The King in Yellow — Page 6

English → Fr THE REPAIRER OF REPUTATIONS I Level 7/10

If I had not caught a glimpse of the opening words in the second act I should never have finished it, but as I stooped to pick it up, my eyes became riveted to the open page, and with a cry of terror, or perhaps it was of joy so poignant that I suffered in every nerve, I snatched the thing out of the coals and crept shaking to my bedroom, where I read it and reread it, and wept and laughed and trembled with a horror which at times assails me yet.

Si je n'avais pas entrevu les premiers mots du deuxième acte, je ne l'aurais jamais terminé, mais comme je me penchais pour le ramasser, mes yeux se rivèrent à la page ouverte, et avec un cri de terreur, ou peut-être était-ce de joie si poignante que je souffris dans chaque nerf, j'arrachai la chose des braises et me glissai en tremblant jusqu'à ma chambre, où je le lus et le relus, et pleurai et ris et frémis d'une horreur qui parfois m'assaille encore.

This is the thing that troubles me, for I cannot forget Carcosa where black stars hang in the heavens; where the shadows of men's thoughts lengthen in the afternoon, when the twin suns sink into the lake of Hali; and my mind will bear for ever the memory of the Pallid Mask.

Voilà ce qui me tourmente, car je ne puis oublier Carcosa où des étoiles noires pendent dans les cieux ; où les ombres des pensées des hommes s'allongent dans l'après-midi, quand les deux soleils sombrent dans le lac de Hali ; et mon esprit portera à jamais le souvenir du Masque Blême.

I pray God will curse the writer, as the writer has cursed the world with this beautiful, stupendous creation, terrible in its simplicity, irresistible in its truth—a world which now trembles before the King in Yellow.

Je prie Dieu de maudire l'auteur, comme l'auteur a maudit le monde avec cette belle et prodigieuse création, terrible dans sa simplicité, irrésistible dans sa vérité — un monde qui tremble désormais devant le Roi en Jaune.

When the French Government seized the translated copies which had just arrived in Paris, London, of course, became eager to read it.

Lorsque le gouvernement français saisit les exemplaires traduits qui venaient d'arriver à Paris, Londres, bien entendu, brûla de le lire.

It is well known how the book spread like an infectious disease, from city to city, from continent to continent, barred out here, confiscated there, denounced by Press and pulpit, censured even by the most advanced of literary anarchists.

Il est bien connu comment le livre se répandit comme une maladie infectieuse, de ville en ville, de continent en continent, interdit ici, confisqué là, dénoncé par la presse et la chaire, censuré même par les plus avancés des anarchistes littéraires.

Vocabulary

Si: si — If; used to introduce a conditional clause
je: zhuh — I; first person singular subject pronoun
n': n — Not; negation particle used before vowels
avais: ah-veh — Had; past imperfect of avoir (to have)
pas: pah — Not; negation word used with ne
entrevu: ahn-truh-vu — Glimpsed; briefly seen or caught sight of
les: leh — The; definite plural article
premiers: pruh-myeh — First; earliest in a sequence or order
mots: moh — Words; units of written or spoken language
du: du — Of the; contracted masculine singular preposition
deuxième: duh-zyem — Second; ordinal number following the first
acte: akt — Act; division of a play or drama
ne: nuh — Not; negation particle paired with pas
l': l — The/it; elided definite article or pronoun
aurais: oh-reh — Would have; conditional tense of avoir
jamais: zhah-meh — Never; at no time, not ever
terminé: tehr-mee-neh — Finished; completed or brought to an end
mais: meh — But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
comme: kom — As; while, in the manner of something
me: muh — Me/myself; first person reflexive or object pronoun
penchais: pahn-sheh — Was bending; leaning down toward something
pour: poor — To/for; indicating purpose or direction
le: luh — The/it; masculine singular definite article
ramasser: rah-mah-seh — To pick up; to gather something from the ground
mes: meh — My; first person plural possessive adjective
yeux: yuh — Eyes; plural of œil, organs of sight
se: suh — Oneself; reflexive pronoun for third person
à: ah — To/at; preposition indicating direction or location
la: lah — The; feminine singular definite article
page: pahzh — Page; leaf of a book or manuscript
ouverte: oo-vehrt — Open; spread open, accessible to reading
et: eh — And; conjunction linking words or clauses
avec: ah-vek — With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
un: uhn — A/one; masculine singular indefinite article
cri: kree — Cry/scream; a loud sudden vocal exclamation
de: duh — Of/from; preposition indicating origin or belonging
terreur: teh-ruhr — Terror; intense overwhelming fear or dread
ou: oo — Or; conjunction presenting an alternative choice
peut: puh — Can/may; third person of pouvoir (to be able)
être: eh-truh — To be; fundamental linking or auxiliary verb
était: eh-teh — Was; imperfect tense of être (to be)
ce: suh — This/it; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
joie: zhwah — Joy; feeling of great happiness or delight
si: see — So/such; intensifier expressing degree or condition
poignante: pwahn-yahnt — Poignant; deeply moving, causing sharp emotional pain
que: kuh — That/which; conjunction or relative pronoun
souffris: soo-free — Suffered; felt pain in past tense
dans: dahn — In/inside; preposition indicating location within something
chaque: shahk — Each/every; referring to individual elements of a group
nerf: nehr — Nerve; fiber transmitting signals in the body
j': zh — I; elided form of je before a vowel
arrachai: ah-rah-sheh — Tore away; snatched violently from a place
chose: shohz — Thing; an unspecified object or matter
des: deh — Some/of the; plural indefinite or partitive article
braises: brehz — Embers; glowing coals remaining after a fire
en: ahn — In/while; preposition or gerund-forming particle
tremblant: trahm-blahn — Trembling; shaking with fear or emotion
jusqu': zhus-kuh — Until/up to; preposition indicating a limit reached
ma: mah — My; first person feminine singular possessive adjective
chambre: shahm-bruh — Room/bedroom; private sleeping space in a dwelling
où: oo — Where; relative adverb of place or situation
lus: lu — Read; past simple of lire (to read)
relus: ruh-lu — Reread; read again from beginning to end
pleurai: pluh-reh — Wept; shed tears, cried from emotion
ris: ree — Laughed; past simple of rire (to laugh)
frémis: freh-mee — Shuddered; trembled with fear or intense emotion
d': d — Of/from; elided preposition before a vowel
une: un — A/one; feminine singular indefinite article
horreur: oh-ruhr — Horror; intense feeling of shock and disgust
qui: kee — Who/which; relative or interrogative pronoun
parfois: par-fwah — Sometimes; occasionally, not always happening
m': m — Me; elided first person object or reflexive pronoun
encore: ahn-kor — Still/again; continuing or repeating an action
Voilà: vwah-lah — There it is; used to present or conclude something
tourmente: toor-mahnt — Torment; intense mental anguish or suffering
car: kar — Because/for; conjunction giving a reason or cause
puis: pwee — Then/can; indicates sequence or first person pouvoir
oublier: oo-blee-eh — To forget; to fail to remember something
étoiles: eh-twahl — Stars; luminous celestial bodies visible at night
noires: nwahr — Black; dark, without light, feminine plural form
cieux: syuh — Heavens/skies; poetic plural for sky or paradise
ombres: ohm-bruh — Shadows; dark shapes cast by blocking light
pensées: pahn-seh — Thoughts; ideas or reflections in one's mind
hommes: om — Men/people; adult male humans or humankind generally
s': s — Oneself; elided reflexive pronoun before a vowel
allongent: ah-lohnzh — Lengthen/stretch out; grow longer or lie down
après: ah-preh — After; following in time or order
midi: mee-dee — Noon; midday, the middle of the day
quand: kahn — When; at the time that something occurs
deux: duh — Two; the number following one
soleils: soh-lay — Suns; stars around which planets orbit
lac: lak — Lake; a large body of inland water
mon: mohn — My; first person masculine singular possessive adjective
esprit: es-pree — Mind/spirit; intellect or spiritual essence of a person
portera: por-tuh-rah — Will carry; future tense of porter (to carry)
souvenir: soo-vuh-neer — Memory/souvenir; recollection of a past experience
Masque: mask — Mask; a covering worn to disguise one's face
Blême: blem — Pallid/pale; having a sickly whitish complexion
Je: zhuh — I; first person singular subject pronoun
prie: pree — Pray/beg; to earnestly request or address God
Dieu: dyuh — God; the supreme divine being in monotheism
maudire: moh-deer — To curse; to invoke evil upon someone
auteur: oh-tuhr — Author; person who writes a literary work
a: ah — Has; third person singular present of avoir
maudit: moh-dee — Cursed; afflicted with a terrible curse or fate
monde: mohnd — World; the earth or humanity in general
cette: set — This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
belle: bel — Beautiful; very attractive or aesthetically pleasing
prodigieuse: proh-dee-zhyuhz — Prodigious; extraordinarily impressive or remarkable in scale
création: kreh-ah-syohn — Creation; something brought into existence or crafted
terrible: teh-ree-bluh — Terrible; causing great fear or dread
sa: sah — Its/his/her; third person feminine singular possessive adjective
simplicité: sahm-plee-see-teh — Simplicity; quality of being uncomplicated or straightforward
irrésistible: ee-reh-zees-tee-bluh — Irresistible; impossible to resist or oppose
vérité: veh-ree-teh — Truth; that which conforms to reality or fact
tremble: trahm-bluh — Tremble; shake with fear or nervous emotion
désormais: deh-zor-meh — Henceforth; from now on, from this point forward
devant: duh-vahn — Before/in front of; positioned ahead of something
Roi: rwah — King; male monarch ruling over a kingdom
Jaune: zhohn — Yellow; the color between green and orange
Lorsque: lors-kuh — When; at the moment that something occurred
gouvernement: goo-vehr-nuh-mahn — Government; the governing authority of a nation
français: frahn-seh — French; relating to France or its people
saisit: seh-zee — Seized; grabbed or confiscated something by authority
exemplaires: eg-zahm-plehr — Copies; individual printed instances of a publication
traduits: trah-dwee — Translated; converted from one language to another
venaient: vuh-neh — Were coming; imperfect of venir (to come)
arriver: ah-ree-veh — To arrive; to reach a destination or place
Paris: pah-ree — Paris; capital city and cultural center of France
Londres: lohn-druh — London; capital city of the United Kingdom
bien: byahn — Well/indeed; indicating quality or emphasizing a statement
entendu: ahn-tahn-du — Of course; understood, naturally, it goes without saying
brûla: bru-lah — Burned; set on fire or destroyed by burning
lire: leer — To read; to interpret written text
Il: eel — He/it; third person masculine singular subject pronoun
est: eh — Is; third person singular present of être
connu: koh-nu — Known; widely recognized or familiar to people
comment: koh-mahn — How; in what manner or way something happened
livre: lee-vruh — Book; a written or printed literary work
répandit: reh-pahn-dee — Spread; disseminated widely like a contagion
maladie: mah-lah-dee — Illness; a disease or sickness affecting someone
infectieuse: ahn-fek-syuhz — Infectious; capable of spreading from person to person
ville: veel — City/town; an urban settlement of people
continent: kohn-tee-nahn — Continent; one of the major landmasses of Earth
interdit: ahn-tehr-dee — Forbidden; prohibited or banned by authority
ici: ee-see — Here; in this place or location
confisqué: kohn-fees-keh — Confiscated; officially seized by an authority
là: lah — There; in that place or location
dénoncé: deh-nohn-seh — Denounced; publicly condemned or reported as harmful
par: par — By/through; preposition indicating agent or means
presse: pres — Press; newspapers and media publications collectively
censuré: sahn-su-reh — Censored; suppressed or altered by official censorship
même: mem — Even/same; emphasizing or indicating identical things
plus: plu — More/most; comparative or superlative degree indicator
avancés: ah-vahn-seh — Advanced; progressive, ahead of others in thinking
littéraires: lee-teh-rehr — Literary; relating to literature or writing

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