Friday, November 26, 2004
insert expletive here
i was supposed to write about something else, but i decided this couldn't wait.
a friend and i have held rainer maria rilke in high esteem. one of his poems, from the book of hours (page 66, i think), has a line that reads: "i am, you anxious one. don't you sense me, ready to break into being at your touch?"
note the independent clause, i am, a powerful suggestion of silent, self-imposed, concentrated reality. i am—two words that make me want to cry from the semantic dexterity of it all. the first thing i thought was, rilke, you son of a gun, that was beautiful, bold and entirely too masterful.
and then i unearthed another translation, which indicated that the comma came after the you and not the am, making the line read: "i am you, anxious one. don't you sense me, ready to break into being at your touch?"
now wouldn't you know, that kind of spoiled the sentiment for me. it's a really trivial thing, but i'm annoyed that the placement of a comma could wreak so much havoc.
i am versus i am you. no contest. the version i'm familiar with is much, much better. oh, the power of punctuation. makes. you. want. to. strangle. someone.
new learning number one. don't trust translations, sunshine. they're much too tricky. new learning number two. if you want to really appreciate rilke, learn german.
when you learn something new everyday, you're not required to like it. obviously. or maybe i'm just anal.
i rode north at 11:57 AM
20 kph
CAROLVS pedaled up to say...
Ah yes, the conundrum that is the translated work. Somewhere I've heard said that translations are, if true, rarely beautiful, and if beautiful, rarely true.
12:23 PM
rain pedaled up to say...
transience - i agree. and it's not trivial at all. the "i am" version has a much more empowering meaning than the "i am you."
carolvs - such things make you wish you could speak all the languages in the world to avoid desecrating any form of literary beauty.Ü
12:30 PM
JErm pedaled up to say...
don't leave out the great "i am" i heard he created all mankind and its diverse languages..
12:44 PM
transience pedaled up to say...
carolvs >> i agree. just read neruda.
rain >> i'm glad you understand. i broached this subject with someone not as profound, and she just looked at me like i had food on my face. what a disappointing reaction.
12:46 PM
transience pedaled up to say...
JErm >> you mean YHWH?
12:49 PM
retarius pedaled up to say...
a comma can change so damn much. translations are nice, but i always feel like i am missing something, getting a poorly watered down version.
1:10 PM
transience pedaled up to say...
true, retarius, true.
1:18 PM
monsterspank pedaled up to say...
why did i have to read this post? you have ruined semantics as i know it.
holy shit. i feel BETRAYED.
AM betrayed.
2:17 PM
transience pedaled up to say...
isn't it a total wanker?! god, i knew you'd feel as bad as i did.
2:23 PM
monsterspank pedaled up to say...
transience, i am reminded of one of my english professor's illustration of how word placement/order/syntax can alter the meaning of sentences.
say, the word ONLY.
ONLY i love you.
i ONLY love you.
i love ONLY you.
i love you ONLY.
this is totally unrelated to our dilemma on the rilke. i'm just amusing myself. AM betrayed.
2:36 PM
transience pedaled up to say...
AM still pondering on rilke, too.
2:44 PM
JErm pedaled up to say...
do you follow? ;p
3:37 PM
transience pedaled up to say...
no, not really. but i'm sure you'll enlighten me. =D
3:46 PM
JErm pedaled up to say...
not what i'm sayin silly.. the dude! ;p
3:51 PM
transience pedaled up to say...
the dude could actually be a woman, you know.
3:55 PM
JErm pedaled up to say...
only if ur a feminist! ;p
11:10 PM
endlessecho pedaled up to say...
Hmm interesting...
I read a lot of Calvino ( Italian )....and there are things he says that I can connect to.
Now I wonder if he actually says them ;)but i guess the point is not what he says but how one sees it.
12:30 AM
transience pedaled up to say...
hi, endlessecho. yes, sometimes, perception is all that matters.
7:35 PM
Jonas M Luster pedaled up to say...
Actually, I dug the German version from my stack, and here it says:
Ich bin Du,....
which makes the second translation correct.
9:26 AM
transience pedaled up to say...
hey, jonas. thanks for the clarification. there goes semantics as i know it. drat.
but thanks for dropping by. =)
9:35 AM
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