Topic 43 of 53: French Poetry
Tue, Oct 12, 1999 (21:09) |
Wolf (wolf)
29 responses total.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 1 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (00:52) * 5 lines
Merci beaucoup, La Loupe!
J'espère qu'il y a beaucoup de personnes qui parlent français ici, et qui adorent la poésie! Je n'ai pas des poemes maintenant, mais je les cherche!
(If I've made any grammatical mistakes, fellow francophones, please pardon me. I'm rather out of practice at French!)
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 2 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (01:02) * 36 lines
LE PONT MIRABEAU
par Guillaume Apollinaire
Sous le pont Mirabeau could la Seine
Et nos amours
Faut-il qu'il m'en souvienne
La joie venait toujours après la peine
Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeure
Les mains dans les mains restons face-à-face
Tandis que sous
Le pont de nos bras passe
Des éternels regards l'onde si lasse
Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeure
L'amour s'en va comme cette eau courante
L'amour s'en va
Comme la vie est lente
Et comme l'Espérance est violente
Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeure
Passent les jours et passent les semaines
Ni temps passé
Ni les amours reviennent
Sous le pont Mirabeau coule la Seine
Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeure
(Oh Marcia, I hope you can read this! If you can't, I'll write you a translation!)
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 3 of 29: John Burnett (mrchips) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (01:08) * 1 lines
My dad could've read this. Unfortunately, I can't.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 4 of 29: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (01:10) * 1 lines
je ne parle francaise - or whatever it is...How about Hawaiian?!
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 5 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (01:11) * 8 lines
LE CHAT
par Guillaume Apollinaire
Je souhaite dans ma maison
Une femme ayant sa raison
Un chat passant parmi les livres
Des amis en toute saison
Sans lesquels je ne peut pas vivre.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 6 of 29: John Burnett (mrchips) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (01:17) * 1 lines
I can read and understand Hawaiian, if someone is not talking too fast. I am not a fluent speaker.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 7 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (01:19) * 42 lines
Oh, crud. Well, here's my translation (and if it retains any of its original beauty, it is from no genius on my part.)
The Mirabeau Bridge
Under the Mirabeau Bridge flows the Seine
And our loves
It is necessary that I remember
The joy always comes after the pain
Come night chime the hour
Days pass away I stay
Hand in hand we stay face to face
Under us
The bridge of our arms passes
The eternal regards of waves so weary
Come night...
Love goes away like that flowing water
Love goes away
As life is slow
And as Hope is violent
Come night...
Pass days and pass weeks
Neither past time
Nor loves come back
Under the Mirabeau Bridge flows the Seine
Come night...
The second one says:
THE CAT
I wish in my house
A wife of good wits
A cat passing amongst the books
Some friends for all seasons
Without these I cannot live.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 8 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (01:20) * 8 lines
LE CHAT
par Guillaume Apollinaire
Je souhaite dans ma maison
Une femme ayant sa raison
Un chat passant parmi les livres
Des amis en toute saison
Sans lesquels je ne peut pas vivre.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 9 of 29: John Burnett (mrchips) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (01:21) * 1 lines
I don't know if it retains the original beauty, but I like both poems in translation. Merci beaucoups!
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 10 of 29: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (01:23) * 1 lines
Thank you Amy Dear...means so much more than just THE CAT, which even I could translate. *hugs* for that!
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 11 of 29: Wolf (wolf) * Wed, Oct 13, 1999 (19:55) * 1 lines
ok, i can't read french but i love to look at it!
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 12 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Thu, Oct 14, 1999 (00:48) * 15 lines
Here will follow (in this post and future ones,) some of my favorite French Romantic poems.
from "L'Automne" by Lamartine
La fleur tombe en livrant ses parfums au zephire;
À la vie, au soleil, ce sont là ses adieux:
Moi, je meurs; et mon âme,
au moment qu'elle expire,
S'exhale comme un son triste et mélodieux.
The flower falls in giving up its perfumes to the zephyr;
To life, to the sun, these are its goodbyes:
Me, I die, and my soul,
at the moment that it expires
Exhales like a sound sad and melodious.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 13 of 29: MarkG (MarkG) * Thu, Oct 14, 1999 (07:39) * 10 lines
With some licence, an alternative translation of the Lamartine stanza:
The flower, falling, frees
Its perfume to the breeze,
To life, and to the sun,
To show its day is done.
I die, and at my death,
My soul sends one last breath
Echoing round and round,
A sad, melodious sound.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 14 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Thu, Oct 14, 1999 (11:39) * 1 lines
Salut, Mark! I'm glad that someone else speaks French here, too!
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 15 of 29: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 14, 1999 (12:37) * 1 lines
Mark is a special guy - he can translate French into rhyme and playes cricket, as well. Is there no end to the talents of this man? Happy to see you posting again...I though you had put us away with the used cricket balls for next season!
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 16 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Thu, Oct 14, 1999 (12:56) * 1 lines
I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, Mark.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 17 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Thu, Oct 14, 1999 (20:10) * 41 lines
LA COMPLAINTE DE REUTBEUF
Les maux ne savent venir isolément
Il fallait que tout cela m'arrivât.
Et c'est arrivé.
Que sont devenus mes amis,
Avec qui j'étais si intime
Et que j'avais tant aimés?
Je crois qu'ils sont trop clairsemés,
Ils ne furent pas bien fumés,
Alors ils m'ont fait défaut.
Ces amis-là m'ont mal traité,
Car jamais, tant que Dieu m'affligea
En mainte manière,
Je n'en vis un seul en ma demeure.
Je crois que le vent me les a enlevés.
L'amitié est morte:
Ce sont amis que vent emporte,
Et il ventait devant ma porte:
Aussi le vent les emporta.
REUTBEUF'S COMPLAINT
Misfortunes don't know how to come alone
It was necessary that everything came to me,
And it came.
What has become of my friends,
With whom I was so intimate
And whom I loved so much?
I believe that they were so well sown:
They were not well fertilized,
So it was my shortcoming.
These friends treated me badly
Because when God afflicted me
In many ways,
I didn't see a one of them at my house.
I believe that the wind uprooted them.
Friendship is dead:
These are the friends that the wind carried away,
And they blew away in front of my door:
Also the wind carried them away.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 18 of 29: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 14, 1999 (20:50) * 1 lines
That is so sad - fair weather friends are not just an American thing, I guess...
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 19 of 29: Wolf (wolf) * Thu, Oct 14, 1999 (21:50) * 1 lines
thanks for the alternate translation of the flower piece. it had better meter than the direct translation! but thank you amy for translating after you post a french piece!
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 20 of 29: MarkG (MarkG) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (02:38) * 1 lines
Enchanté, Amy. Your knowledge of poetry is in different realms from mine, and the postings are fascinating.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 21 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (11:07) * 3 lines
I'm sorry the translation of the Reutbeuf piece is a little clunky, but I just can't seem to make the poems as beautiful as the originals. (Maybe because I'm not a poet!)
What kind of poetry do you study, Mark?
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 22 of 29: MarkG (MarkG) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (12:02) * 15 lines
Less clunky (but only a little):
When troubles come, they're not alone,
My troubles came not on their own.
And all my friends, whose love I knew,
How close we were, but where were you?
I thought our roots ran deep together,
It seems they could not stand foul weather.
My fault, I guess, I take the blame,
But when God turned on me, who came?
Not one, the wind blew all away,
This friendship's dead; these friends don't stay;
Before my door, they blew away.
Amy, I wish I could claim I studied poetry. I have read and forgotten a fair amount; the stuff that sticks is verse (sometimes poetic, sometimes not). I often lack the patience to dig out the metaphor, so it is lovely to have someone select items worth reading.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 23 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (13:13) * 1 lines
Your translation is SO much better than mine! I'm terribly out of practice in French anyway--I haven't had a class in over a year, and I don't have very many opportunities to use it. I know I should practice more, because I don't want nine years or so of French to go to waste.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 24 of 29: Wolf (wolf) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (17:42) * 1 lines
well, this is a perfect opportunity too! i think there's also a french conference area around here but am not sure!
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 25 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (18:07) * 23 lines
Here's a French love song from the 16th century and, fortunately for everyone here, I didn't write the translation! This is also Renaissance French, so it looks a little different than modern French.
Je Suis Desheritée
Je suis desheritée
Puis que j'ay perdu mon amy,
Seulette il m'a laisée
Pleine de dueil & de soucy.
Rossignol du boys joly,
Sans plus faire demeurée
Va t'en dire à mon amy
Que pour luy suis tourmentée.
I Am Desolate
I am desolate
Since I lost my lover,
All alone he left me
Full of sorrow and trouble.
Nightingale of the beautiful wood
Without further ado, stay no longer,
Go tell my lover
That because of him I am tormented.
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 26 of 29: Alexander (aschuth) * Tue, Oct 19, 1999 (14:41) * 1 lines
Parlez whatever here, sil vous please: http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/cultures/13
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 27 of 29: Isabel (Isabel) * Tue, Oct 19, 1999 (14:47) * 1 lines
So are we allowed to talk french in cultures? I thought this was only for screwed, no?
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 28 of 29: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Tue, Oct 19, 1999 (16:51) * 1 lines
I'm sure you'll all be happy to hear that I'm going to take a seminar in Francophone lit next semester, so I should get enough practice to do better translations!
Topic 43 of 53 [poetry]: French Poetry
Response 29 of 29: Delphine (Delphine) * Thu, Feb 20, 2003 (10:52) * 49 lines
Bonjour. Here's a cute poem/fable you might have heard.
Le Corbeau et le Renard
par Jean de la Fontaine
Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché,
Tenait en son bec un fromage.
Maître Renard, par l'odeur alléché,
Lui tint à peu près ce langage :
"Hé ! bonjour, Monsieur du Corbeau.
Que vous êtes joli ! que vous me semblez beau !
Sans mentir, si votre ramage
Se rapporte à votre plumage,
Vous êtes le Phénix des hôtes de ces bois."
A ces mots le Corbeau ne se sent pas de joie ;
Et pour montrer sa belle voix,
Il ouvre un large bec, laisse tomber sa proie.
Le Renard s'en saisit, et dit : "Mon bon Monsieur,
Apprenez que tout flatteur
Vit aux dépens de celui qui l'écoute :
Cette leçon vaut bien un fromage, sans doute. "
Le Corbeau, honteux et confus,
Jura, mais un peu tard, qu'on ne l'y prendrait plus.
The Crow and the Fox
Master Crow perched on a tree,
Was holding a cheese in his beak.
Master Fox attracted by the smell
Said something like this:
"Well, Hello Mister Crow!
How beautiful you are! how nice you seem to me!
Really, if your voice
Is like your plumage,
You are the phoenix of all the inhabitants of these woods."
At these words, the Crow is overjoyed.
And in order to show off his beautiful voice,
He opens his beak wide, lets his prey fall
The Fox grabs it, and says: "My good man,
Learn that every flatterer
Lives at the expense of the one who listens to him.
This lesson, whitout doubt, is well worth a cheese."
The Crow, ashamed and embarrassed,
Swore, but a little late, that he would not be taken again.
Thanks for your time.
Merci beaucoup.
poetry conference 
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