Translating poetry into English. Is it preferable to be true to the form of the work or the content?

Obviously it is preferable to keep both form and content as true to the original as possible, but if they conflict, is it better to write prose, and keep the meaning as close as possible, or stick to the form of the poem, and introduce more ambiguity.





Another problem, of course, is that meanings can vary with the reader, so are we having the translater's interpretation inflicted on us?





Anyone up for a challenge?





The most effective translation of this, by Verlaine? (Chosen for the simplicity of the language.)





GREEN


Voici des fruits, des fleurs, des feuilles et des branches


Et puis voici mon coeur, qui ne bat que pour vous,


Ne le d茅chirez pas avec vos deux mains blanches,


Et qu'脿 vos yeux si beaux l'humble pr茅sent soit doux.


J'arrive tout couvert encore de ros茅e


Que le vent du matin vient glacer 脿 mon front.


Souffrez que ma fatique, 脿 vos pieds repos茅e,


R茅ve des chers instants qui la d茅lasseront.


Sur votre jeune sein laissez rouler ma t锚te


Toute sonore encor de vos derniers baisers;


Laissez-la s'apaiser de la bonne temp锚te,


Et que je dorme un peu puisque vous reposezTranslating poetry into English. Is it preferable to be true to the form of the work or the content?
If a poen is in another language it should stay in another language, be presented in another language. To translate it not only changes the meaning, but the tone and feelings as well. Not to mention that one word in another's language could have 25 different meanings.





So just stick to the poem and the original language it was written in. To change it would be to change the writer's feelings and not even could be considered copyrighted but instead could be a poem of a different meaning and different author.





Sure we're having the translator's interpretation provided to us. That's why it's so dangerous to translate what other countries say to our country and our country to say to someone else's country. There are many misunderstandings that cause wars.





I don't speak or understand French, but here's my interpretation. See how much it loses when translated?





I am a flower and my heart beats only for you because you were gentle with my spirit Your endearing eyes see me as covered with dew. The morning breezes cool my face. I rest at your feet at the end of the day and recall dear moments of the gentle kiss you placed upon my bud. That kiss will calm the storm while I await your return.Translating poetry into English. Is it preferable to be true to the form of the work or the content?
I think it is always going to be difficult to translate poetry into another language, as the true meaning of the poem (unless it is crudely simple) relies on both the form and the content working together.





It really depends on the poem itself. You have to understand it in its original language before you can attempt to translate it into something even resembling the original. Only an indepth working knowledge of the poem in its original form will qualify you to translate it.





Good question though, but its too tricky to answer I think!
theories of how to translate poetry are a rich source both of epistemological excitement and semantic discovery.





there are at least three wholly distinct ways to translate a poem, and how one approaches translation will dictate both what words you choose and how you use them.





but this is something you need to discuss with other poets - there is no one simple answer to any of your thousand questions.





try visiting the sparknotes poetry site - two years ago there were some excellent translations there.





and there was a very interesting discussion on how to translate liu che.





i'm afraid i can't speak for its quality these days.
If there is a conflict between form and content, always be true to the content. Translations are never exact, and words don't rhyme the same way, but keeping the content still conveys what the author wanted the original poem to. For example, Karol Wojtyla's poetry was written in Polish, but it still greatly impresses one because the translator stayed true to the content over the form.
Either you just translate or you interpret as well but that becomes subjective.





It depends, I suppose, on why you are doing it.





Here are the fruits, the flowers, the leaves and branches....