with very few exceptions, a line-by-line parallel structure and an accuracy of expression that is not only admirable but enjoyable to read. Limitations of space preclude the quotation of examples, but the translation is a model of elegance, clarity, poetic beauty, and fidelity to the original." – Italica