Jane Eyre: An Autobiography — Page 3
They were those which treat of the haunts of sea-fowl; of "the solitary rocks and promontories" by them only inhabited; of the coast of Norway, studded with isles from its southern extremity, the Lindeness, or Naze, to the North Cape—
Erano quelli che trattavano dei rifugi degli uccelli marini; delle "rocce solitarie e dei promontori" da essi soli abitati; della costa della Norvegia, costellata di isole dalla sua estremità meridionale, il Lindeness, o Naze, fino a Capo Nord—
"Where the Northern Ocean, in vast whirls, Boils round the naked, melancholy isles Of farthest Thule; and the Atlantic surge Pours in among the stormy Hebrides."
"Dove l'Oceano Boreale, in vasti vortici, Ribolle attorno alle nude, malinconiche isole Della più lontana Thule; e il flutto Atlantico Si riversa tra le tempestose Ebridi."
Nor could I pass unnoticed the suggestion of the bleak shores of Lapland, Siberia, Spitzbergen, Nova Zembla, Iceland, Greenland, with "the vast sweep of the Arctic Zone, and those forlorn regions of dreary space,—that reservoir of frost and snow, where firm fields of ice, the accumulation of centuries of winters, glazed in Alpine heights above heights, surround the pole, and concentre the multiplied rigours of extreme cold."
Né potevo trascurare l'evocazione delle desolate rive della Lapponia, della Siberia, dello Spitzbergen, della Nova Zembla, dell'Islanda, della Groenlandia, con "la vasta estensione della Zona Artica, e quelle desolate regioni di tetro spazio,—quel serbatoio di gelo e neve, dove compatti campi di ghiaccio, l'accumulo di secoli di inverni, vetrificati in altezze alpine sopra altezze, circondano il polo, e concentrano i moltiplicati rigori del freddo estremo."
Of these death-white realms I formed an idea of my own: shadowy, like all the half-comprehended notions that float dim through children's brains, but strangely impressive.
Di questi regni bianchi come la morte mi formai un'idea tutta mia: nebulosa, come tutte le nozioni a metà comprese che fluttuano indistinte attraverso le menti dei bambini, ma stranamente suggestive.
The words in these introductory pages connected themselves with the succeeding vignettes, and gave significance to the rock standing up alone in a sea of billow and spray; to the broken boat stranded on a desolate coast; to the cold and ghastly moon glancing through bars of cloud at a wreck just sinking.
Le parole di queste pagine introduttive si collegavano alle vignette successive, e conferivano significato alla roccia che si ergeva solitaria in un mare di onde e spruzzi; alla barca sfasciata arenata su una costa desolata; alla fredda e spettrale luna che filtrava tra le strisce di nuvole su un relitto in procinto di affondare.
I cannot tell what sentiment haunted the quite solitary churchyard, with its inscribed headstone; its gate, its two trees, its low horizon, girdled by a broken wall, and its newly-risen crescent, attesting the hour of eventide.
Non saprei dire quale sentimento aleggiasse nel piccolo cimitero del tutto solitario, con la sua lapide iscritta; il suo cancello, i suoi due alberi, il suo basso orizzonte, cinto da un muro diroccato, e il suo crescente appena sorto, a testimoniare l'ora del vespro.
Vocabulary
- Erano
- Third person plural past tense of 'essere' (to be)
- quelli
- Those (ones); plural demonstrative pronoun
- che
- That, which, who; common conjunction and relative pronoun
- trattavano
- They dealt with, treated, or covered a subject
- dei
- Of the; masculine plural partitive article
- rifugi
- Shelters, refuges, or resting places for animals
- degli
- Of the; masculine plural articulated preposition
- uccelli
- Birds; plural of uccello
- marini
- Marine, of the sea; adjective describing sea creatures
- delle
- Of the; feminine plural articulated preposition
- rocce
- Rocks, crags; plural of roccia
- solitarie
- Solitary, lonely, isolated; feminine plural adjective
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- promontori
- Headlands, promontories jutting into the sea
- da
- By, from; versatile Italian preposition
- essi
- They, them; third person plural pronoun
- soli
- Alone, only; plural adjective meaning solitary
- abitati
- Inhabited, occupied; past participle of abitare
- della
- Of the; feminine singular articulated preposition
- costa
- Coast, shoreline; the edge of land meeting sea
- Norvegia
- Norway; Scandinavian country bordering the North Sea
- costellata
- Studded, dotted with; feminine past participle of costellare
- di
- Of, from; extremely common Italian preposition
- isole
- Islands; plural of isola
- dalla
- From the; feminine singular articulated preposition
- sua
- His, her, its; feminine singular possessive adjective
- estremità
- Extremity, tip, farthest end of something
- meridionale
- Southern; adjective relating to the south
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- o
- Or; basic disjunctive conjunction
- fino
- Until, up to; preposition indicating extent or limit
- a
- To, at; very common Italian preposition
- Capo
- Cape, headland; geographical term for a promontory
- Nord
- North; cardinal direction
- Dove
- Where; interrogative and relative adverb of place
- l'
- The; elided definite article before a vowel
- Oceano
- Ocean; large body of salt water
- Boreale
- Boreal, northern; adjective relating to the north
- in
- In, into; very common Italian preposition
- vasti
- Vast, immense; masculine plural adjective
- vortici
- Whirlpools, vortices; swirling circular water movements
- Ribolle
- Seethes, boils up; third person singular of ribollire
- attorno
- Around, surrounding; adverb of place
- alle
- To the, at the; feminine plural articulated preposition
- nude
- Bare, naked, exposed; feminine plural adjective
- malinconiche
- Melancholic, gloomy; feminine plural adjective
- Della
- Of the; feminine singular articulated preposition
- più
- More, most; common Italian adverb of degree
- lontana
- Distant, far away; feminine singular adjective
- flutto
- Wave, billow; poetic term for a large sea wave
- Atlantico
- Atlantic; relating to the Atlantic Ocean
- Si
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself, itself, themselves
- riversa
- Pours into, flows into; third person singular of riversare
- tra
- Between, among; common Italian preposition
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article
- tempestose
- Stormy, tempestuous; feminine plural adjective
- Né
- Nor, neither; negative coordinating conjunction
- potevo
- I could, was able to; imperfect of potere
- trascurare
- To neglect, overlook, disregard something entirely
- evocazione
- Evocation, conjuring up of images or memories
- desolate
- Desolate, bleak, barren; feminine plural adjective
- rive
- Shores, banks, riverbanks; plural of riva
- dello
- Of the; masculine singular articulated preposition
- Nova
- New; feminine adjective, used in geographical names
- dell'
- Of the; elided articulated preposition before vowel
- con
- With; common Italian preposition of accompaniment
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- vasta
- Vast, wide, extensive; feminine singular adjective
- estensione
- Extension, expanse, stretch of territory or space
- Zona
- Zone, area, region; a defined geographical space
- Artica
- Arctic; relating to the polar north region
- quelle
- Those; feminine plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- regioni
- Regions, areas; plural of regione
- tetro
- Gloomy, dark, grim; masculine singular adjective
- spazio
- Space, expanse; area or room available
- quel
- That; masculine singular demonstrative adjective
- serbatoio
- Reservoir, tank; container storing large quantities
- gelo
- Frost, ice, freeze; intense cold causing freezing
- neve
- Snow; frozen precipitation falling from clouds
- dove
- Where; adverb indicating place or location
- compatti
- Compact, dense, solid; masculine plural adjective
- campi
- Fields, expanses; plural of campo
- ghiaccio
- Ice; frozen water; also used for ice in drinks
- accumulo
- Accumulation, buildup; gathering of material over time
- secoli
- Centuries; plural of secolo, one hundred years
- inverni
- Winters; plural of inverno, the cold season
- altezze
- Heights, altitudes; plural of altezza
- alpine
- Alpine, of the Alps; relating to high mountain terrain
- sopra
- Above, over, on top; common Italian preposition
- circondano
- They surround, encircle; third person plural of circondare
- polo
- Pole; geographic extremity of Earth's axis
- concentrano
- They concentrate, gather together; third person plural
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article
- moltiplicati
- Multiplied, intensified; masculine plural past participle
- rigori
- Rigors, severities; plural of rigore meaning harshness
- del
- Of the; masculine singular articulated preposition
- freddo
- Cold; noun or adjective describing low temperature
- estremo
- Extreme, utmost; masculine singular adjective
- Di
- Of, from; extremely common Italian preposition
- questi
- These; masculine plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- regni
- Kingdoms, realms; plural of regno
- bianchi
- White; masculine plural adjective describing color
- come
- Like, as, how; common conjunction and adverb
- morte
- Death; end of life; feminine singular noun
- mi
- Me, myself; first person singular reflexive pronoun
- formai
- I formed, shaped; first person singular past of formare
- un'
- A, an; elided feminine singular indefinite article
- idea
- Idea, notion, concept; a thought in the mind
- tutta
- All, entirely; feminine singular adjective or adverb
- mia
- My, mine; feminine singular possessive adjective
- nebulosa
- Nebulous, hazy, vague; feminine singular adjective
- tutte
- All, every; feminine plural adjective or pronoun
- nozioni
- Notions, ideas, concepts; plural of nozione
- metà
- Half, halfway; noun indicating division into two equal parts
- comprese
- Understood, included; feminine plural past participle
- fluttuano
- They float, fluctuate, drift; third person plural present
- indistinte
- Indistinct, unclear, blurred; feminine plural adjective
- attraverso
- Through, across; preposition indicating passage within
- menti
- Minds; plural of mente, the thinking faculty
- bambini
- Children; plural of bambino
- ma
- But; basic adversative conjunction
- stranamente
- Strangely, oddly; adverb derived from strano
- suggestive
- Evocative, suggestive; feminine plural adjective
- Le
- The; feminine plural definite article
- parole
- Words; plural of parola
- queste
- These; feminine plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- pagine
- Pages; plural of pagina
- introduttive
- Introductory; feminine plural adjective describing opening content
- si
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself, themselves, each other
- collegavano
- They connected, linked; imperfect of collegare
- vignette
- Vignettes, small illustrations; decorative pictorial images
- successive
- Subsequent, following; feminine plural adjective
- conferivano
- They conferred, gave, granted; imperfect of conferire
- significato
- Meaning, significance; noun from significare
- alla
- To the, at the; feminine singular articulated preposition
- roccia
- Rock, crag; solid stone formation in nature
- ergeva
- Rose, stood upright; third person singular imperfect of ergere
- solitaria
- Solitary, lonely, alone; feminine singular adjective
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- mare
- Sea; large body of salt water
- onde
- Waves; plural of onda, moving water on the surface
- spruzzi
- Sprays, splashes; plural of spruzzo
- barca
- Boat; small watercraft used for travel or fishing
- sfasciata
- Shattered, wrecked, broken apart; feminine past participle
- arenata
- Stranded, run aground; feminine past participle of arenare
- su
- On, upon, over; common Italian preposition
- una
- A, an; feminine singular indefinite article
- desolata
- Desolate, bleak, barren; feminine singular adjective
- fredda
- Cold; feminine singular adjective describing temperature
- spettrale
- Ghostly, spectral, eerie; adjective suggesting supernatural presence
- luna
- Moon; Earth's natural satellite visible at night
- filtrava
- Filtered through; third person singular imperfect of filtrare
- strisce
- Strips, streaks, bands; plural of striscia
- nuvole
- Clouds; plural of nuvola
- relitto
- Wreck, shipwreck; remains of a destroyed vessel
- procinto
- On the verge of; used in phrase 'in procinto di'
- affondare
- To sink, go under; to submerge below the water
- Non
- Not; basic negation adverb in Italian
- saprei
- I would know; conditional of sapere
- dire
- To say, tell; common Italian infinitive verb
- quale
- Which, what; interrogative or relative adjective
- sentimento
- Feeling, sentiment, emotion; an inner emotional state
- nel
- In the; masculine singular articulated preposition
- piccolo
- Small, little; masculine singular adjective
- cimitero
- Cemetery, graveyard; place where the dead are buried
- tutto
- All, entire, whole; masculine singular adjective
- lapide
- Gravestone, tombstone; stone slab marking a grave
- iscritta
- Inscribed, engraved with writing; feminine past participle
- suo
- His, her, its; masculine singular possessive adjective
- cancello
- Gate, iron gate; an entrance with a closing barrier
- suoi
- His, her, its; masculine plural possessive adjective
- due
- Two; the number two
- alberi
- Trees; plural of albero
- basso
- Low, short, low-lying; masculine singular adjective
- orizzonte
- Horizon; the line where sky meets earth or sea
- cinto
- Encircled, girded, surrounded; past participle of cingere
- muro
- Wall; a solid vertical structure made of stone or brick
- diroccato
- Crumbling, dilapidated; fallen into ruin or disrepair
- crescente
- Crescent; crescent-shaped moon in its waxing phase
- appena
- Just, barely, hardly; adverb of time or degree
- sorto
- Risen, arisen; past participle of sorgere
- testimoniare
- To testify, bear witness; to attest to something
- ora
- Hour, now; indicates time or the current moment
- vespro
- Vespers, evening; the late afternoon or dusk hour
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