SHAKESPEARE TRANSLATIONS
Sue,—In the latest of his delightful "Marginal Comments," Mr. Harold Nicolson, dealing w!th the way in which foreigners may approach efficiently the treasures of English literature, touched the question of the translation of masterpieces of it He was right when saying that French translations are rather poor, especially if we take as an example the rendering of Shakespeare's plays by Francois Hugo.
Victor Hugo in the Preface of the book he conseciated to Shakespeare, using in it style, images and comparisons of magnificent grandiloquence,
reports an interesting anecdote. When, after the coup-d'etat of Napoleon III, Victor Hugo left for his long exile at Jersey he was accompanied by his son Francois. On arriving at the island the son asked his father: "What do you intend to do here?" "To contemplate the Ocean," answered the poet, putting to the son a similar question: "And yourself what arc you going to do? " "I will translate Shakespeare," said Francois. "Then, you are to do the same thing as myself," Victor said, comparing Shakespeare with the Ocean.
Despite of the encouragement by the father's striking itnage, the attempt of rendering Shakespeare into French by Francois Hugo was the most unfelicitous I know in the field of translations. A translation of Hamlet in verse, which the Comedic Francaise uses for its performances is equally weak. The translation of the same play by Marcel Schwob is better, but not to the height of the original.
Mr. Nicolson praises instead the classical Schlegels' translation of Shakespeare into German and he praises it rightly. He speaks also favourably of the translation of Shakespeare's Sonnets into German by Stefan Georg. I cannot express any opinion on the matter, but I have read many times the translation of the Sonnets in French by Francois- Marie Gamier, and in my opinion the young French poet, who translated them (he died in his early youth), achieved a work which challenges successfully the difficulty to render the Sonnets into a language which does not possess the pellucid diaphaneity of the poetical English, and the rigidity of which lacks "the suggestive and the associated" element, to use the expression of Mr. Nicolson.
May I be allowed to quote here Sonnet XVIII, as it was rendered by Gamier?
"Comment te comparer aux beaux jours de l'Ete?
Ta grace est plus gamble et ton humeur plus douce: Son vent rude abolit les bourgeons velour& Et son bail est bien court: déjà l'Hiver le pousse.
Parfois roeil du soled nous bride en son ardeur, Souvent ror de son teint se ternit et s'efface, Suivant le cours changeant d'un hasard dcstructeur Toute fleur de beaute perd sa fleur et as grace.
Mais toi, point ne verras se fietrir ton printemps,
Ni se taner jamais tes beautes immortelles, Ni la Most se vanter de ton fantorne errant: Tu grandis I toujeurs en rimes etemelles.
Tant que vivra k monde,—et ramour et l'envic,— Vivront ccs vers, et ces vers-11 donnent Is vie! "
Only a specimen, but a good one, I think.
May I be allowed to add that the translations of Shakespeare's tra- gedies into Modern Greek by Demetrius Bikelas arc not unworthy of the beauty of the original? Modern Greek is a good channel for rendering English poetry The richness of the language is due to borrowings from Byzantine and mediaeval Greek literature and the astonishing faculty in composite words derived from ancient Greek.—Yours faithfully,
Carrington House, Hen ford Street, W. r. D. CAC:LAMANOS.
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