The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 4
In cloud of clay so cast to heaven
In nube di argilla così lanciata al cielo
What shape shall man discern?
Quale forma potrà l'uomo discernere?
These lords may light the mystery
Questi signori possono illuminare il mistero
Of mastery or victory,
Del dominio o della vittoria,
And these ride high in history,
E questi cavalcano in alto nella storia,
But these shall not return.
Ma questi non faranno ritorno.
Gored on the Norman gonfalon
Trafitto sul gonfalone normanno
The Golden Dragon died:
Il Drago d'Oro morì:
We shall not wake with ballad strings
Non risveglieremo con le corde della ballata
The good time of the smaller things,
Il buon tempo delle cose più piccole,
We shall not see the holy kings
Non vedremo i santi re
Ride down by Severn side.
Cavalcare lungo le rive del Severn.
Stiff, strange, and quaintly coloured
Rigido, strano, e stranamente colorato
As the broidery of Bayeux
Come il ricamo di Bayeux
The England of that dawn remains,
L'Inghilterra di quell'alba rimane,
And this of Alfred and the Danes
E questa di Alfred e dei Danesi
Seems like the tales a whole tribe feigns
Sembra come le storie che un'intera tribù finge
Too English to be true.
Troppo inglese per essere vera.
Of a good king on an island
Di un buon re su un'isola
That ruled once on a time;
Che regnò una volta in un tempo lontano;
And as he walked by an apple tree
E mentre camminava accanto a un melo
There came green devils out of the sea
Vennero diavoli verdi dal mare
With sea-plants trailing heavily
Con piante marine che si trascinavano pesantemente
And tracks of opal slime.
E scie di melma opalescente.
Yet Alfred is no fairy tale;
Eppure Alfred non è una fiaba;
His days as our days ran,
I suoi giorni come i nostri giorni scorsero,
He also looked forth for an hour
Anch'egli guardò in avanti per un'ora
On peopled plains and skies that lower,
Su pianure popolate e cieli che si abbassano minacciosi,
From those few windows in the tower
Da quelle poche finestre nella torre
That is the head of a man.
Che è la testa di un uomo.
But who shall look from Alfred's hood
Ma chi guarderà dal cappuccio di Alfred
Or breathe his breath alive?
O respirerà il suo respiro ancora vivo?
His century like a small dark cloud
Il suo secolo come una piccola nube oscura
Drifts far; it is an eyeless crowd,
Deriva lontano; è una folla senza occhi,
Where the tortured trumpets scream aloud
Dove le trombe tormentate urlano a gran voce
And the dense arrows drive.
E le fitte frecce volano impetuose.
Vocabulary
- In
- In, inside, within a place or time.
- nube
- Cloud, a visible mass of water vapor in sky.
- di
- Of, preposition indicating possession or relationship.
- argilla
- Clay, a fine-grained sedimentary rock or soil.
- così
- Thus, in this way or manner; so.
- lanciata
- Thrown, launched, or cast through the air.
- al
- To the, contraction of 'a' and 'il'.
- cielo
- Sky, the upper atmosphere above the earth.
- Quale
- Which, what kind of thing or person.
- forma
- Form, shape, or the external appearance of something.
- potrà
- Will be able, future tense of 'potere'.
- uomo
- Man, adult male human being.
- discernere
- To discern, perceive, or distinguish with difficulty.
- Questi
- These, those people or things mentioned.
- signori
- Gentlemen, men of rank or importance.
- possono
- Can, are able to do something.
- illuminare
- To illuminate, light up, or make clear.
- il
- The, definite article for masculine singular nouns.
- mistero
- Mystery, something not understood or explained.
- Del
- Of the, contraction of 'di' and 'il'.
- dominio
- Domain, rule, or area of control or influence.
- della
- Of the, contraction of 'di' and 'la'.
- vittoria
- Victory, success in battle or competition.
- questi
- These, those people or things.
- cavalcano
- They ride, third person plural of 'cavalcare'.
- in
- In, inside, within a place or condition.
- alto
- High, tall, or at a great height.
- nella
- In the, contraction of 'in' and 'la'.
- storia
- History, record of events and people over time.
- Ma
- But, expressing contrast or opposition between ideas.
- non
- Not, negation or denial of a statement.
- faranno
- They will make, future tense of 'fare'.
- ritorno
- Return, coming back to a place or state.
- Trafitto
- Pierced, stabbed, or wounded by a sharp object.
- sul
- On the, contraction of 'su' and 'il'.
- normanno
- Norman, relating to Normandy or its people.
- Il
- The, definite article for masculine singular nouns.
- Drago
- Dragon, a mythical fire-breathing creature with wings.
- Oro
- Gold, a precious yellow metal element.
- morì
- Died, past tense of 'morire'.
- Non
- Not, negation or denial of a statement.
- risveglieremo
- We will awaken, future tense of 'risvegliare'.
- con
- With, accompanying or together with something.
- le
- The, definite article for feminine plural nouns.
- corde
- Ropes, cords, or strings used to bind things.
- ballata
- Ballad, a narrative poem or song telling story.
- buon
- Good, having positive qualities or characteristics.
- tempo
- Time, period or duration of existence or events.
- delle
- Of the, contraction of 'di' and 'le'.
- cose
- Things, objects or matters of concern.
- più
- More, greater in amount or quantity.
- piccole
- Small, little, or of limited size or importance.
- vedremo
- We will see, future tense of 'vedere'.
- santi
- Saints, holy or virtuous people honored by Church.
- re
- King, a male ruler of a kingdom.
- Cavalcare
- To ride, travel on horseback or other animal.
- lungo
- Along, throughout the length of something.
- rive
- Shores, banks, or edges of water bodies.
- del
- Of the, contraction of 'di' and 'il'.
- Rigido
- Rigid, stiff, inflexible, or resistant to bending.
- strano
- Strange, unusual, odd, or surprising to experience.
- stranamente
- Strangely, in an unusual or surprising manner.
- colorato
- Colored, having color or multiple colors applied.
- Come
- How, in what way or manner.
- ricamo
- Embroidery, decorative stitching on fabric with thread.
- Inghilterra
- England, country that is part of UK.
- quell
- That, contraction of 'quello' or 'quella'.
- alba
- Dawn, early morning light before sunrise.
- rimane
- Remains, stays, or continues to exist.
- questa
- This, feminine singular demonstrative pronoun.
- dei
- Of the, contraction of 'di' and 'i'.
- Danesi
- Danes, people from Denmark or Viking Danes.
- Sembra
- Seems, appears to be or looks like.
- come
- Like, similar to or as if something.
- storie
- Stories, narratives or accounts of events.
- che
- That, which, or what; relative pronoun.
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