“Up the airy mountain…” from “The Fairies” by William Allingham (1850)
Bonus:
I really thought he just said "FAIRIES" not "FAIRYGODPARENTS"
Summary: There are fairies in the countryside.
Commentary:
A long one tonight. ABCBDEFE scheme (mostly), no set feet.
Fairies are a good poem theme. They lend themselves to poetic whimsy.
Summary: I'm talkin' 'bout a wanderin' man.
Commentary:
Something a little different today. "Tell me, Muse" is under the index for T, but I thought it'd be fun to look at some other translations.
The Butcher/Lang translation is the one in T5FSOB, and and has largely been superseded.
Fitzgerald and Fagles are broadly respected as readable, but accurate, Lattimore as the most faithful, and Wilson as the hip new choice.
I did all of Fitzgerald translation two summers ago on the blog, and I enjoyed it. Looking at them side-by-side, there is a unique (which always makes me think mistranslated) element in "Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story" bold not appearing in other translations. I can see how it works in the singer/storyteller sense.
Lattimore feels a little stilted to me. I believe he's mimicking the Greek here, but it's not clicking for me. I might get into it if I read another 20 pages.
Fagles is rocking some fun repetition/alliteration:
Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns
driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
the hallowed heights of Troy.
Wilson is sticking out to me with calling Troy a "town." I like the break after the first line: Tell me about a complicated man.
It's a nice direct intro.
"Symmetrical and square in shape…” Buddhist Writings (Translated by Henry Clarke Warren, 1896)
Bonus:
Summary: Hell is a scary square.
Commentary:
Another short one, so here's a full drop:
Symmetrical, and square in shape,
Four-gated, into parts laid off.
Of iron is its bounding wall,
An iron roof doth close it in;
And of its glowing iron floor
The light with dazzling brilliancy
Spreads for a hundred leagues around,
And ever and for ay abides.
This is, "the chiefest of the hells"
Four appears a number of time in Buddhism (the four noble truths, the four sublime attitudes...). In many east Asian cultures, four is associated with death, due it being a near homophone of "death" (si and sei). It would make sense to make hell square in this context.
Bonus:
Summary: On a plain that is sacred, they're ranged for battle.
Commentary:
Full text:
As a lit critic, I have concerns about four proper nouns in the first four lines.
On the other hand, I'm a big fan of the epic poetry tradition of opening with an active call for the story/dialogue. I like knowing where the story is coming from (I'll watch any trash if you change it to found footage). It makes it feel more believable, and helps you to understand the world. More on this tomorrow, actually.
Bonus:
Official Poem of Night Elf Mohawks!
Summary: Diana comes out when the sun is down.
Commentary: Other than being a great choice for your Night Elf WoW character...
7 feet, 6 lines, ABABCC
It's fine? I wonder what the context within the larger play is. Otherwise, I think this is an interesting poem if you're into the theme, pretty skippable if not.
Bonus:
Summary:
Commentary: OH MY GOD THIS DIDN'T POST WHY IS EVERYTHING SO ETTERIBLE
P: “Poets, like Disputants…” by John Dryden (from All for Love, 1677)
Bonus:
No one would call these poets fops.
Summary: Poets get mad if you don't like their poems. Authors think they're all hat and no cattle.
Commentary: AA... rhyme scheme. 10 feet per line.
Since the goal this month is for me (a prose writer) to better appreciate poetry, this one seemed appropriate. It's not really doing much for me. Functional, but nothing really jumps out. I like: "Fop, Coxcomb, Fool, are thunder’d through the Pit," but nothing here is blowing me away with imagery, or profundity, or anything.
“Up the airy mountain…” from “The Fairies” by William Allingham (1850) Bonus: I really thought he just said "FAIRIES" not ...
