‘LOVE HATH REASON, REASON NONE’: A NEW BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE TRANSLATION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S “THE PHOENIX AND THE TURTLE”

Britto, Paulo Henriques; Martins, Marcia A. P.

Abstract

The purpose of this article is twofold: to present a new translation of William Shakespeare’s poem “The Phoenix and the Turtle” alongside a discussion of formal and semantic solutions as well as to help filling the gap that exists in terms of translations of Shakespeare’s lyrical poetry into Brazilian Portuguese, much smaller in number than those of the dramatic canon, except for the series of 154 sonnets (The Sonnets, 1609). It is a short poem, published in 1601 in a collection edited by Robert Chester under the title Love’s Martyr, which also includes authors such as Ben Jonson and George Chapman. In formal terms, it features 67 lines distributed in 13 quatrains and five triplets, to the latter making up the final part, the threnos. Written in trochaic tetramete, it follows the rhyme scheme abba in the quatrains and aaa in the triplets. In an allegorical tone, it describes the ideal love between the phoenix and the turtle, which unites them into a single being, while preserving their own individualities. The poem begins with the gathering of some birds, such as crow, eagle and swan, to celebrate the memory of the phoenix and the turtle after their death. From the eleventh stanza on, Reason, personified, takes over the narrative, and sings a funereal lament for the love of the two birds: with their death, beauty, truth and grace disappear from the world. The translation presented here followed the method for the translation of poetry devised by Paulo Henriques Britto (2006, 2015), comprised of three steps: to identify the poetically significant characteristics of the poem; to assign a priority to each feature, depending on the greater or lesser contribution it makes to the overall aesthetic effect of the poem; and to recreate the characteristics considered to be the most significant among those for which correspondences can be sought in the target language. Following this method, the poem was recreated in eight-syllable lines, replicating the stanzaic structure and the rhyme scheme of Shakespeare’s poem.

Keywords
William Shakespeare; The Phoenix and the Turtle ; Poetry translation

[1] E-mail: phbritto@hotmail.com

The Phoenix and the Turtle Let the bird of loudest lay, On the sole Arabian tree, Herald sad and trumpet be, To whose sound chaste wings obey.	A	A fênix e o pombo Em árv’re na Arábia pousada, Ó ave de canto mais alto, Sê tu o merencório arauto Que acatem asas recatadas.
But thou shrieking harbinger, Foul precurrer of the fiend, Augur of the fever’s end, To this troop come thou not near.	B	Mas tu, coruja, de voz feia, Que ao demo fazes companhia, E o fim da febre prenuncias, Bem longe vá desta assembleia.
From this session interdict Every fowl of tyrant wing, Save the eagle, feather’d king: Keep the obsequy so strict.	C	Que a presença não se proponha De ave qualquer de rapina, Salvo a águia, asa-rainha: Pra poucas seja a cerimônia.
Let the priest in surplice white That defunctive music can, Be the death-divining swan, Lest the requiem lack his right.	D	De sobrepeliz alva e espessa, Cisne, reza teu canto forte Capaz de adivinhar a morte, Que o réquiem de nada careça.
And thou treble-dated crow, That thy sable gender mak’st With the breath thou giv’st and tak’st, ’Mongst our mourners shalt thou go.	E	E tu, corvo, cor de carvão, O que sopra a vida e o fim traz, Em nosso cortejo estarás, Com passo sereno de ancião.
Here the anthem doth commence: Love and constancy is dead; Phœnix and the turtle fled In a mutual flame from hence.	F	E eis que o hino tem início: A constância e o amor se extinguiram; A fênix e o pombo partiram Em fogo comum e propício.
So they lov’d, as love in twain Had the essence but in one; Two distincts, division none: Number there in love was slain	G	Assim amaram, tendo os dois A essência apenas do um; Dois, sim; mas, dissenso, nenhum: Do número, amor foi o algoz.
Hearts remote, yet not asunder; Distance, and no space was seen ’Twixt the turtle and his queen: But in them it were a wonder.	H	Dois corações, um só, no entanto; Entre o pombo e sua rainha Espaço jamais intervinha: Unos, como se por encanto.
So between them love did shine, That the turtle saw his right Flaming in the phœnix’ sight; Either was the other’s mine.	I	Assim amor resplandeceu; Pombo viu que sua alegria No olhar de fênix reluzia; O seu de um, do outro era o meu.
Property was thus appall’d, That the self was not the same; Single nature’s double name Neither two nor one was call’d.	J	O ser percebeu, assombrado, Que outro ser em si habitava, Que o duplo estado em que ele estava Nem dois nem um era chamado.
Reason, in itself confounded, Saw division grow together; To themselves yet either neither, Simple were so well compounded,	K	Razão, perplexa, via opostos Fundir-se sem mais divisão; Ambos, em perfeita união, Simples eram, porém compostos,
That it cried, “How true a twain Seemeth this concordant one! Love hath reason, reason none, If what parts can so remain”.	L	E disse: “Os dois, com tal arte Se tornam um todo maior! Quem tem razão é o próprio amor, Que faz um só de duas partes.”
Whereupon it made this threne To the phœnix and the dove, Co-supremes and stars of love, As chorus to their tragic scene.	M	E assim criou Razão, com lágrimas, Pra fênix e pombo, este treno, No amor irmanados, supremos, Rematando essa cena trágica.
Threnos	N	Treno
Beauty, truth, and rarity, Grace in all simplicity, Here enclos’d in cinders lie.		O belo, o vero e o invulgar Jazem aqui neste lugar, Em cinzas que hão de perdurar.
Death is now the phœnix’ nest; And the turtle’s loyal breast To eternity doth rest,	O	A morte é da fênix o ninho, E o pombo fiel, seu vizinho, Sempre juntos, jamais sozinhos,
Leaving no posterity: ’Twas not their infirmity, It was married chastity.	P	Não legando posteridade. Não foi por fraqueza da idade: Matrimônio com castidade.
Truth may seem, but cannot be; Beauty brag, but ‘tis not she; Truth and beauty buried be.	Q	Parece a verdade, mas não; E tampouco a beleza, então. Ambas sepultadas estão.
To this urn let those repair That are either true or fair; For these dead birds sigh a prayer.	R	E quem possui por natureza Ou bem verdade, ou bem beleza, Por estas aves mortas reza.

Brasil

Brasil

‘LOVE HATH REASON, REASON NONE’: A NEW BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE TRANSLATION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S “THE PHOENIX AND THE TURTLE”

Abstract