Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Howard Nemerov’s poem "Translation" explores the profound challenges and inherent losses involved in translating language, culture, and emotion from one form to another. The poem delves into the inadequacies of translation and the way it diminishes the richness and depth of the original expressions, leaving us with a sense of longing for the untranslatable beauty of the past.

The poem opens with a Latin phrase, "Anima quodammodo omnia," which translates to "The soul is in a manner all there is." Nemerov reflects on the "lovely and exact fit between / The language and the thing it means to say" in Latin, contrasting this with the inadequacy of the English translation. The phrase "in English all but the sense evaporates" highlights the idea that translation strips away much of the original's essence, reducing it to a "poor thin mingy thing" that is fit only for the brain, devoid of its soul.

Nemerov laments the loss of the rich, immersive world where such phrases were spoken and sung "in their high halls of stone." This world, with its deep cultural and emotional resonance, has "vanished utterly." In its place, we are left with a flat and unsatisfactory reality, encapsulated by the modern, logical proposition: "The world is everything that is the case." This stark, analytical statement fails to capture the depth and longing conveyed in the original expressions.

The poem contrasts this modern flatness with the evocative power of religious and poetic language. The Latin phrase "In paradisum deducant te angeli," which translates to "Now angels lead thee into paradise," retains some of its emotional power even in translation. However, Nemerov suggests that this power is a faint echo of the original, capable of evoking a "tremor and a tear" primarily because it reminds us of what has been lost. The original world of "the Lady and the singers and the dead" remains untranslatable and deeply missed.

Nemerov's use of Latin phrases and their translations serves to illustrate the poem's central theme: the intrinsic difficulty and ultimate failure of translation to fully convey the richness of the original. The "untranslatable, translated world" he speaks of is one that holds cultural, emotional, and spiritual significance, elements that are often diminished or lost in the process of translation.

The structure of the poem, with its alternating lines of reflection and translation, mirrors the tension between the original and the translated, emphasizing the gap that translation inevitably leaves. The use of imagery such as "high halls of stone" and "plainsong" evokes a sense of grandeur and solemnity associated with the past, contrasting sharply with the flatness of modern expressions.

In "Translation," Howard Nemerov poignantly captures the essence of what is lost in the act of translation. The poem serves as a meditation on the limitations of language and the enduring human longing for the depth and beauty of original expressions that translations can never fully replicate. Through its reflective tone and evocative imagery, the poem invites readers to consider the profound impact of cultural and linguistic shifts on our collective understanding and emotional experience.

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