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Delta40
10-08-2010, 11:57 PM
Deus helpe me so.

No shrifte sholde
be spak for noght.

My wyfhod drenche,
repented me ful soore.

As eld alyghte,
I mayk sory cheere.

Lyf be a feendly gaude.

So soore longeth me
for deethe rakel ba.

Translation:

So help me God.

No confession should
be spoken in vain.

Drown my womanhood,
I bitterly regret it.

As old age arrives,
I feel miserable.

Life is a devilish trick.

I long so terribly
for death's hasty kiss.
tailor STATELY
10-09-2010, 12:50 AM
So sad & interesting. The original? language adds much to the pathos of the protagonist, though I had to read the translation to get the full impact of what was written

Translation L3 perhaps 'spoken'; unless 'spoke' is a device you wish to employ.

Well done.
Delta40
10-09-2010, 01:00 AM
edited. Thanks Tailor
zoolane
10-09-2010, 03:28 AM
I like it, it small but all the information is packed and with feeling.
hillwalker
10-09-2010, 01:39 PM
I enjoyed the OE version - strange how reading it seems to transport you to a different world.
PrinceMyshkin
10-09-2010, 02:24 PM
It may indeed be the influence of reading the OE version first but it is as if this is a cry so deep and sincere that it has survived all the years since it was first written; then one reads the translation as if it came from an utterly unpretentious heart, and it is rivetting.
Delta40
10-09-2010, 07:03 PM
I think the attraction of ME for me is its ability to utter a line that implies a much deeper meaning.

Consider:

I feel miserable
to
I mayk sory cheere.

I feel miserable is not as 'active' as I mayk sory cheere and so it speaks louder to my heart.
Lumiere
10-10-2010, 01:44 AM
Lyf be a feendly gaude

I want this printed on a shirt. Or something.

I enjoyed this; I read it this afternoon and got the itch to come back and read it again this evening; it's satisfying . . . like cutting hair with a blunt blade. Or something.

The OE gives it a greater depth of story, I think.
(And how/why do you know OE, if you don't mind me asking? I had an English prof. who would mutter OE sometimes - fiery sounds. Have you seen watched/heard Benjamin Bagby read Beowulf in authentic scop tradition? Riveting.)