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Analyzing and Translating the Poem
Poem translation differs from one translator to the other. The differences appear in the way the poets choose their words, the rhythm of the poem and that of the speech as well as the conflict introduction and the solution. Some poets prefer to present their works in prose form while others present in the poetic form. The essay will discuss the tension created by different translators during a translation of a poem and the ease associated with domesticating the translation.
King Wen’s epithalamium is a translation by Clement Allen in 1891 (Minford 79). The translator claims that he had been sent to gather cresses from the ait (an island within the river) so that they would give a good welcome to the prince’s bride. He heard the Mallard a type of bird singing and presumably calling its mate. The persona hopes that the singing would be a sign of a good omen to the prince’s love. He associates the wooing with the way the prince is searching for a bride. It is a good foreshadow.
For so long the prince had yearned for the bride. He would think of her every day and night, and she was the source of his delight. However, doubting her love for him gave him anxiety. The anxiety would lead to a sleepless night. As a result, he would toss in bed and would sleep distressed. Now he has worn her. She is a fair looking lady. She has a modest mind. The poet and others shall, therefore, celebrate with lutes and music while feasting. So as to show the love we owe our master and his lover (Minford 79).
Fair, fair, cry the Ospreys a translation by Arthur Waley in 1937 (Minford 82). The poem starts with an onomatopoeia imitation the cry of the Osprey. The cry is fair! Fair! The Ospreys are on an island in the river. Then the narrator talks of the noble young lady whom their Lord is in love with. The Water mellow has grown in patches, and one can go right or left seeking it. The noble lady is shy. The Lord seeks her day and night.
However, he could not get her in as much as he sought her. It mad him to grieve day and night. He would have long, unpleasant thoughts that would make him toss in bed. The poet insists about the water mellows that grew in patches and that one has to go left and right gathering it. He also talks about the shyness of the bride. Then they use great zither to make her happy. The poet repeats about the water mellows and says that one has to go left and right to choose it in the last stanza. He also talks of the shyness of the lady. Then he says that they will also use gongs and drums to gladden her (Minford 82).
Kuan, Kuan is a poem translated by Wong man (Minford 85). The poet begins with a cry of the Chu’s. The cry is Kuan! Kuan! The word ‘Chu is a native word referring to a type of a bird. The onomatopoeia is also in native form. The bird is on the river’s isle. Then he talks about the virtuous maid from whom a man is seeking love. At the river, there are long and short weeds. When the man goes right or left, he misses her.
The virtuous maid has made the man in love with her to seek her while awake and asleep. However, his efforts are in vain. He wakes up and sleeps sad and spends long hours tossing with madness. He talks of the long and short weeds playing and this time round the man catches the virtuous made. They use the lute and string to charm the lady. He then holds the virtuous maid. They use the bell and drums to cheer her. The poet has attempted to reproduce the original form of the poem. It contains similar meter, rhyme, couplet-symmetry and the word order. The use of monosyllabic words relates closely to the original poem (Minford 85).
Different translators have translated the same poem. All the translators have approached the matter differently (Kenesei 83). According to Clement Allen, the persona is taking part in the events. He has been sent to look for cresses in the river ait when he hears the mallard singing. He hopes that it is a good omen for his prince and his lover. He also explains how the prince was in deep agony seeking the lady and the way he spent sleepless nights. Eventually, the prince manages to get the lady, and now they are feasting and celebrating as they welcome her.
According to Arthur and Wong, the poems are in the form of narration and not a confession like that of Clement. They both begin with onomatopoeia expressing how the birds were singing. According to Arthur, the birds are called Ospreys while Wong refers to them as Chus. On the other hand, Clement calls them Mallards. To Arthur, the one seeking the lady is a lord, to Clement, he is a prince while to Wong is just a man seeking a lady.All the translators express how the man wooing the lady is troubled and spends sleepless nights. At first, the man seeks the lady who rejects her but later accepts to offer her hand for marriage. After the acceptance, the people then plan a celebration where they play flutes and feast as they witness the marriage of the bride to the man.
There is tension between the rhythm of the poem and the rhythm of the speech (Kenesei 83). In the poem translated by Arthur in 1937, there is a repetition of the water mellow growing in patches. However, the action of seeking it, gathering it and choosing it right and left goes hand in hand with the way the bridegroom seeks the lady, gets her and chooses her. The poet also emphasizes that the noble lady is shy. On the other hand, Clement does not have repeated lines for the emphasis. Wong, another translator, repeats the line that the long and short weeds play. However, the persona is not to seek the weed as it is with Arthur. He insists that the bridegroom goes right and left to seek the maid, he goes right and left to catch and finally to hold her. The translator also emphasizes that the lady in question is virtuous.
Clementine chooses his diction such that all words are in English, and there is no addition of words in the native language. That way, the poem has a flow of the language and the reader does not struggle with getting the words (Millan and Bartina 482). Arthur and Wong use Onomatopoeia to catch the attention of the reader. It comes out better than when Clement says that the mallards woo their lovers. Arthur chooses a lot of repetition but does not use native words too. Wong gives the birds a native name, Chu. The people unfamiliar with the Chinese words would take an interpretation to understand that he is referring to a type of a bird considering that the onomatopoeia is also native.
Clementine applies a lot of prosaism. His poem is more of prose since there is the flow of the story. However, the poem is very rhythmic as there is a regular rhyme scheme. He has used his freedom of a poet to ensure that the rhyme scheme flows with the story (Minford 79). Arthur and Wong apply poeticism (Minford 82 and 85). The story is broken by the application of the repetition of lines. The repeated lines and words break the flow of the events happening regarding the bridegroom wooing the bride to be. The poets mix the appearance of the water mellow and the weeds with the qualities of the lady and the wooing of the lady. That way, the seeking of the water mellow goes hand in hand with the seeking of the lady, the catching and later choosing her.
In conclusion, the poems are telling a similar story though they prefer using different words and ways of raising the conflicts and solving them. The poets exercise their freedom of diction to get their message known to the readers. Some poets choose informal language while others use formal languages. On the choice of words, some prefer importing the native words for the sake of identifying with the origin of the poem while others prefer a plain language to enhance the understanding.
Works Cited
Kenesei, Andrea. Poetry Translation Through Reception and Cognition: The Proof of Translation Is in the Reading. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Pub, 2010. Print.
Minford, John. Classical Chinese Literature: An Anthology of Translations. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 2000. Print.
Millan, Carmen and Bartina, Francesca. The Routledge Handbook of Translation Studies. 2013. The Web, Retrieved on December 11, 2015 <https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=s-SnQWJLO4EC&pg=PA482&dq=tension+in+poetry+translation&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=tension%20in%20poetry%20translation&f=false>