The Yellow Wallpaper — Page 4
" So we took the nursery, at the top of the house.
"Così prendemmo la camera dei bambini, in cima alla casa.
It is a big, airy room, the whole floor nearly, with windows that look all ways, and air and sunshine galore.
È una stanza grande e ariosa, quasi l'intero piano, con finestre che guardano in tutte le direzioni, e aria e sole in abbondanza.
It was nursery first and then playground and gymnasium, I should judge; for the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls.
Era prima una camera dei bambini e poi un'area giochi e una palestra, a mio giudizio; poiché le finestre sono sbarrate per i bambini piccoli, e ci sono anelli e altre cose nelle pareti.
The paint and paper look as if a boys' school had used it.
La vernice e la carta da parati sembrano come se una scuola maschile le avesse utilizzate.
It is stripped off—the paper—in great patches all around the head of my bed, about as far as I can reach, and in a great place on the other side of the room low down.
È stata strappata via—la carta—in grandi pezzi tutto intorno alla testiera del mio letto, più o meno fino a dove riesco ad arrivare, e in un grande tratto sull'altro lato della stanza in basso.
I never saw a worse paper in my life.
Non ho mai visto una carta da parati peggiore in vita mia.
One of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin.
Uno di quei motivi sgargianti e disordinati che commettono ogni peccato artistico.
It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate, and provoke study, and when you follow the lame, uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide—plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard-of contradictions.
È abbastanza monotona da confondere l'occhio nel seguirla, abbastanza marcata da irritare costantemente e stimolare l'osservazione, e quando si seguono le curve claudicanti e incerte per un breve tratto esse improvvisamente si suicidano—precipitano con angoli oltraggiosi, si autodistruggono in contraddizioni inaudite.
The color is repellant, almost revolting; a smouldering, unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight.
Il colore è repellente, quasi disgustoso; un giallo fumoso e sudicio, stranamente sbiadito dalla luce del sole che ruota lentamente.
It is a dull yet lurid orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tint in others.
È un arancione opaco ma livido in alcuni punti, una tinta sulfurea malsana in altri.
No wonder the children hated it! I should hate it myself if I had to live in this room long.
Non c'è da meravigliarsi che i bambini la odiassero! La odierei anch'io se dovessi vivere a lungo in questa stanza.
There comes John, and I must put this away,—he hates to have me write a word.
Ecco che arriva John, e devo mettere via questo,—odia che io scriva anche solo una parola.
Vocabulary
- Così
- So, thus; used to indicate manner or consequence
- prendemmo
- We took; past tense of 'prendere'
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- camera
- Room, bedroom; enclosed living space
- dei
- Of the; masculine plural partitive article
- bambini
- Children; young boys or kids
- in
- In, at; basic preposition indicating location
- cima
- Top, summit; highest point of something
- alla
- To the; preposition combined with feminine article
- casa
- House, home; place where one lives
- È
- Is; third person singular of 'essere'
- una
- A, an; feminine singular indefinite article
- stanza
- Room; enclosed space within a building
- grande
- Large, big; describing considerable size
- ariosa
- Airy, spacious; well-ventilated and open feeling
- quasi
- Almost, nearly; close to but not completely
- intero
- Entire, whole; complete without missing parts
- piano
- Floor, story; level of a building
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or inclusion
- finestre
- Windows; openings in walls for light
- che
- That, which, who; relative or conjunction word
- guardano
- They look, face; windows overlooking a direction
- tutte
- All; feminine plural of 'tutto'
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article
- direzioni
- Directions; cardinal orientations or ways
- aria
- Air; atmosphere or ventilation in a space
- sole
- Sun; source of natural light and warmth
- abbondanza
- Abundance, plenty; large quantity of something
- Era
- It was; third person singular imperfect of 'essere'
- prima
- Before, first; indicating earlier time or order
- poi
- Then, afterward; indicating sequence in time
- area
- Area, zone; designated space for an activity
- giochi
- Games, play; activities for children's amusement
- palestra
- Gymnasium; room or building for physical exercise
- mio
- My; masculine singular possessive adjective
- giudizio
- Judgment, opinion; personal assessment or view
- poiché
- Since, because; conjunction explaining a reason
- sbarrate
- Barred, bolted; blocked with bars or barriers
- piccoli
- Small ones, little children; young or tiny beings
- ci
- There, us; pronoun or location particle
- anelli
- Rings; circular objects attached to walls
- altre
- Other; feminine plural of 'altro'
- cose
- Things; general objects or items
- nelle
- In the; preposition combined with feminine plural article
- pareti
- Walls; interior vertical surfaces of a room
- vernice
- Paint, varnish; coating applied to surfaces
- carta da parati
- Wallpaper; decorative paper covering interior walls
- sembrano
- They seem, appear; third person plural of 'sembrare'
- scuola
- School; institution for education and learning
- maschile
- Male, masculine; relating to boys or men
- avesse
- Had; third person singular imperfect subjunctive of 'avere'
- utilizzate
- Used, utilized; past participle of 'utilizzare'
- stata
- Been; feminine past participle of 'essere'
- strappata
- Torn, ripped; forcibly pulled away from surface
- via
- Away; indicating removal or departure
- grandi
- Large, big; plural of 'grande'
- pezzi
- Pieces, chunks; fragments of a larger whole
- tutto
- All, everything; completely or the whole amount
- intorno
- Around; in a surrounding or encircling manner
- testiera
- Headboard; upper panel at the head of a bed
- letto
- Bed; furniture used for sleeping
- più
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- meno
- Less; comparative adverb indicating lesser degree
- fino
- Until, up to; indicating a limit or endpoint
- dove
- Where; adverb indicating a location or place
- riesco
- I manage, I can reach; first person of 'riuscire'
- arrivare
- To arrive, reach; to get to a destination
- tratto
- Stretch, section; a portion or segment of something
- sull'
- On the; preposition combined with definite article
- altro
- Other, another; a different or additional thing
- lato
- Side; lateral portion or face of something
- della
- Of the; feminine singular partitive or possessive
- basso
- Low; at a small height or depth
- Non
- Not; negation particle in Italian sentences
- ho
- I have; first person singular of 'avere'
- mai
- Never, ever; adverb of frequency or negation
- visto
- Seen; past participle of 'vedere'
- peggiore
- Worse, worst; comparative or superlative of 'cattivo'
- vita
- Life; one's existence or personal lifetime
- Uno
- One; the number one or indefinite pronoun
- motivi
- Patterns, motifs; recurring design elements
- sgargianti
- Gaudy, garish; excessively bright and showy
- disordinati
- Messy, disordered; lacking organization or neatness
- commettono
- They commit; third person plural of 'commettere'
- ogni
- Every, each; referring to all members of a group
- peccato
- Sin, offense; a wrongdoing or artistic violation
- abbastanza
- Enough, quite; indicating sufficient or moderate degree
- monotona
- Monotonous, dull; lacking variety or interest
- confondere
- To confuse, bewilder; to make something unclear
- occhio
- Eye; organ of sight or visual attention
- seguirla
- To follow it; infinitive with clitic pronoun attached
- marcata
- Marked, pronounced; clearly noticeable or distinct
- irritare
- To irritate, annoy; to provoke or aggravate
- costantemente
- Constantly; in a continuous or persistent manner
- stimolare
- To stimulate; to encourage activity or observation
- osservazione
- Observation; act of watching or examining carefully
- quando
- When; temporal conjunction or adverb
- si
- Oneself, one; reflexive or impersonal pronoun
- seguono
- They follow; third person plural of 'seguire'
- curve
- Curves; bent or winding lines in a pattern
- claudicanti
- Limping, faltering; moving in an unsteady manner
- incerte
- Uncertain, hesitant; lacking direction or confidence
- breve
- Brief, short; lasting only a small amount of time
- esse
- They; feminine third person plural pronoun
- improvvisamente
- Suddenly; happening without warning or expectation
- precipitano
- They plunge, fall; drop suddenly and abruptly
- angoli
- Corners, angles; points where lines or walls meet
- oltraggiosi
- Outrageous; shocking, offensive, or scandalous
- contraddizioni
- Contradictions; statements or elements that oppose each other
- inaudite
- Unheard-of, unprecedented; never experienced before
- colore
- Color; visual property produced by light wavelengths
- repellente
- Repellent, repulsive; causing strong disgust or aversion
- disgustoso
- Disgusting; causing revulsion or strong dislike
- giallo
- Yellow; bright warm color between green and orange
- fumoso
- Smoky, smoggy; having a hazy or smoke-like quality
- sudicio
- Dirty, filthy; unclean or grimy in appearance
- stranamente
- Strangely, oddly; in an unusual or peculiar manner
- sbiadito
- Faded, washed out; color diminished by light exposure
- dalla
- From the, by the; feminine singular preposition combination
- luce
- Light; illumination from sun or artificial sources
- ruota
- Rotates, turns; third person singular of 'ruotare'
- lentamente
- Slowly; in a gradual or unhurried manner
- arancione
- Orange; warm color between red and yellow
- opaco
- Opaque, dull; lacking brightness or transparency
- ma
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or opposition
- livido
- Livid, bruised; pale or dark discolored hue
- alcuni
- Some; indefinite plural indicating a few things
- punti
- Points, spots; specific locations or marks
- tinta
- Tint, hue; a shade or tone of color
- malsana
- Unhealthy, unwholesome; harmful to health or wellbeing
- altri
- Others; masculine plural of 'altro'
- meravigliarsi
- To wonder, be amazed; reflexive verb of amazement
- odiassero
- They hated; third person plural imperfect subjunctive of 'odiare'
- odierei
- I would hate; first person conditional of 'odiare'
- anch'
- Also, too; shortened form of 'anche' before vowel
- io
- I; first person singular subject pronoun
- dovessi
- I had to; first person imperfect subjunctive of 'dovere'
- vivere
- To live; to exist or dwell somewhere
- lungo
- Along, long; extended in space or beside something
- questa
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- Ecco
- Here is, look; exclamation drawing attention to something
- arriva
- Arrives, comes; third person singular of 'arrivare'
- devo
- I must; first person singular of 'dovere'
- mettere
- To put, place; to position something somewhere
- questo
- This; masculine singular demonstrative adjective
- odia
- He/she hates; third person singular of 'odiare'
- scriva
- That I write; first person present subjunctive of 'scrivere'
- anche
- Also, even; adverb adding inclusion or emphasis
- solo
- Only, alone; just one or by oneself
- parola
- Word; a unit of spoken or written language
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