Spoon River Anthology — Page 5

English → It Full Text Level 4/10

That is my husband who, by secret cruelty

Quello è mio marito che, con crudeltà segreta

Never to be told, robbed me of my youth and my beauty;

Mai da rivelare, mi derubò della mia giovinezza e della mia bellezza;

Till at last, wrinkled and with yellow teeth,

Finché alla fine, rugosa e con i denti gialli,

And with broken pride and shameful humility,

E con l'orgoglio spezzato e una vergognosa umiltà,

I sank into the grave.

Sprofondai nella tomba.

But what think you gnaws at my husband's heart?

Ma cosa credete che roda il cuore di mio marito?

The face of what I was, the face of what he made me!

Il volto di ciò che ero, il volto di ciò che mi ha fatto diventare!

These are driving him to the place where I lie.

Queste cose lo spingono verso il luogo dove giaccio.

In death, therefore, I am avenged.

Nella morte, dunque, sono vendicata.

Fletcher McGee

She took my strength by minutes,

Mi sottrasse la forza minuto per minuto,

She took my life by hours,

Mi sottrasse la vita ora per ora,

She drained me like a fevered moon

Mi prosciugò come una luna febbricitante

That saps the spinning world.

Che dissecca il mondo che gira.

The days went by like shadows,

I giorni passavano come ombre,

The minutes wheeled like stars.

I minuti ruotavano come stelle.

She took the pity from my heart,

Strappò la pietà dal mio cuore,

And made it into smiles.

E la trasformò in sorrisi.

She was a hunk of sculptor's clay,

Era un pezzo di argilla da scultore,

My secret thoughts were fingers:

I miei pensieri segreti erano dita:

They flew behind her pensive brow

Volavano dietro la sua fronte pensierosa

And lined it deep with pain.

E la solcarono in profondità con il dolore.

They set the lips, and sagged the cheeks,

Plasmarono le labbra, e afflosciarono le guance,

And drooped the eye with sorrow.

E abbassarono gli occhi con la tristezza.

My soul had entered in the clay,

La mia anima era entrata nell'argilla,

Fighting like seven devils.

Combattendo come sette diavoli.

It was not mine, it was not hers;

Non era mia, non era sua;

She held it, but its struggles

Lei la teneva, ma le sue lotte

Modeled a face she hated,

Plasmarono un volto che lei odiava,

And a face I feared to see.

E un volto che io temevo di vedere.

I beat the windows, shook the bolts.

Battei alle finestre, scossi i chiavistelli.

I hid me in a corner

Mi nascosi in un angolo

And then she died and haunted me,

E poi lei morì e mi perseguitò,

And hunted me for life.

E mi cacciò per tutta la vita.

Vocabulary

Quello: That; that one (demonstrative pronoun)
mio: My; mine (possessive adjective/pronoun)
marito: Husband; married male partner
che: That; which; who (relative pronoun)
con: With; accompanied by (preposition)
crudeltà: Cruelty; harsh and painful behavior
segreta: Secret; hidden; concealed (adjective)
Mai: Never; not ever (adverb)
da: From; by; since (preposition)
rivelare: To reveal; to disclose; to uncover
mi: Me; to me (direct/indirect object pronoun)
derubò: He/she robbed; stole from (passato remoto)
della: Of the; from the (contraction)
giovinezza: Youth; youthfulness; young age period
bellezza: Beauty; attractiveness; aesthetic quality
Finché: Until; as long as (conjunction)
alla: To the; at the (contraction)
fine: End; conclusion; finish (noun)
rugosa: Wrinkled; lined; creased (adjective)
denti: Teeth; tooth (plural noun)
gialli: Yellow; yellowish (adjective, plural)
orgoglio: Pride; feeling of dignity; arrogance
spezzato: Broken; shattered; fractured (adjective)
una: A; an (indefinite article, feminine)
vergognosa: Shameful; disgraceful; embarrassing (adjective)
umiltà: Humility; modesty; humble quality
Sprofondai: I sank; I plunged (passato remoto)
nella: In the; into the (contraction)
tomba: Tomb; grave; burial place
Ma: But; however (conjunction)
cosa: Thing; what; matter (noun)
credete: You believe; you think (voi form)
il: The (definite article, masculine singular)
cuore: Heart; core; center (noun)
di: Of; from; about (preposition)
volto: Face; visage; countenance (noun)
ciò: That; this; that which (pronoun)
ero: I was (imperfetto of essere)
ha: He/she has; it has (present tense)
fatto: Made; done; fact (past participle)
diventare: To become; to turn into; to grow
Queste: These (demonstrative adjective, feminine)
cose: Things; matters; objects (plural noun)
lo: Him; it (direct object pronoun)
spingono: They push; they drive; they urge
verso: Towards; toward; against (preposition)
luogo: Place; location; spot (noun)
dove: Where; in which (adverb/conjunction)
giaccio: I lie; I am lying (present tense)
Nella: In the (contraction, feminine)
morte: Death; dying; decease (noun)
dunque: Therefore; so; thus (conjunction)
sono: I am (present tense of essere)
vendicata: Avenged; vindicated (past participle, feminine)
sottrasse: He/she subtracted; took away (passato remoto)
forza: Strength; force; power (noun)
minuto: Minute; small; tiny (adjective/noun)
per: For; in order to (preposition)
vita: Life; living; lifespan (noun)
ora: Now; at this moment; hour (noun)
prosciugò: He/she dried up; drained (passato remoto)
come: Like; as; how (adverb/conjunction)
luna: Moon; lunar object (noun)
mondo: World; earth; people (noun)
gira: It turns; it rotates (present tense)
giorni: Days; daytime periods (plural noun)
passavano: They passed; they went by (imperfetto)
ombre: Shadows; shades; darkness (plural noun)
minuti: Minutes; small time units (plural noun)

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