ABSTRACT
Translations of poetry from ancient Greece and Rome have formed a central and continuous part of the British – and, later, the American – literary tradition. Many of the challenges and dilemmas that present themselves to translators of classical poetry are continuous with those that were faced and articulated by translators and writers on translation from the Early Modern era onwards. Denham's suggestions were later developed by the most celebrated translator–poet of the late 17th century, John Dryden. Dryden seems to have taken Roscommon's words deeply to heart. In the Preface to Sylvae, he comments that he has only rendered passages which have "most affected" him "in the reading". But if, in one sense, Dryden was prepared to sacrifice his individuality in rendering poets of the past, in another he saw translation as an activity which allowed him opportunities for self-expression and self-discovery.
