Nick Capozzoli
06-09-2013, 02:00 AM
I don't know if this a new LNF topic, but it should be interesting to those who read poetry in other languages. My native tongue is English (American version), and I also learned Italian (for home use only) while growing up, so I'm a "fluent" speaker and reader in both of these. I guess you could call these my "first" languages. In grammar school and later in college I learned Latin (pretty good reading proficiency), and in college I learned German, Old English, French, and Greek (in decreasing order of reading proficiency) so you could call these my "second" languages. I've read a fair amount of poetry in those "second" languages and even tried to translate some of it into modern English.
Whenever I read non-English poetry, I'm on the eager look-out for language that strikes me as remarkable. I'd like to mention lines from the Anglo-Saxon poem, The Battle of Maldon, that I found especially memorable when I first read them in college:
he let him þa of handon leofne fleogan
hafoc wið þæs holtes, and to þære hilde stop
These lines describe "Offa's Kinsman" who, understanding that his war-chief will not tolerate any softness or cowardice in the coming battle, "there from his hand let his beloved falcon fly into the woods, and then stepped into battle." Falcons are "martial" birds, and falconry is a quasi-martial sport that is fine for warriors at other times, but when warriors clash in battle there is no place for their avian friends, however warrior-like these may be. [My] modern English translation of these lines doesn't seem that remarkable. Someone else might do it better...
It may be that these very fine Anglo-Saxon lines are not really translatable into modern English. I suspect they can be better translated into modern German, but that is another matter. A large reason for the beauty of these lines is their sound in the original language. This includes all the aspects of the sound: alliteration, accent, rhythm, etc. The original lines convey a great deal more than the simple action they describe (letting the falcon fly from the hand into the woods before proceeding into battle). They convey a wistful and sadly nostalgic sense of taking leave of all that one loves in this world, and resignation to fate. In this case, these particular lines emotionally foreshadow the outcome of the battle.
One of the most difficult tasks for a poet is translating poetry from one language to another. One would think that writing an "original" poem in ones own language is difficult, and it is. Starting with a great poem in another language and translating it into an equally great poem in your language may spare you the labor of poetic "inspiration," but it does not spare you from the labor of translating it into language that is as great as the original.:wink5:
Whenever I read non-English poetry, I'm on the eager look-out for language that strikes me as remarkable. I'd like to mention lines from the Anglo-Saxon poem, The Battle of Maldon, that I found especially memorable when I first read them in college:
he let him þa of handon leofne fleogan
hafoc wið þæs holtes, and to þære hilde stop
These lines describe "Offa's Kinsman" who, understanding that his war-chief will not tolerate any softness or cowardice in the coming battle, "there from his hand let his beloved falcon fly into the woods, and then stepped into battle." Falcons are "martial" birds, and falconry is a quasi-martial sport that is fine for warriors at other times, but when warriors clash in battle there is no place for their avian friends, however warrior-like these may be. [My] modern English translation of these lines doesn't seem that remarkable. Someone else might do it better...
It may be that these very fine Anglo-Saxon lines are not really translatable into modern English. I suspect they can be better translated into modern German, but that is another matter. A large reason for the beauty of these lines is their sound in the original language. This includes all the aspects of the sound: alliteration, accent, rhythm, etc. The original lines convey a great deal more than the simple action they describe (letting the falcon fly from the hand into the woods before proceeding into battle). They convey a wistful and sadly nostalgic sense of taking leave of all that one loves in this world, and resignation to fate. In this case, these particular lines emotionally foreshadow the outcome of the battle.
One of the most difficult tasks for a poet is translating poetry from one language to another. One would think that writing an "original" poem in ones own language is difficult, and it is. Starting with a great poem in another language and translating it into an equally great poem in your language may spare you the labor of poetic "inspiration," but it does not spare you from the labor of translating it into language that is as great as the original.:wink5: