Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem — Page 3
Once in a while, however, he has added a conjecture of his own to the emendations quoted from the criticisms of other students of the poem.
De temps à autre, cependant, il a ajouté une conjecture personnelle aux corrections citées d'après les critiques d'autres étudiants du poème.
This work is addressed to two classes of readers.
Cet ouvrage s'adresse à deux catégories de lecteurs.
From both of these alike the translator begs sympathy and co-operation.
De ces deux catégories également, le traducteur sollicite sympathie et coopération.
The Anglo-Saxon scholar he hopes to please by adhering faithfully to the original.
Il espère satisfaire le spécialiste de l'anglo-saxon en restant fidèlement attaché à l'original.
The student of English literature he aims to interest by giving him, in modern garb, the most ancient epic of our race.
Il cherche à intéresser l'étudiant en littérature anglaise en lui offrant, sous un habit moderne, l'épopée la plus ancienne de notre race.
This is a bold and venturesome undertaking; and yet there must be some students of the Teutonic past willing to follow even a daring guide, if they may read in modern phrases of the sorrows of Hrothgar, of the prowess of Beowulf, and of the feelings that stirred the hearts of our forefathers in their primeval homes.
C'est là une entreprise audacieuse et hasardeuse ; et pourtant il doit se trouver des étudiants du passé teutonique prêts à suivre même un guide téméraire, s'ils peuvent lire en phrases modernes les peines de Hrothgar, la vaillance de Beowulf, et les sentiments qui remuaient les cœurs de nos ancêtres dans leurs demeures primitives.
In order to please the larger class of readers, a regular cadence has been used, a measure which, while retaining the essential characteristics of the original, permits the reader to see ahead of him in reading.
Afin de plaire à la catégorie la plus nombreuse de lecteurs, une cadence régulière a été employée, une mesure qui, tout en conservant les caractéristiques essentielles de l'original, permet au lecteur d'anticiper la suite de sa lecture.
Perhaps every Anglo-Saxon scholar has his own theory as to how Beowulf should be translated.
Peut-être chaque spécialiste de l'anglo-saxon a-t-il sa propre théorie quant à la manière dont Beowulf devrait être traduit.
Some have given us prose versions of what we believe to be a great poem.
Certains nous ont donné des versions en prose de ce que nous croyons être un grand poème.
Is it any reflection on our honored Kemble and Arnold to say that their translations fail to show a layman that Beowulf is justly called our first _epic_?
Est-ce porter atteinte à nos honorés Kemble et Arnold que de dire que leurs traductions ne parviennent pas à montrer à un profane que Beowulf est à juste titre appelé notre premier _épopée_?
Vocabulary
- De
- Of, from; preposition indicating origin or possession
- temps
- Time; also weather
- à
- To, at, in; common preposition
- autre
- Other, another; different person or thing
- cependant
- However, nevertheless; introduces contrast
- il
- He, it; third-person singular masculine pronoun
- a
- Has; third-person singular of avoir
- ajouté
- Added; past participle of ajouter
- une
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- conjecture
- Conjecture; guess or hypothesis without full evidence
- personnelle
- Personal; relating to a specific individual
- aux
- To the, at the; contraction of à les
- corrections
- Corrections; changes made to fix errors
- citées
- Cited, mentioned; referred to as sources
- d'
- Of, from; elided form of de
- après
- After, according to; following in time or order
- les
- The; definite article, plural form
- critiques
- Critics, critiques; those who analyze works
- autres
- Other, others; plural of autre
- étudiants
- Students; people engaged in academic study
- du
- Of the; contraction of de le
- poème
- Poem; a piece of literary verse
- Cet
- This; masculine demonstrative adjective before vowel
- ouvrage
- Work, book; a written or crafted production
- s'
- Himself, itself; reflexive pronoun, elided form
- adresse
- Addresses, is directed at; targets an audience
- deux
- Two; the number 2
- catégories
- Categories; distinct groups or classes
- de
- Of, from; very common French preposition
- lecteurs
- Readers; people who read texts
- ces
- These, those; plural demonstrative adjective
- également
- Also, equally, likewise; in the same way
- le
- The; masculine singular definite article
- traducteur
- Translator; one who converts text between languages
- sollicite
- Solicits, requests; seeks support or participation
- sympathie
- Sympathy; fellow feeling or understanding
- et
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- coopération
- Cooperation; working together toward a common goal
- Il
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun
- espère
- Hopes; third-person singular of espérer
- satisfaire
- To satisfy; to meet the needs or expectations
- spécialiste
- Specialist; expert in a particular field
- l'
- The; elided definite article before vowel
- anglo-saxon
- Anglo-Saxon; relating to early medieval English culture
- en
- In, by, while; versatile preposition or gerund marker
- restant
- Remaining, staying; present participle of rester
- fidèlement
- Faithfully; in a loyal and accurate manner
- attaché
- Attached, devoted; closely connected or committed
- original
- Original; the source text or first version
- cherche
- Seeks, tries; third-person singular of chercher
- intéresser
- To interest; to capture someone's attention
- étudiant
- Student; person studying at a school or university
- littérature
- Literature; written works, especially of artistic value
- anglaise
- English; feminine adjective relating to England
- lui
- Him, her, to him; indirect or stressed pronoun
- offrant
- Offering; present participle of offrir
- sous
- Under, beneath; preposition indicating position below
- un
- A, an, one; masculine indefinite article
- habit
- Garment, dress; clothing or outward appearance
- moderne
- Modern; relating to current or recent times
- épopée
- Epic; a long narrative poem about heroic deeds
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- plus
- More, most; comparative or superlative adverb
- ancienne
- Ancient, oldest; feminine adjective for old
- notre
- Our; first-person plural possessive adjective
- race
- Race, people; a group sharing common ancestry
- C'
- It; elided form of ce before est
- est
- Is; third-person singular of être
- là
- There; adverb indicating a place or situation
- entreprise
- Undertaking, enterprise; a bold or ambitious project
- audacieuse
- Bold, daring; showing courage and audacity
- hasardeuse
- Risky, hazardous; involving danger or uncertainty
- pourtant
- Yet, however; introduces an unexpected contrast
- doit
- Must, has to; third-person singular of devoir
- se
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
- trouver
- To find, to be located; to discover something
- des
- Some, of the; plural indefinite article
- passé
- Past; time gone by or the past tense
- teutonique
- Teutonic; relating to ancient Germanic peoples
- prêts
- Ready; prepared and willing to act
- suivre
- To follow; to go after or accompany
- même
- Even, same; emphasizing identity or similarity
- guide
- Guide; one who leads or directs others
- téméraire
- Reckless, rash; acting without regard for danger
- ils
- They; third-person plural masculine pronoun
- peuvent
- Can, are able to; third-person plural of pouvoir
- lire
- To read; to interpret written text
- phrases
- Sentences, phrases; units of written language
- modernes
- Modern; plural adjective relating to current times
- peines
- Sorrows, hardships; suffering or difficulties
- vaillance
- Valor, bravery; courageous behavior in hardship
- sentiments
- Feelings, sentiments; emotional states or reactions
- qui
- Who, which, that; relative or interrogative pronoun
- remuaient
- Stirred, moved; imperfect of remuer, to stir
- cœurs
- Hearts; plural of cœur, seat of emotion
- nos
- Our; first-person plural possessive adjective, plural
- ancêtres
- Ancestors; people from whom one is descended
- dans
- In, inside; preposition indicating location
- leurs
- Their; third-person plural possessive adjective
- demeures
- Dwellings, homes; places where people live
- primitives
- Primitive, early; relating to ancient or basic origins
- Afin
- In order to; conjunction expressing purpose
- plaire
- To please; to give satisfaction or enjoyment
- catégorie
- Category; a class or group of similar things
- nombreuse
- Numerous, large; comprising many members
- cadence
- Cadence, rhythm; regular beat or flow in verse
- régulière
- Regular; consistent and uniform in pattern
- été
- Been; past participle of être
- employée
- Used, employed; applied for a particular purpose
- mesure
- Measure, meter; rhythmic unit in poetry or music
- tout
- All, entirely; indicating totality or completeness
- conservant
- Preserving, keeping; maintaining essential features
- caractéristiques
- Characteristics; distinctive features or qualities
- essentielles
- Essential; absolutely necessary or fundamental
- permet
- Allows, permits; makes something possible
- au
- To the, at the; contraction of à le
- lecteur
- Reader; a person who reads a text
- anticiper
- To anticipate; to foresee or expect in advance
- suite
- Continuation, sequence; what follows next
- sa
- His, her, its; third-person singular possessive adjective
- lecture
- Reading; the activity of reading a text
- Peut-
- May, might; first part of peut-être (perhaps)
- être
- Be; infinitive of the verb to be
- chaque
- Each, every; referring to individual members
- a-
- Has; part of inverted question form a-t-il
- propre
- Own; belonging specifically to oneself
- théorie
- Theory; a set of ideas explaining something
- quant
- As for, regarding; used in quant à
- manière
- Manner, way; a method or style of doing
- dont
- Of which, whose; relative pronoun
- devrait
- Should, ought to; conditional of devoir
- traduit
- Translated; past participle or present of traduire
- Certains
- Some, certain ones; referring to unspecified people
- nous
- We, us; first-person plural pronoun
- ont
- Have; third-person plural of avoir
- donné
- Given; past participle of donner
- versions
- Versions; particular forms or translations of a text
- prose
- Prose; ordinary written language without verse
- ce
- This, that, it; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- que
- That, which, what; conjunction or relative pronoun
- croyons
- Believe; first-person plural of croire
- grand
- Great, big; large in size or importance
- Est-
- Is; part of inverted question form
- porter
- To carry, to do; to bring or inflict
- atteinte
- Harm, attack; damage done to reputation or rights
- honorés
- Honored, esteemed; held in high respect
- dire
- To say; to express in words
- traductions
- Translations; converted versions of original texts
- ne
- Not; negative particle used with pas
- parviennent
- Manage, succeed; third-person plural of parvenir
- pas
- Not; negation particle paired with ne
- montrer
- To show; to make visible or demonstrate
- profane
- Layperson, uninitiated; someone lacking specialist knowledge
- juste
- Rightfully, fairly; with justification or accuracy
- titre
- Title; a name or designation for a work
- appelé
- Called, named; past participle of appeler
- premier
- First; indicating the earliest or most important
- _épopée_
- Epic; italicized term for a heroic narrative poem
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