The Angel in the House — Page 8
But when I look on her and hope
Mais quand je la regarde et espère
To tell with joy what I admire,
Dire avec joie ce que j'admire,
My thoughts lie cramp'd in narrow scope,
Mes pensées sont enfermées dans un cadre étroit,
Or in the feeble birth expire;
Ou s'éteignent dans leur faible naissance ;
No mystery of well-woven speech,
Nul mystère d'un discours bien tissé,
No simplest phrase of tenderest fall,
Nulle phrase des plus simples à l'accent le plus tendre,
No liken'd excellence can reach
Nulle excellence comparée ne peut atteindre
Her, thee most excellent of all,
Celle-ci, toi la plus excellente de toutes,
The best half of creation's best,
La meilleure moitié du meilleur de la création,
Its heart to feel, its eye to see,
Son cœur pour ressentir, son œil pour voir,
The crown and complex of the rest,
La couronne et la somme de tout le reste,
Its aim and its epitome.
Son but et son épitomé.
Nay, might I utter my conceit,
Non, pourrais-je exprimer ma pensée,
'Twere after all a vulgar song,
Ce ne serait après tout qu'un chant vulgaire,
For she's so simply, subtly sweet,
Car elle est si simplement, si subtilement douce,
My deepest rapture does her wrong.
Mon ravissement le plus profond lui fait injustice.
Yet is it now my chosen task
Pourtant c'est désormais ma tâche choisie
To sing her worth as Maid and Wife;
De chanter sa valeur en tant que Demoiselle et Épouse ;
Nor happier post than this I ask,
Et nul poste plus heureux que celui-ci je ne demande,
To live her laureate all my life.
Que d'être son poète lauréat toute ma vie.
On wings of love uplifted free,
Sur des ailes d'amour librement élevé,
And by her gentleness made great,
Et grandi par sa douceur,
I'll teach how noble man should be
J'enseignerai combien noble doit être l'homme
To match with such a lovely mate;
Pour s'accorder à une si charmante compagne ;
And then in her may move the more
Et alors en elle pourra s'éveiller davantage
The woman's wish to be desired,
Le désir féminin d'être désirée,
(By praise increased), till both shall soar,
(Accru par les louanges), jusqu'à ce que tous deux s'élèvent,
With blissful emulations fired.
Enflammés de bienheureuses émulations.
And, as geranium, pink, or rose
Et, comme le géranium, l'œillet ou la rose
Is thrice itself through power of art,
Se triple elle-même par la puissance de l'art,
So may my happy skill disclose
Ainsi que mon heureux talent révèle
New fairness even in her fair heart;
Une nouvelle beauté jusque dans son beau cœur ;
Until that churl shall nowhere be
Jusqu'à ce que nul rustre ne se trouve nulle part
Who bends not, awed, before the throne
Qui ne s'incline pas, saisi de crainte, devant le trône
Of her affecting majesty,
De sa touchante majesté,
So meek, so far unlike our own;
Si humble, si différente de la nôtre ;
Until (for who may hope too much
Jusqu'à ce que (car qui peut trop espérer
From her who wields the powers of love?)
De celle qui manie les pouvoirs de l'amour ?)
Vocabulary
- Mais
- But; however; yet
- quand
- When; at what time
- je
- I; first person singular pronoun
- la
- The; her; it (feminine object pronoun)
- regarde
- Looks at; watches; regards
- et
- And; conjunction connecting words or phrases
- espère
- Hopes; hopes for; wishes for
- Dire
- To say; to tell; to speak
- avec
- With; accompanied by; in company of
- joie
- Joy; happiness; delight; cheerfulness
- ce
- This; that; it; demonstrative pronoun
- que
- That; which; what; relative pronoun
- admire
- Admires; regards with wonder and respect
- Mes
- My; plural possessive adjective
- pensées
- Thoughts; ideas; reflections; meditations
- sont
- Are; third person plural of être
- enfermées
- Enclosed; shut in; confined; imprisoned
- dans
- In; inside; within; during
- un
- A; an; one; indefinite article
- cadre
- Frame; framework; setting; context
- étroit
- Narrow; tight; close; restricted in space
- Ou
- Or; either; conjunction of alternatives
- éteignent
- Extinguish; put out; turn off light
- leur
- Their; to them; indirect object pronoun
- faible
- Weak; faint; feeble; of little strength
- naissance
- Birth; origin; beginning; emergence from nothing
- Nul
- No; not any; none; void
- mystère
- Mystery; secret; something not understood
- discours
- Discourse; speech; conversation; discussion
- bien
- Well; good; very; properly; indeed
- tissé
- Woven; wove; interlaced threads together
- Nulle
- No; not any; none; feminine form
- phrase
- Sentence; phrase; expression; linguistic unit
- des
- Of the; some; plural article
- plus
- More; most; plus; in addition
- simples
- Simple; plain; elementary; uncomplicated
- accent
- Accent; stress; emphasis; pronunciation mark
- le
- The; him; it; masculine article
- tendre
- Tender; soft; delicate; gentle affectionate
- excellence
- Excellence; superiority; outstanding quality; distinction
- comparée
- Compared; matched; examined for differences
- ne
- Not; negation; negative particle
- peut
- Can; is able to; may
- atteindre
- To reach; to attain; to achieve
- Celle-
- That one; the one; she; feminine
- ci
- This; here; this one nearby
- toi
- You; yourself; second person pronoun
- excellente
- Excellent; outstanding; superior; of high quality
- de
- Of; from; about; preposition
- toutes
- All; every; entire; feminine plural
- La
- The; her; feminine singular article
- meilleure
- Best; better; superior; finest quality
- moitié
- Half; moiety; one of two parts
- du
- Of the; from the; contraction
- création
- Creation; creation; product of creative work
- Son
- His; her; its; possessive adjective
- cœur
- Heart; core; center; emotional center
- pour
- For; in order to; toward
- ressentir
- To feel; to experience; to sense
- œil
- Eye; sight; vision; visual perception
- voir
- To see; to view; to perceive
- couronne
- Crown; wreath; top; coronet
- somme
- Sum; total; amount; in short
- tout
- All; everything; whole; entire
- reste
- Remains; rest; leftovers; what is left
- but
- Goal; aim; objective; purpose
- épitomé
- Epitome; summary; quintessence; essential nature
- Non
- No; not; negative response or denial
- pourrais-
- Could; would be able to; might
- exprimer
- To express; to state; to convey
- ma
- My; feminine singular possessive adjective
- Ce
- This; that; it; demonstrative pronoun
- serait
- Would be; conditional of être
- après
- After; afterward; later; following after
- qu
- That; which; what; relative pronoun
- chant
- Song; singing; melody; verse
- vulgaire
- Vulgar; common; ordinary; coarse; crude
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