Poetry is What Gets Lost in Translation

中图分类号：H315.9 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1672-1578（2016）07-0001-02

When we say that poetry is what gets lost in translation， we should first make sure what poetry means in this sentence. In Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English， poetry is defined as 1： poems； 2. the art of writing poems； 3. a quality of beauty， grace， and deep feeling. So what is poetry referred to in“Poetry is what gets lost in translation”？ In my opinion， we should also make sure who said this sentence before， that is， we should make sure the context the word is said. The American poet Robert Frost ever said that “Lets put it this way， that prose and verse are alike in having high poetic possibilities of ideas， and free verse is any where you want to be between those two things， prose and verse. I like to say， guardedly， that I could define poetry this way： It is that which is lost out of both prose and verse in translation. That means something in the way the words are curved and all that—the way the words are taken， the way you take the words”[1]. Under such circumstances， Cao Minglun said， poetry obviously refers to “a quality that stirs the imagination or gives a sense of heightened and more meaningful existence”[2].He also points out this is the original text of where the sentence comes from. In this case，combined with the definition given in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English， we can see the word “poetry” in this sentence should refer to its third meaning. That is“a quality of beauty， grace， and deep feeling”.

After its meaning in the sentence comes across to us， let us make sure whether or not poetry is what gets lost in translation. Susan Bassnett said， “this view， of course，is a conceit， not only does poetry NOT always get lost in translation， often it is through translation that poetry flourishes. For translation is one of the principal ways in which a literature can reinvigorate itself， can look outwards at other forms of writing and discover and then develop those forms”[3].I think “NOT always get lost in translation” just means sometimes， poetry indeed gets lost in translation. Lets take the first two stanzas of Dover Beach as example to see whether or not poetry gets lost in translation. This poem was written by Matthew Arnold and translated by several translators.

This first two stanzas of the poem depicts that the poet， standing by the window， looks out at a natural and detailed night scene of the beach at Dover， on the French coast the light gleams and is gone， the cliffs of England stand， the moon-blanchd land and pebbles which the waves draw back and flung up higher strand. But what makes the poem a poem and spread so far is not only because it describes the moving scenery， but also because how the author arranges the words and expresses his emotion through the scenery. Seemingly describing the scenery， but in between the lines it reveals the poets complex mood of grief and worry. And the poets surge of emotion is reflected in the flinging waves at this very moment. Lets take a look at those two stanzas：

The sea is calm tonight.

The tide is full， the moon lies fair

Upon the straits； on the French coast the light

Gleams and is gone； the cliffs of England stand，

Glimmering and vast， out in the tranquil bay.

Come to the window， sweet is the night-air！

Only， from the long line of spray

Where the sea meets the moon-blanchd land，

Listen！ You hear the grating roar

Of pebbles which the waves draw back，and fling，

At their return， up the high strand，

Begin， and cease ，and then again begin

With tremulous cadence slow， and bring

The eternal note of sadness in.

--By Matthew Arnold

Then let us look at the three different version of translation of the poem[4]：

今昔海波平，潮满月如镜，

海峡之上空，流光照遥境。

彼岸法兰西，灯光时明灭，

英伦森峭壁，闪烁而阢臬。

请来床边坐，夜气何清和！

只见月光下，遥岸滚银波，

请听细石音，随潮去复来，

打上高岸头，方退又再回。

万古恒如斯，音调徐而悲。

――郭沫若译

今夜海上是风平浪静，

潮水正满，月色皎皎，

临照着海峡；--法国海岸上，光明

一现而不见了；英国的悬崖，

闪亮而开阔，挺立在宁谧的海湾里。

到窗口来吧，夜里的空气多好！

只是，从海水同月光所漂白的陆地

两相衔接的地方，浪花铺成长长的一排，

听啊！你听得见聒耳的咆哮，

是水浪把石子卷回去，回头

又抛出，抛到高高的岸上来，

来了，停了，然后又来一阵，

徐缓的旋律抖抖擞擞，

带来了永恒的哀音。

――卞之琳译

苍海静入夜。

正潮满，长峡托孤月；

看法兰西岸，灯火明灭。

英伦峭壁森森，光熠熠，

崖下风烟一时绝。

凭窗立，觉夜气清和透心冽！

远望，月洗平沙千万里，

排浪一线翻霜雪。

听！潮卷砾石声威烈，

又回首，怒掷高滩侧。

才至也，又消歇，

慢调如泣轻吟处，

愁音万古声声切！

――辜正坤译

We know that translating a poem we must pay attention to its beauty of sense， beauty of sound and beauty of structure. What is lost in Guos version？ I think it should be the lost of beauty of structure and sense. We can see the referential meaning of the original poem is describing the natural environment， and the organization of the poem makes Dover Beach a poem. The arrangement of the words is just the soul of a poem. The uneven length of the original poem shows the rise and fall of the tide. It also reflects the poet inner heart is not peaceful. Guos version uses the old form of Tang poetry. The beauty of sense and structure of the original poem in the neat Chinese old form of poetry has disappeared since the translated version is in a square-toed form which obstacles magnificent momentum of the original poem.

The uneven length of Bian version in modern form of poetry projects the characteristic of combination of the form with content of poetry. Also the translated version rhymes in the same patterns as the original poem. For example， the first and third lines are rhymed in the original poem， so are the same lines in Bians version. Also in the second and sixth lines， the fifth and seventh lines， the tenth and thirteenth lines and the twelfth and fourteenth lines. In such a difficult situation the translator uses almost exactly the same rhyme as the original one does， he must put much effort. But what is the result of doing this？ It just gives us the feeling of “cutting ones feet to fit the shoes”. We can see it is not a good version though it is rhymed the same as the original since it fails to express the deep feeling of the original poem and also it fails to shape words in ways that is aesthetically successful.

Gus version is neither a modern form of poetry， nor an old form of Tang poetry. Instead， it is in the form of Song Ci， but with flexible modification， which is more approachable to the original and more catchy with readability. Although Gus version is not exactly the same as the original in the syllable， the difference is not obvious. For example， the first line of the original has six syllables， Gus version has five words； the second line of the original has eight syllables， Gu s version also has eight words； the third line nine syllables， so has Gus version； the fourth line， ten syllables， the translated version has nine. The number of syllable in each line of the translated version is little different from that in the original one. In addition， the rhyme is not strictly the same as the original in Gu's version， but self-contained. Bian s version has fourteen lines， the same as the original poem， while Gu's version is composed of only thirteen lines. But this does not affect the effect of the poem. On the contrary， among the three versions， Gus version is the best since it has strongest artistic appeal to the readers and best embodies the magnificent momentum of the original.

From above analysis， we can see any translated version has something lost in different degree. In Guo version， the beauty of structure and sense gets lost in translation. In Bians version， the beauty of word shaping， further thought and emotion gets lost in translation. In Gus version， the rhythm gets lost in translation. The most important element of the poem is the thought and emotion， the artistic image， the rhythm and style of charm. When we write a poem it should possess the beauty of sound， sense and structure. The original poem is a vivid work of art， the translated version should also be[5]. But in fact， for translator to achieve this is difficult.

Bassnett said， “Poetry travels， and while some aspects of poetry may be lost， since any transfer of any text across language boundaries will inevitably involve change and hence loss”[6]，so， any loss is a part loss of a quality of beauty， grace and deep feeling. So poetry is what gets lost in translation. But we also must be noted that “there will also be gains， for the transfer into the second language requires ingenuity， craftsmanship and poetic skills.”[7] Just as what Gu did when translated the original one into Chinese.

So the loss and gain of poetry in translation depends on the translators ingenuity， craftsmanship and poetic skills. For poets play with words， they arrange and rearrange words in a certain order， they experiment with forms， they move words around like pieces on a chess board so as to achieve maximum effect. It is easy to forget that translation too， involves knowing how to play with language. If we compare language itself to the clay a potter uses when making a pot， we can see that the clay needs to be shaped and molded， and we can also see that knowing how to produce a fine pot requires dedication and skill[8]. Just like knowing how to produce a poem in translation requires playfulness and skill.

References：

[1] Poirier Richard & Mark Richardson. Robert Frosts Collected Poems， Prose and Plays[Z].New York： Literary Classics of the United State，InC，1995.

[2] 曹明伦.翻译中失去的到底是什么？——Poetry is what gets lost in translation出处之考辨及其语境分析[J].解放军外国语学院学报，2009，05：65-71.

[3][6][7][8] Susan Bassnett. Translation and Poetry： Preface to Lost in Translation， the Collection of Poems and Translations by Yi haiChen[J].中国比较文学，2010，04：141-142.

[4] 叶子南.高级英汉翻译理论与实践[J].北京：清华大学出版社， 2001：374-380.

[5] 宁会勤.浅析英诗汉译中音形意三美的处理[J].南阳理工学院学报，2009，05：122-124.

作者简介：宁会勤（1978-），女，南阳理工学院外语系英语教师，现为西安工业大学在读研究生，专业为外国语言学及应用语言学，翻译方向。现已发表论文7篇，参编项目12个，参编教材4部。