Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0015191, Fri, 27 Apr 2007 21:02:14 -0400

Subject
Rejoinders on Mallarme, Villon, and Charles d'Orleans
From
Date
Body
Dear Jansy,

> In his "Introduction" to Bend Sinister, Nabokov discusses another kind
of
> metamorphosis in relation to "nymphs and fauns" ( artistically crafted
and
> intentional) when he wrote: "StГ©phane MallarmГ© has left three or
four
> immortal bagatelles, and among these is L'AprГЁs-Midi d'un Faune
(first
> drafted in 1865). Krug is haunted by a passage from this voluptuous
eclogue
> where the faun accuses the nymph of disengaging herself from his
embrace
> 'sans pitiГ© du sanglot dont j'Г©tais encore ivre' ('spurning the
spasm
> with which I still was drunk').

My only remark is that the translation you cite
>('spurning the spasm
> with which I still was drunk').
looks to me very bad translation. It doesn't represent Mallarme's style
at
all.

Best,
Sergei

[EDNOTE. Clarification: Jansy was quoting VN's translation of
Mallarme's line in his introduction to Bend Sinister. -- SES]

-----------

John A. Rea wrote:

>This sort of poetic game was almost a standard in the
>late middle ages and the so called "Renaissance".

Richard Wilbur's elegant "Ballade for the Duke of Orleans" is an
eloquent response to this poetic challenge.

R. S. Gwynn

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