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The Transformation Review

Writing on Poetry in Translation

Rossetti's Preface To His Translation Work of The Early Italian Poets | The Transformation Review

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The Transformation Review

Writing on Poetry in Translation

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Rossetti's Preface To His Translation Work of The Early Italian Poets

by Dante Gabriel Rossetti•Feb 22, 2026

Originally Published 1861 in The Early Italian Poets

Curated by Ross Belot

The only true motive for putting poetry into a fresh language must be to endow a fresh nation, as far as possible, with one more possession of beauty.

Article Author Biography

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882) was an English poet, painter, and founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Celebrated for his richly sensual paintings and lyrical poetry, he also translated works by Italian poets, including Dante Alighieri, bringing medieval Italian literature to Victorian England. His own poems, such as The Blessed Damozel and Proserpine, explore love, beauty, and mortality, while his fusion of art and literature influenced both the Aesthetic and Symbolist movements.

This work was submitted as being in the Public Domain by Ross Belot and was sourced from Internet Archive .