Geniz Hernndez Rosado Prof. A.

Hurley LITE 6007 December, 2009 Translating Wordsworth

Wordsworth in a Nutshell William Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, in the Lake District. From a young age, Lake Districts beautiful landscapes touched him deeply and he developed a bond with nature. Both his parents died when he was still a young boy and because of this he was separated from his beloved sister Dorothy. These events affected young Wordsworth, and many believe that this separation at such an early age was one of the main causes for his profound love of nature; he felt that it was a shelter, a source of tranquility. Wordsworth was living in Paris during the French Revolution, which inspired him and affected his ideology. When he went back to his country in 1792, he brought with him Jean Jacques Rousseaus ideas of freedom, liberalism and Republicanism, and became actively involved in radical politics. He met Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Bristol, in 1795, and the two became very good friends. In 1798, they decided to publish a book together, Lyrical Ballads. This work introduced Romanticism into England. The second edition, published in 1800, includes a preface in which Wordsworth explained his poetic principles. With the wan of the French

Hernndez Revolution and the rise of Napoleon as emperor of France in 1806, Wordsworths liberalistic ideas vanished and he became a conservative.

His Style and Themes Both of the poems I chose to translate were written during Wordsworths preconservative period. The Reverie of Poor Susan was originally written in 1797, but the last stanza was omitted in the 1802 edition of Lyrical Ballads and in all subsequent editions. I decided to use the edited version because Wordsworth realized that the last stanza contradicted the rest of the poem. The other poem, I wandered lonely as a cloud also known as Daffodils was published in 1804. My main reference for translating these poems was Wordsworths Preface to Lyrical Ballads, for in it he explains the purpose of his poems and his views on meter and other poetic devices. For his poems, he chose incidents from real life and used language really used by men. He believed that simple language reflects human emotions because it does not sound artificial. As a Romantic, Wordsworth was against all the embellishment that Neoclassicist writers put on their written works, When I think upon this degrading thirst after outrageous stimulation, I am almost ashamed to have spoken of the feeble endeavor made in these volumes to counteract it [] (Wordsworth, Preface 10). He was criticized by other writers for making verse out of simple and common words. He defended himself by saying that the purpose of poetry is to, produce excitement in co-existence with an over-balance of pleasure (Wordsworth, Preface 19). That is exactly what he seeks, to please the spirit of those who are sensible like him. He only wishes to enhance the pleasure

Hernndez and beauty that good prose can have by writing it in verse, using a metrical language and poetic diction. Wordsworths themes were man and nature and the moral and emotional connection between the two. He had a pantheist view on life, for he believed that God,

Nature and the Universe were one; therefore, to him Nature was a sort of religion. His love for Nature, along with his choice of using simple language, reveals an aura of tenderness and sincerity in Wordsworths work.

Analysis of The Reverie of Poor Susan At the corner of Wood Street, when daylight appears, Hangs a Thrush that sings loud, it has sung for three years: Poor Susan has passed by the spot, and has heard In the silence of morning the song of the bird. Tis a note of enchantment; what ails her? She sees A mountain ascending, a vision of trees; Bright volumes of vapour through Lothbury glide, And a river flows on through the vale of Cheapside. Green pastures she views in the midst of the dale, Down which she so often has tripped with her pail; And a single small cottage, a nest like a dove's, The one only dwelling on earth that she loves. She looks, and her heart is in heaven: but they fade, The mist and the river, the hill and the shade: The stream will not flow, and the hill will not rise, And the colours have all passed away from her eyes! The Reverie of Poor Susan is a lyrical poem, written in anapestic tetrameter that has an AABB rhythm. There is a metaphor, a nest like a dove's []. The sensory images in the poem are mostly visual, but there are some aural ones. There are some key words, such as enchantment, which has a double meaning: both spell and something charming.

Hernndez The poem is easy to understand and has no confusing words or lines. Susan listens to a thrush singing while she walks by Wood Street and, as the title suggests, the song triggers a daydream. The poem describes the daydream with a melancholic mood, which lead us to believe that this is not just a daydream, but a memory. Susan used to live in the cottage, she used to be in direct contact with Nature, but now she lives in the city.

Analysis of I wandered lonely as a cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed--and gazed--but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.

This is one of Wordsworth most widely known poems. It is also a lyrical poem, written in iambic tetrameter that has an ABABCC rhythm. Throughout the poem,

Hernndez Wordsworth personifies the daffodils and compares them with other things, so the poem has many personifications and similes. The sensory images are all visual. This is a very personal poem, for Wordsworth wrote the poem based on his own memories of a day when he visited Gowbarrow Park with his sister Dorothy, as well as a journal entry she wrote.

I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake, they looked so gay ever glancing ever changing. (D. Wordsworth) Gabriel Insaustis Translation The following is the only published translation into Spanish of Wordsworths I wandered lonely as a cloud to date: Iba solitario como una nube que flota sobre valles y colinas, cuando de pronto vi una muchedumbre de dorados narcisos: se extendan junto al lago, a la sombra de los rboles, en danza con la brisa de la tarde. Reunidos como estrellas que brillaran en el cielo lechoso del verano, Poblaban una orilla junto al agua dibujando un sendero ilimitado. Miles se me ofrecan a la vista, moviendo sus cabezas danzarinas. El agua se ondeaba, pero ellas mostraban una ms viva alegra. Cmo, si no feliz, ser un poeta en tan clara y gozosa compaa? Mis ojos se embeban, ignorando que aquel prodigio supona un blsamo. Porque a menudo, tendido en mi cama, pensativo o con nimo cansado, los veo en el ojo interior del alma

Hernndez que es la gloria del hombre solitario. Y mi pecho recobra su hondo ritmo y baila una vez ms con los narcisos. Gabriel Insausti is a poet, translator and professor from Spain who has translated several poems by Wordsworth and Coleridge. He has a Ph.D. in English Philology and Spanish Philology and made his MA on Philosophy and History of Art. His translation does not follow any specific rhyme scheme, but there is certain assonance and some words do rhyme. In the third stanza, alegra rhymes with compaa and, in the fourth one, cama rhymes with alma. However, the poem has a hendecasyllable meter. Most of Wordsworths images are present and Insaustis register, with the exception of two words, is not too high. I do not think that embeban and prodigio are simple words used by ordinary people in Spanish; thus, I would consider those two to be of a higher register than the rest. Also, cielo lechoso del verano is by no means Milky Way; perhaps he misinterpreted the line or just used whichever image he though fitted into the meter. I dont think that his translation is of bad quality, but I think

that it could be better since he does not seem to be consistent with his translation strategies.

My Translations Wordsworths sincerity, tenderness and simplicity is what I aim to transmit through my translation of these two poems. The difficulty lies in keeping Wordsworths content within metrical rules in Spanishi. I will not try to rhyme because, even though Wordsworth did, he did not emphasize that aspect in the Preface. Also, I want to concentrate more on content than in form; thus, trying to rhyme could conflict with content. I intend on keeping the images and the rhetorical devices in the translation as close as possible to the original

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ones. To keep the tenderness, I will use diminutives where appropriate and will try to keep the word choice as simple as possible by not using recherch words.

Translation of The Reverie of Poor Susan This was my initial rough draft; it has different options for certain words or phrases and just general ideas to help polish the poem and adjust it to a hendecasyllable meter. (El (ensueo/sueo/reverie) de) la pobrecita Susan (suea despierta) En la esquina de la Calle Wood, cuando sale el (sol/amanece), (Cuelga/Hay) un tordo (que canta alto/de enrgico canto), ha cantado (ya) por tres aos: La pobrecita Susan ha pasado por (este mismo lugar/aqu), y ha escuchado En el silencio de la maana la cancin del (ave/pjaro). Es (una nota de encanto/como un encantamiento); qu le aflige? Ella ve Una montaa (ascendente/elevada), una (visin de rboles/arboleda); Brillantes cantidades de (vapor/bruma) planean(do) a travs de Lothbury Y un ro fluye(ndo) por el valle de Cheapside. Verdes pastizales ella ve en medio de la llanura En la cual tantas veces se (ha tropezado/tropez) con su (cubo/balde); Y una casita (solitaria/sola/vaca), (un) nido como el de una paloma, (La nica vivienda/El nico hogar) en el mundo que (ella) (ama/adora). Los ve, y su corazn se siente en la gloria: pero se desvanecen, La neblina y el ro, la colina y la sombra: La corriente no (fluir/fluye), y la colina no (ascender/se eleva), Y los colores ya se (han desteido/desvanecido/desvanecen) de su (visin/vista/ojos)! Final Draft (Still a draft, for a translation is never truly finished) El ensueo de la pobrecita Susan En la esquina de Wood, cuando sale el sol, Canta un tordo, desde hace ya tres aos; La pobrecita Susan lo ha escuchado En el silencio de la fra maana. Es como un encanto entristecedor: Y ve una alta montaa, una arboleda,

Hernndez Clara niebla que planea por Lothbury Y un ro que fluye por el valle Cheapside. Verdes pastizales en la llanura En que tantas veces se tropez, Y una casita, nido de paloma, El nico hogar que ama en el mundo. Su corazn sube a la gloria, pero La neblina y el ro, la colina y el valle, Los rboles, la choza, y la pradera, Ya desaparecen de su visin!

Meter Verification
1 En/ Can/ La/ En/ Es/ Y/ Cla/ Y un/ Ver/ En/ Y u/ El/ Su/ La/ Los/ Ya/ 2 la es/ ta un/ po/ el/ co/ ve u/ ra/ ro/ des/ que/ na/ / co/ ne/ r/ de/ 3 qui/ tor/ bre/ si/ mo un/ na al/ nie/ que/ pas/ tan/ ca/ ni/ ra/ bli/ bo/ sa/ 4 na / do,/ ci/ len/ en/ ta/ bla/ flu/ ti/ tas/ si/ co ho/ zn/ na y el/ les,/ pa/ 5 de / des/ ta/ cio/ can/ mon/ que/ ye/ za/ ve/ ta/, gar/ su/ ro,/ la/ re/ 6 7 8 9 sa/ tres/ cu/ ma/ ce/ bo/ Loth/ lle/ lla pe/ pa/ el/ 10 le el/ a/ cha/ a/ 11 sol,/ os;/ do/ na./ +1

Wood,/ cuan/ do / de ha/ ce/ ya/ Su/ san/ lo ha es/ de/ la/ fra/ to en/ ta/ pla/ por/ tris/ a, u/ nea/ el/ te/ na ar/ por/ va/ la/ tro/ de/ en/ glo/ li/ la/ su/

dor: le/ da,/ bu/ ry/ Cheap/ side./ /nu/ z, lo/ mun/ ra/

les/ en/ ces/ se/ ni/ do/ que a/ ma/ be a/ la/ cho/ cen/ la/ co/ za, y/ de/

+1 ma,/ do./ ro/ lle,/ ra,/ +1

ria/, pe/ na y el /va/ pra/ de/ vi/ sin!

Table1
En la esquina de Wood, cuando sale el sol, Canta un tordo, desde hace ya tres aos; La pobrecita Susan lo ha escuchado En el silencio de la fra maana. Es como un encanto entristecedor: Y ve una alta montaa, una arboleda,
1

At the corner of Wood Street, when daylight appears, Hangs a thrush that sings loud, it has sung for three years: Poor Susan has passed by the spot, and has heard In the silence of morning the song of the bird. Tis a note of enchantment; what ails her? She sees A mountain ascending, a vision of trees;

Only added this because I thought that it would be easier for you to compare the translation this way

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Clara niebla que planea por Lothbury Y un ro que fluye por el valle Cheapside. Verdes pastizales en la llanura En que tantas veces se tropez, Y una casita, nido de paloma, El nico hogar que ama en el mundo. Su corazn sube a la gloria, pero La neblina y el ro, la colina y el valle, Los rboles, la choza, y la pradera, Ya desaparecen de su visin! Bright volumes of vapour through Lothbury glide, And a river flows on through the vale of Cheapside. Green pastures she views in the midst of the dale, Down which she so often has tripped with her pail; And a single small cottage, a nest like a dove's, The one only dwelling on earth that she loves. She looks, and her heart is in heaven: but they fade, The mist and the river, the hill and the shade: The stream will not flow, and the hill will not rise, And the colours have all passed away from her eyes!

Translation of I wandered lonely as a cloud Rough Draft (Paseaba/Caminaba) (slo/solitario) como (una) nube (Paseaba/Caminaba) (slo/solitario) como (una) nube Que flota (alta) sobre (los) valles y colinas,) Cuando (de repente/sbitamente) vi una muchedumbre, Una multitud, de dorados narcisos, Junto a un lago, bajo las rboles (Revoloteando/batindose) y bailando en la brisa. (Continuos/Corridos/Seguidos/Contiguos/Adyacentes) como las (brillantes /radiantes) estrellas (que brillan/parpadean) Y (centellean/resplandecen/irradian/iluminan) (en) la Va Lctea, (Tendidas/Se extendan) en un(a) (camino/lnea/ fila) (sin fin/interminable/infinita) (A lo largo de/Junto a) la/el (orilla/borde) (de una baha/del lago): Diez mil (vi/contempl) de un(a) (vez/vistazo) (Sacudiendo/Agitando) sus cabecitas en animado baile. Las olas junto a ellos bailaron, pero los narcisos (eran ms jubilosos que/Superaron a) las destellantes olas (en jbilo:) Un poeta no puede pero estar (alegre/feliz/contento/gozoso/jubiloso) En tan agradable compaa: Mir y mir, pero poco pens En la riqueza que el espectculo me haba (brin)dado. Pues a menudo, cuando (estoy) acostado (en mi sof/silln) (Meditabundo/Distrado) y (pensativo/reflexivo), Los narcisos (destellan/parpadean/resplandecen) en mi mente (En donde encuentro (felicidad/tranquilidad)/Que es la felicidad de (la soledad/el poeta))

Hernndez 10 (Y) mi corazn se llena de gozo Y baila con los narcisos. Final Draft Paseaba solitario como nube Paseaba solitario como nube Que flota sobre valles y colinas, Y de repente vi una muchedumbre, Gran multitud de dorados narcisos, Junto al agua, debajo de los rboles, Revoloteando y bailando en la brisa. Juntitos como radiantes estrellas Que brillan y parpadean en la Va Lctea, Extendidos en infinita fila A lo largo de la orilla del lago: Diez mil contempl de un slo vistazo, Sacudan sus cabecitas al aire. Las olas junto a ellos bailaron, pero Los narcisos eran ms jubilosos; Un poeta no puede pero estar feliz Junto a tan encantadora compaa: Mir, admir, sin percatarme de La riqueza que ofreca el espectculo. Pues a menudo, cuando estoy acostado, Pensativo y reflexivo, destellan Los narcisos en mi mente, fuente de Felicidad cuando solitario estoy, Y se hincha de alegra mi corazn, Y baila con los dorados narcisos. Meter Verification 1 Pa/ Que/ Y/ Gran/ Jun/ Re/ Jun/ 2 sea/ flo/ de/ mul/ to al/ vo/ ti/ 3 ba/ ta/ re/ ti/ a/ lo/ tos/ 4 5 so/ li/ so/ bre/ pen/ te/ tud/ de/ gua/, de/ tean/ do y / co/ mo/ 6 ta/ va/ vi u/ do/ ba/ bai/ ra/ 7 rio/ lles/ na/ ra/ jo/ lan/ dian/ 8 co/ y/ mu/ dos/ de/ do en/ tes/ 9 mo/ co/ che/ nar/ los/ la / es/ 10 nu/ li/ dum/ ci/ r/ bri/ tre/ 11 be/ nas/, bre/, sos/, bo/ sa/. llas/

les/, -1

Hernndez 11 Que/ Ex/ A/ Diez/ Sa/ Las/ Los/ Un/ Jun/ Mi/ La/ Pues/ Pen/ Los/ Fe/ Y/ Y/ bri/ ten/ lo/ mil/ cu/ o/ nar/ poe/ to a / r/, ri/ a/ sa/ nar/ li/ se hin/ bai/ llan/ di/ lar/ con/ dan/ las/ ci/ ta/ tan/ ad/ que/ me/ ti/ ci/ ci/ cha/ la/ y/ dos/ go/ tem/ sus/ jun/ sos/ no/ en/ mi/ za/ un/ vo y/ sos/ dad/ de a/ con/ par/ en/ de/ pl/ ca/ to a e/ e/ pue/ can/ r/, que o/ do/, re/ en/ cuan/ le/ los/ pa/ in/ la o/ de un/ be/ llos/ ran/ de/ ta/ sin/ fre/ cuan/ fle/ mi/ do/ gra/ do/ dean/ fi/ ri/ s/ ci/ bai/ ms/ pe/ do/ per/ ca el/ do es/ xi/ men/ so/ mi/ ra/ en/ ni/ lla/ lo/ tas/ la/ ju/ ro es/ ra/ ca/ es/ toy a/ vo/, te/, li/ co/ dos/ la/ ta/ del/ vis/ al/ ron/, bi/ tar/ com/ tar/ pec/ cos/ des/ fuen/ ta/ ra/ nar/ Va/ fi/ la/ ta/ ai/ pe/ lo/ fe/ pa/ me/ t/ ta/ te/ te/ rio es/ zn/, ci/ Lc/ la/ go/: zo/, re/. ro/ sos/; liz/ a/: de/ cu/ do/, llan/ de/ toy/, +1 sos/. tea, -1

lo/. -1

Table Paseaba solitario como nube Que flota sobre valles y colinas, Y de repente vi una muchedumbre, Gran multitud de dorados narcisos, Junto al agua, debajo de los rboles, Revoloteando y bailando en la brisa. Juntitos como radiantes estrellas Que brillan y parpadean en la Va Lctea, Extendidos en infinita fila A lo largo de la orilla del lago: Diez mil contempl de un slo vistazo, Sacudan sus cabecitas al aire. Las olas junto a ellos bailaron, pero Los narcisos eran ms jubilosos; Un poeta no puede pero estar feliz Junto a tan encantadora compaa: Mir, admir, sin percatarme de La riqueza que ofreca el espectculo. Pues a menudo, cuando estoy acostado, Pensativo y reflexivo, destellan Los narcisos en mi mente, fuente de Felicidad cuando solitario estoy,

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed--and gazed--but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude;

Hernndez 12 Y se hincha de alegra mi corazn, Y baila con los dorados narcisos. And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.

Hernndez 13 Bibliography Barker, Juliet. Wordsworth: A Life. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print. Hamilton, Paul. Wordsworth. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities International, 1986. Print. Insausti, Gabriel. "Iba solitario como una nube." Si fuese poeta. Web. 20 Nov. 2009. Kreis, Steven. "Lecture 16: The Romantic Era." The History Guide. 2000. Web. 26 Nov. 2009. Marsh, Florence. Wordsworth's Imagery: A Study in Poetic Vision. London: Yale UP, 1952. Print.
Pritchett, Kay. "La Poesa." University of Arkansas. 2008. Web. 02 Dec. 2009.

Tecnun, Universidad de Navarra."Un profesor de TECNUN obtiene el tercer puesto en el Premio Nacional de Poesia." 2002. Web. 04 Dec. 2009. Roe, Nicholas. The Politics of Nature: William Wordsworth and Some Contemporaries. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire [England]: Palgrave, 2002. Print. Wordsworth, Dorothy. "Excerpt from Grasmere Journal." Romantic Circles. Web. 01 Dec. 2009. Wordsworth, William. "I wandered lonely as a cloud." 2006. The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth. Philadelphia: Hayes & Zell, 1854. 169. Print. ---. "Preface." Lyrical Ballads (1800) and Other Selected Poems. By William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Minneapolis: Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 2002. 5-25. Print. ---. "The Reverie of Poor Susan." The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth. Ed. William Knight. Vol. 1. New York: Paperbackshop.Co.UK Ltd - Echo Library, 2006. 26163. Print.

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In Spanish, a poems meter is determined by the amount of syllables it has, which could be seven, eight, eleven or fourteen. Syllables are not counted in the same way in which they are normally counted. There are certain poetic licenses and rules: 1. If the last word is aguda, you must add a syllable 2. If it is esdrjula, then you take subtract one 3. If a word ends in a vowel, and the next one starts with one, the those two could if convenient to comply with the meter become one. This is known as sinalefa, elision. 4. 5. Even within a word, hiatus can be joined and diphthongs can be separated. Even if there is an h at the beginning of a word, this syllable can be joined with the one before.

6. Triphthongs could also happen using these licenses.