← The King in Yellow

The King in Yellow — Page 6

English → It 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.

Se non avessi intravisto le parole iniziali del secondo atto non l'avrei mai terminato, ma mentre mi chinavo per raccoglierlo, i miei occhi rimasero incollati alla pagina aperta, e con un grido di terrore, o forse di gioia così straziante da farmi soffrire in ogni nervo, strappai la cosa dai carboni ardenti e mi trascinai tremante fino alla mia camera da letto, dove lo lessi e rilessi, e piansi e risi e tremai di un orrore che a volte mi assale ancora.

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.

Questo è ciò che mi tormenta, poiché non riesco a dimenticare Carcosa dove stelle nere pendono nel cielo; dove le ombre dei pensieri degli uomini si allungano nel pomeriggio, quando i soli gemelli affondano nel lago di Hali; e la mia mente porterà per sempre il ricordo della Pallida Maschera.

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.

Prego Dio di maledire l'autore, così come l'autore ha maledetto il mondo con questa bella, stupenda creazione, terribile nella sua semplicità, irresistibile nella sua verità — un mondo che ora trema dinanzi al Re in Giallo.

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

Quando il governo francese sequestrò le copie tradotte appena arrivate a Parigi, Londra, naturalmente, divenne ansiosa di leggerlo.

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.

È ben noto come il libro si diffuse come una malattia infettiva, di città in città, di continente in continente, vietato qui, confiscato là, denunciato dalla stampa e dal pulpito, censurato persino dai più avanzati degli anarchici letterari.

Vocabulary

Se
If; conditional conjunction used in hypothetical statements.
non
Not; negation particle used to negate verbs and adjectives.
avessi
I had; past subjunctive of avere used in conditional clauses.
intravisto
Glimpsed; past participle of intravedere, to catch sight of.
le
The; feminine plural definite article or feminine object pronoun.
parole
Words; plural of parola, fundamental unit of language.
iniziali
Initial; adjective describing something at the beginning or start.
del
Of the; contraction of di and il prepositions.
secondo
Second; ordinal number following first in sequence.
atto
Act; division of a play or dramatic work structure.
avrei
I would have; conditional perfect of avere auxiliary verb.
mai
Never; adverb of negation indicating no time ever.
terminato
Finished; past participle of terminare, to end or complete.
ma
But; coordinating conjunction introducing contrasting ideas or clauses.
mentre
While; temporal conjunction expressing simultaneous or contrasting actions.
mi
Me; reflexive or indirect object pronoun referring to speaker.
chinavo
I bent; past tense of chinare, to bend or bow.
per
For; preposition indicating purpose, destination, or duration of action.
raccoglierlo
To pick it up; infinitive of raccogliere with object pronoun.
miei
My; possessive adjective masculine plural or possessive pronoun.
occhi
Eyes; plural of occhio, organs of sight and vision.
rimasero
Remained; past tense of rimanere, to stay or remain.
alla
To the; contraction of a and la prepositions.
pagina
Page; single side of a sheet in a book.
aperta
Open; adjective describing something that is not closed.
con
With; preposition indicating accompaniment or association with something.
un
A; indefinite article masculine singular used before nouns.
grido
Cry; shout or loud vocal expression of emotion.
di
Of; preposition indicating possession, origin, or composition.
terrore
Terror; intense fear or extreme fright causing great anxiety.
forse
Perhaps; adverb expressing doubt or uncertain possibility about something.
gioia
Joy; intense happiness or great delight and gladness.
così
So; adverb of manner or degree indicating that way.
da
From; preposition indicating origin, agent, or purpose relationship.
farmi
To make me; infinitive of fare with reflexive pronoun.
soffrire
To suffer; infinitive expressing endurance of pain or distress.
in
In; preposition indicating location, position, or state condition.
ogni
Every; adjective indicating each one without exception or omission.
nervo
Nerve; bodily tissue conducting sensations and motor impulses throughout body.
strappai
I tore; past tense of strappare, to tear or pull.
la
The; feminine singular definite article or feminine object pronoun.
cosa
Thing; object or matter being discussed or referred to.
dai
From the; contraction of da and i prepositions.
carboni
Coals; plural of carbone, black fuel from burned wood.
ardenti
Burning; adjective describing something intensely hot or passionate.
trascinai
I dragged; past tense of trascinare, to pull along.
tremante
Trembling; adjective describing something shaking from fear or cold.
fino
Until; preposition indicating limit or extent of something.
mia
My; possessive adjective feminine singular or feminine pronoun.
camera
Room; enclosed space within building for sleeping or living.
letto
Bed; furniture for sleeping or resting the body.
dove
Where; adverb of place asking location or indicating position.
lo
The; masculine singular definite article or masculine object pronoun.
lessi
I read; past tense of leggere, to read.
piansi
I cried; past tense of piangere, to weep or cry.
risi
I laughed; past tense of ridere, to laugh or smile.
tremai
I trembled; past tense of tremare, to shake or tremble.
orrore
Horror; extreme fear mixed with revulsion and deep disgust.
che
Which; relative pronoun connecting dependent clause to antecedent.
volte
Times; plural of volta, instances or occasions when something occurs.
assale
Assails; third person singular present of assalire, to attack.
ancora
Still; adverb indicating continuation or persistence of state.
Questo
This; demonstrative pronoun referring to thing nearby speaker.
ciò
That; demonstrative pronoun referring to previously mentioned thing.
tormenta
Torments; third person singular present of tormentare, to torture.
poiché
Because; causal conjunction introducing reason or cause for something.
riesco
I manage; first person singular present of riuscire, to succeed.
dimenticare
To forget; infinitive meaning to lose memory of something.
stelle
Stars; plural of stella, celestial bodies shining in night sky.
nere
Black; adjective feminine plural describing dark color or darkness.
pendono
Hang; third person plural present of pendere, to hang.
nel
In the; contraction of in and il prepositions.
cielo
Sky; atmosphere above earth where stars and clouds appear.
ombre
Shadows; plural of ombra, dark areas caused by light obstruction.
dei
Of the; contraction of di and i prepositions.
pensieri
Thoughts; plural of pensiero, ideas or mental processes.
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