Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone — Page 3
Yea, Oedipus, my sovereign lord and king,
Sì, Edipo, mio sovrano signore e re,
Thou seest how both extremes of age besiege
Tu vedi come entrambi gli estremi dell'età assediano
Thy palace altars—fledglings hardly winged,
Gli altari del tuo palazzo — implumi appena alati,
and greybeards bowed with years; priests, as am I
e vecchi curvi per gli anni; sacerdoti, come sono io
of Zeus, and these the flower of our youth.
di Zeus, e questi il fiore della nostra gioventù.
Meanwhile, the common folk, with wreathed boughs
Nel frattempo, il popolo comune, con rami intrecciati
Crowd our two market-places, or before
Affolda le nostre due piazze del mercato, o davanti
Both shrines of Pallas congregate, or where
Ad entrambi i santuari di Pallade si raduna, o là dove
Ismenus gives his oracles by fire.
Ismeno dispensa i suoi oracoli mediante il fuoco.
For, as thou seest thyself, our ship of State,
Poiché, come tu stesso vedi, la nostra nave dello Stato,
Sore buffeted, can no more lift her head,
Duramente sbattuta, non riesce più a sollevare la prua,
Foundered beneath a weltering surge of blood.
Inabissata sotto un flutto tempestoso di sangue.
A blight is on our harvest in the ear,
Un flagello colpisce il nostro raccolto nelle spighe,
A blight upon the grazing flocks and herds,
Un flagello sulle greggi e le mandrie al pascolo,
A blight on wives in travail; and withal
Un flagello sulle donne nel travaglio del parto; e inoltre
Armed with his blazing torch the God of Plague
Armato della sua torcia ardente il Dio della Pestilenza
Hath swooped upon our city emptying
Si è abbattuto sulla nostra città svuotando
The house of Cadmus, and the murky realm
La casa di Cadmo, e il tetro regno
Of Pluto is full fed with groans and tears.
Di Plutone è ben nutrito di gemiti e lacrime.
Therefore, O King, here at thy hearth we sit,
Perciò, o Re, qui al tuo focolare noi sediamo,
I and these children; not as deeming thee
Io e questi fanciulli; non ritenendoti
A new divinity, but the first of men;
Una nuova divinità, ma il primo degli uomini;
First in the common accidents of life,
Primo nelle comuni vicissitudini della vita,
And first in visitations of the Gods.
E primo nelle visite degli Dei.
Art thou not he who coming to the town
Non sei tu colui che giungendo alla città
of Cadmus freed us from the tax we paid
Di Cadmo ci liberò dal tributo che pagavamo
To the fell songstress? Nor hadst thou received
Alla feroce cantatrice? Né avevi ricevuto
Prompting from us or been by others schooled;
Suggerimento da noi né eri stato istruito da altri;
No, by a god inspired (so all men deem,
No, ispirato da un dio (così tutti gli uomini credono,
And testify) didst thou renew our life.
E testimoniano) tu rinnovasti la nostra vita.
Vocabulary
- Sì
- Yes; affirmative response
- mio
- My; first-person singular possessive adjective
- sovrano
- Sovereign; a supreme ruler or monarch
- signore
- Lord or mister; a respectful title for a man
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- re
- King; male monarch ruling a kingdom
- Tu
- You; second-person singular informal pronoun
- vedi
- You see; second-person singular of vedere
- come
- How or as; conjunction indicating manner or comparison
- entrambi
- Both; referring to two things or people together
- gli
- The; masculine plural definite article
- estremi
- Extremes; the furthest or outermost points or limits
- dell'
- Of the; contracted preposition plus definite article
- età
- Age; a period of life or historical era
- assediano
- They besiege; third-person plural of assediare
- altari
- Altars; sacred elevated tables used in religious rituals
- del
- Of the; masculine singular contracted preposition
- tuo
- Your; second-person singular possessive adjective
- palazzo
- Palace; a large grand official residence or building
- appena
- Barely or just; indicating something done with difficulty
- vecchi
- Old men; elderly male individuals
- curvi
- Bent or stooped; curved by age or weight
- anni
- Years; units of time equal to twelve months
- sacerdoti
- Priests; religious ministers performing sacred rites
- sono
- I am or they are; form of the verb essere
- io
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- di
- Of or from; very common Italian preposition
- questi
- These; masculine plural demonstrative pronoun
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- fiore
- Flower; also used metaphorically for the best part
- della
- Of the; feminine singular contracted preposition
- nostra
- Our; first-person plural feminine possessive adjective
- gioventù
- Youth; the period of being young
- Nel
- In the; masculine singular contracted preposition
- frattempo
- Meanwhile; in the intervening period of time
- popolo
- People; the common citizens of a nation or city
- comune
- Common; shared by or belonging to everyone
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- rami
- Branches; divisions of a tree extending from the trunk
- intrecciati
- Intertwined; woven or twisted together in a pattern
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article
- nostre
- Our; first-person plural feminine plural possessive adjective
- due
- Two; the cardinal number following one
- piazze
- Squares; open public spaces in Italian towns
- mercato
- Market; a place where goods are bought and sold
- o
- Or; conjunction indicating an alternative choice
- davanti
- In front of; indicating position before something
- Ad
- To or at; preposition used before vowel sounds
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article
- santuari
- Sanctuaries; holy or sacred places of worship
- si
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun used in Italian verbs
- raduna
- Gathers; third-person singular of radunarsi, to assemble
- là
- There; adverb indicating a distant location
- dove
- Where; adverb or conjunction indicating location
- dispensa
- Dispenses; distributes or gives out to others
- suoi
- His or her; third-person singular masculine plural possessive
- mediante
- By means of; preposition indicating the method used
- fuoco
- Fire; the combustion producing heat and light
- Poiché
- Since or because; conjunction introducing a causal clause
- tu
- You; second-person singular informal pronoun
- stesso
- Himself or same; emphasizing identity or sameness
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- nave
- Ship; a large vessel for water travel
- dello
- Of the; masculine singular contracted preposition
- Stato
- State; a political entity or condition of being
- Duramente
- Harshly; in a hard or severe manner
- sbattuta
- Battered; struck or tossed around violently
- non
- Not; basic negation word in Italian
- riesce
- Manages or succeeds; third-person singular of riuscire
- più
- More or anymore; used for comparison or negation
- a
- To or at; very common Italian preposition
- sollevare
- To lift or raise; to elevate something upward
- sotto
- Under or beneath; preposition indicating lower position
- un
- A or an; masculine singular indefinite article
- tempestoso
- Stormy; characterized by violent weather or turbulence
- sangue
- Blood; the red fluid circulating in living bodies
- Un
- A or an; masculine singular indefinite article
- flagello
- Plague or scourge; a destructive affliction or disaster
- colpisce
- Strikes; third-person singular of colpire, to hit
- nostro
- Our; first-person plural masculine singular possessive adjective
- raccolto
- Harvest; crops gathered from the fields
- nelle
- In the; feminine plural contracted preposition
- sulle
- On the; feminine plural contracted preposition
- al
- At the or to the; masculine singular contracted preposition
- donne
- Women; adult female human beings
- nel
- In the; masculine singular contracted preposition
- travaglio
- Labor; the process of childbirth or hard toil
- parto
- Childbirth; the process of giving birth
- inoltre
- Furthermore; in addition to what has been said
- Armato
- Armed; equipped with weapons or destructive force
- sua
- His or her; third-person singular feminine possessive adjective
- torcia
- Torch; a burning stick used as a light source
- ardente
- Burning or blazing; intensely hot or passionate
- Dio
- God; a divine supreme being
- Pestilenza
- Plague; a deadly widespread infectious disease
- Si
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun in Italian verb constructions
- è
- Is; third-person singular present of essere
- abbattuto
- Struck down; fallen heavily upon something or someone
- sulla
- On the; feminine singular contracted preposition
- città
- City; a large urban settlement of people
- svuotando
- Emptying; gradually removing all contents from something
- La
- The; feminine singular definite article
- casa
- House; a building used as a home
- tetro
- Gloomy or dark; characterized by darkness and gloom
- regno
- Kingdom or realm; territory ruled by a king
- Di
- Of or from; very common Italian preposition
- ben
- Well; adverb modifying verbs or adjectives positively
- nutrito
- Nourished or fed; abundantly supplied with sustenance
- gemiti
- Moans; low sounds expressing pain or grief
- lacrime
- Tears; drops of fluid shed when crying
- Perciò
- Therefore; for this reason, as a consequence
- Re
- King; a male sovereign ruler of a kingdom
- qui
- Here; adverb indicating the speaker's current location
- focolare
- Hearth or fireplace; the center of a home
- noi
- We; first-person plural subject pronoun
- sediamo
- We sit; first-person plural of sedere, to sit
- Io
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- fanciulli
- Children; young boys or youths
- Una
- A or an; feminine singular indefinite article
- nuova
- New; feminine adjective describing something recently created
- divinità
- Divinity; the quality of being divine or a god
- ma
- But; coordinating conjunction indicating contrast
- primo
- First; the ordinal number preceding all others
- degli
- Of the; masculine plural contracted preposition
- uomini
- Men; adult male human beings
- Primo
- First; foremost in rank, order, or importance
- comuni
- Common; shared among a group of people
- vicissitudini
- Vicissitudes; changes of fortune or difficult life circumstances
- vita
- Life; the state of being alive
- E
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- visite
- Visits; acts of going to see someone or somewhere
- Dei
- Gods; plural of dio, divine supernatural beings
- Non
- Not; basic negation word in Italian
- sei
- You are; second-person singular of essere
- colui
- He who; demonstrative pronoun referring to a specific man
- che
- Who or that; relative pronoun or conjunction
- giungendo
- Arriving; present participle of giungere, to arrive
- alla
- To the; feminine singular contracted preposition
- ci
- Us or here; first-person plural object or reflexive pronoun
- liberò
- Freed; third-person singular past of liberare
- dal
- From the; masculine singular contracted preposition
- tributo
- Tribute; a payment or homage made to a ruler
- pagavamo
- We were paying; first-person plural imperfect of pagare
- Alla
- To the; feminine singular contracted preposition
- feroce
- Fierce; savagely cruel or intensely aggressive
- Né
- Neither or nor; used to connect negative clauses
- avevi
- You had; second-person singular imperfect of avere
- ricevuto
- Received; past participle of ricevere, to receive
- Suggerimento
- Suggestion or hint; an idea offered to guide someone
- da
- From or by; preposition indicating origin or agent
- né
- Nor; negative conjunction linking two negative clauses
- eri
- You were; second-person singular imperfect of essere
- stato
- Been; past participle of essere, also means state
- istruito
- Instructed or educated; taught how to do something
- altri
- Others; other people or other things
- No
- No; a negative response or denial
- ispirato
- Inspired; motivated or guided by a divine force
- dio
- God; a divine supernatural being
- così
- So or thus; in this way or to this degree
- tutti
- Everyone; all people without exception
- credono
- They believe; third-person plural of credere
- testimoniano
- They testify; third-person plural of testimoniare
- rinnovasti
- You renewed; second-person singular past of rinnovare
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