John Augustine Wilstach was born in Washington D.C. in 1824. He initially went to school to study law and worked in the field for the majority of his career. It was not until later in life that he began to work with literature and history (Lawyers and Poetry). Wilstach published his translation of The Comedy in 1888—approximately 80 years after Boyd’s translation was completed, during which time many other translators had written their own versions. In addition to translating the entirety of the Divine Comedy, Wilstach also translated all of Virgil’s works into English (Famous Americans), which may have influenced some of the ways he translated Virgil in The Comedy. Similar to Boyd’s translation, Wilstach also includes an argument at the start of each canto. However, he also includes a list of the people appearing and speaking in the canto as well as the date and time.
With Dante’s work being more common in the English-speaking world it appears that Wilstach did not feel the need to choose his words to define characters and concepts in the same manner Boyd may have. Instead, it is my impression he was able to focus more on the artistic nature of the text. Early on in the first canto, as Dante looks upon the mountain it is said to have a “rosy gleam” at its peak. As English readers in Wilstach’s time were much more likely to be aware of the general outline of Dante’s journey, this allusion to the rose of Paradiso had a much better chance of being understood by readers.
In addition to having the reduced pressure of not being a pioneer in his field, Wilstach made some decisions that uniquely set his translation apart from others. One of these is the way he writes about the souls of the suicides and their separation from their bodies. Most translations emphasize how the body must stay separate from the soul for eternity, but Wilstach words his translation in a manner that appears to allow for a more cohesive—although certainly not complete—combining of body and soul. The soul of one suicide reports to Dante that “[our bodies] hither shall we drag, and they shall hang/Suspended each upon its tree forlorn, Where there shall grimly meet ghost, flesh, and thorn” (Inferno 133). Although the bodies are clearly not one with the tree, the fact that they meet and exist within the same space at all implies that there is some sort of distant connection allowed.
While the souls of the suicides are kept imprisoned by trees, the souls in the following round suffer quite the opposite punishment. In Wilstach’s words, the “sterile bed permits no plant raise its peeping head” (Inferno 140). Some other translators describe this scene implying that plants have the potential to grow, but are very quickly disposed of by the environment around them. Here, unlike with the souls of the suicides whom he allowed some more freedom, Wilstach describes this area to be even more barren of plant life. With the “sterile bed” confirming its status as infertile land. Instead, it is the souls themselves who take on the roles of the plants. Wilstach describes their limbs moving “now here, now there, in frenzied wreathings thrown” (Inferno 142). The choice of “wreathlings” feels very intentional in this translation, potentially due to the close proximity of these blasphemers to the suicides who have been punished by their physical existence as plants. While Boyd’s translation appears to be mostly informative, Wilstach has taken greater creative liberties and has less specific word choice which allows readers to interpret the cantos in a more individualized manner.
Similar to the suicides, Wilstach utilizes language to give Virgil’s current status a more neutral stance. Other translations appear to make his inability to enter Paradiso tragic and something akin to a punishment, with Ernest Kline notably having Virgil refer to his place of residence as a “dark gaol” (Purgatorio 245), referencing his place as nothing more than a jail cell. In Wilstach’s translation, although Virgil still refers to his general resting place as a “prison”, he refers to his more specific location as an “apartment” (Purgatorio 52), giving the impression that despite potential overall discomfort Virgil still feels at home in some way. The comfort allowed by an “apartment” rather than a jail cell also makes the conversations Virgil speaks of with his companions appear more friendly than tragic. This change is unique to Wilstach and I am inclined to believe his time spent working with and translating the real life Virgil’s work may have led him to attempt to give his fictionalized counterpart a more enjoyable experience.
As Wilstach is an American it is also interesting to note how the Hail Mary prayer is presented exclusively in English, rather than including exclusively the original Latin or presenting both translations. There does not appear to be an explicit pattern between American and British translators and how they choose to present the prayer, but the American translators do appear to prefer to present the English translation, perhaps due to expected readership.
Overall, Wilstach’s translation is less dense and contains more windows for interpretation than Boyd’s initial English rendition of the text. Coming from both different education/career backgrounds and different countries, there are many noticeable differences between the texts, but the most obvious is the more modern speech utilised by Wilstach. This translation is decently easy to read and broken up into stanzas allowing itself to be cited easily. Wilstach’s background with Virgil translations appears to have slightly impacted some minor translation choices, but as a whole it is a good text that shows, but not tells Dante’s story.
Works Cited
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy of Dante: Inferno. Translated by John Augustine Wilstach, vol. 1, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888.
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy of Dante: Purgatorio and Paradiso. Translated by John Augustine Wilstach, vol. 2, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1889.
“John Augustine Wilstach.” Famous Americans, www.famousamericans.net/johnaugustinewilstach/. Accessed 13 June 2025.
“John Augustine Wilstach.” Lawyers and Poetry, lawlit.net/lp-2001/wilstach.html. Accessed 2025.