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Ahmet Mesut ATE 249566 16 April 2012 Sonnet: Comprehension and Translation Labyrinth of Shakespeares Sonnet 73 Shakespeares Sonnets for a contemporary reader, though they seem complicated and the use of the language in Sonnets even differs from other English sonnets, are the written image of perfection. Reading and comprehending a poem, or a sonnet in this case, may be the most challenging task for a reader and moreover for a translator. This paper will examine the process of the translation of Shakespeares Sonnet 73 into Turkish but I believe that before stepping into that labyrinth we must clarify briefly what a sonnet is in terms of literary value, how a translator can or should approach it and the points to be consideration in this procedure. Sonnet: Essence of human feelings A poem is a complex form of human feelings compressed in a rhythm of sounds and more importantly of life. Though we perceive poems as groups of words connected with each other through beautifully constructed language they are actually the essence of the feeling of the poet which we can more than only read but sense and re-live. One may argue which poet or which poem express human feelings best but that is a question I have not been able to answer that yet. As many of English literature student I favor Shakespeares sonnets above other poems because, in a perfect way, they define how one could devote himself utterly. William Davies, in On the Sonnets, defines the sonnets as the alphabet of the human heart, since almost every kind of emotion has been expressed, or attempted to be expressed in it

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(494). Apparently he is not the only one who praises Shakespeares sonnets above others. Richard Chenevix Trench claims that: Shakespeares Sonnets are so heavily laden with meaning, so double-shotted it sometimes imparts no little obscurity to them; and they often require to be heard or read not once but many times, in fact to be studied, before they reveal to us all the treasures of thought and feeling which they contain. (498) It is honestly more than difficult but impossible to perceive the real value of a poem and thus so much to of a Shakespearean sonnet in such a short examination. But we may note that Shakespeares sonnets reach levels of lyric melody and meditative energy that are hardly to be matched elsewhere in poetry (489) and mediated lyrical expressionexpression, indeed, that was demanding of the reader, rather than comforting (491). The labyrinth of sonnet translation As we step into the labyrinth of poem translation, and even a more complex one in the case of sonnets, we should firstly begin with reading Shakespeares Sonnet 73. That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. In me thou seest the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away,

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Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the death-bed whereon it must expire Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by. This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong, To love that well which thou must leave ere long. Before we move any further we need a guide to take us through that labyrinth and for that purpose I want to rely on Robert Blys Eight Stage of Translation. Bly divide the translation procedure of a poem into eight stages in which he tries to firstly comprehend both the poem and the poet and secondly grasp the very foundation of both the poems and the translators language. Bly states that a poem cannot blossom without a human being; that suggests we should not let a poem lie on the page but should learn it by heart (73) and he applies these stages on a modern sonnet but in our case there may be some differences on application. There are two points differing; first in Blys emphasis on using the spoken language (75). Language is not only the grammar rules and words. It is a living entity and it gains some personalities over time just like a human being. It is beyond the strict rules and words as seen in dictionaries, it is what they mean to us but in our case it would be helpful to consider that Shakespeare uses an exquisite form of language which is simultaneously noble and thus of rich elaborated style and also has an artistic fluency. And secondly Bly advices the help from a native-born speaker of the language to more easily comprehending the real and much deeper meanings but that is unfortunately not possible in sonnet translations. We need

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to, firstly, understand the sonnet thoroughly and to achieve that I re-arranged the sonnet into the modern English: You may behold that time of the year in me When upon those boughs, which shake against the cold Yellow leaves, or none, or few hang; Bare ruined choirs, where the late sweet birds sang. You see the twilight of such day in me As after sunset fades in the west, Which (that) black night by and by takes away, Deaths second self, that seals up all in rest. You see the glowing of such fire That lies on the ashes of his youth As the death-bed whereon it must expire Consumed with that which it was nourished by. You perceive this, which makes your love more strong To love that well which (whom) you must leave ere (before) long. In the sonnet Shakespeare depicts not a happy scene with all autumn leaves, ruined choirs, the night that sweeps all away and an old person longing for his youth and for his love which will end soon. As Bly suggest I reckon to compare my translation with other translations of the sonnet.

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Translation 1: te o mevsimi greceksin bende imdi Birka sar yaprak ya kalr ya kalmaz Souktan titreyen dallarda Yuvalar dald iin bulamayacaksn kular Gnn alacakaranln bende greceksin Gne batdan solup gidince ok gemeden gelir Her eyi gizleyen simsiyah gece Bende kor ateleri greceksin Genliinden kalma kller iinde Son nefesini verirken lm deinde Ektiini bieceksin Bunu anlaman arttracak sevgini Ayrlk yakn diye daha ok seveceksin beni Translation 2: Bak greceksin bende baladn gzn Ayaza kar titrer dallardaki yapraklar Sararr tek tk kalr derler btn btn;

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Ku sesleri kesilmi ykk bo tapnaklar. Bak greceksin bende alaca karanl: Nasl gne batdan solgun solgun gidince Kefen rten eliyle ezerse her lmn kan kardei kapkara irkin gece. Bak greceksin bende atein korlar var: Gen ve din gnlerinden kalma kller stnde lm deindeymi gibi fersiz yatarlar; Eceline ermitir ate kendi gcnde. Senin bunlar grmen arttracak sevgini Ayrlk yakn diye ok seveceksin beni. My Translation: Grebilirsin yln bu hazin yzn bende Souktan kavrulmu dallarda Savrulan bir avu yaprakta, son mecaliyle Cvldaan son kular harap olmu notalarda. Gnein scan bitiren Bir gnn daha batna bakar gibi Herkesi birbirinden koparp gtren

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Gecenin sinsice bizi ele geirmesinde grebilirsin beni. Genliin son deminde kavrulan Bir ate kvlcmnda grebilirsin beni Son nefesini vermeye oyalanan Kendini eriten bir mum nda grebilirsin beni. Bunlar dnp daha da seveceksin beni Seveceksin ok gemeden veda etmen gerekeni. End of the labyrinth There are three translations of Sonnet 73 and the dark atmosphere Shakespeare depicts successfully transferred in all translations. They all use similar metaphors and even same words and phrases in case of first two. Both of the two are different from third translation in the last line of first quadrant: 1. Yuvalar dald iin bulamayacaksn kular 2. Ku sesleri kesilmi ykk bo tapnaklar 3. Cvldaan son kular harap olmu notalarda The problem here is the differences between cultural assumptions. Turkish culture does not have a choir thus here arises a conflict of meaning. Because Shakespeare reflects a religious value in nature whereas Turkish culture interprets nature as itself. The first and third translation lacks that theme, only the second translation refers to a religious theme with the world tapnak which means shrine or temple.

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All three translations convey the general meaning but they also lack the artistic perfection Shakespeare presented. But we should remember that Shakespeare was indeed a genius in language and his style is out of the artistic reach of any temporary poet. The perfection in translation is a very hard task. There are only a few Turkish poet/translator who could match Shakespeares artistic perfection. One of them is Can Ycel but unfortunately he only translated one sonnet into Turkish.

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Works Cited Bly, Robert. Eight Stages of Translation. Kenyon Review 4.2 (1982): 68-89. Hieatt, A. Kent. The Genesis of Shakespeare's Sonnets: Spenser's Ruines of Rome: By Bellay. PMLA 98.5 (1983):800-814. Kambaskovici-Sawers, Danijela. Three themes in one,which wondrous scope affords: Ambiguous Speaker and Storytelling in Shakespeare's Sonnets. Criticism-Detroit 49.3 (2008): 285-306. Shrank, Cathy. Reading Shakespeares Sonnets: John Benson and the 1640 Poems. Shakespeare 5.3 (2009):271-291. Williams, Rhian. Pyramids of Egypt: Shakespeares Sonnets and a Victorian Turn to Obscurity. Victorian Poetry 48.4 (2010): 489-508.