Poetry: Other languages.

[avrelia]

I know that on my friends’ list many people speak and read in two or more languages. And I want to ask you something – about your perception of poetry.

But first, I’ll talk about me.

I love poetry. It came to me rather unexpectedly when I was thirteen and was cleaning the dishes after a dinner. I kid you not. (One can make a whole point about importance of cleaning dishes on this basis.)

I love poetry ever since, and I tortured my friends and loved ones with reciting the poems aloud from time to time. I believe that poetry is the closest thing we have to magic in our world – no wonder that so many spells depends on proper wording.

The poetry is an art to put exact words to exact places – to tell about something, to catch a fleeting thought, dream, or feeling. Sometimes one starts to write about one thing, and it turns out to be about something different – something one was afraid to express any other way.

I savour word, rhythm, and flow of poems. I love when it has rhymes and structure, which (in my book, add strength and energy), but the free form is fine and sometimes more appropriate. It is way better than a bad rhyme any time of the day.

To read is good, but to recite poetry aloud is a special kind of pleasure: you try and seek for the best rhythm, the best intonation to make a poem give out its true light – not necessarily to find the author’s intent behind it, but to make the perfect sense for myself.

That’s about poetry I read in Russian.

Translations from other languages go there as well, however I am wary about them – what part of it is the magic of the poet, and what is the translator’s interpretation? But I cannot possibly read in all languages that have poems written in them, so I deal.

Strangely enough I enjoyed reading Goethe in German as much, even though my German skills were scarce at its best, and now almost non-existent.

Yet, in English… When I read poetry in English, I get it on a purely rational level. That is, I understand what it is about and that it is a poem. I don’t feel it, and I don’t enjoy it – not on the same level, not as poetry.

First, I thought it was my poor English skills. Maybe they are that poor. Yet I enjoy well-written beautiful prose in English the same as in Russian, so I do get the beauty and the feeling of the language. Poetry in English leaves me feeling handicapped.

So I still prefer reading Shakespeare in Russian translations. Oops.

Going back to the beginning: the question I want to ask you – have you ever had such problem? Does your perception and enjoyment of poetry change depending on the language you are reading in?
Or you can just comment on my predicament.

Any comments will be much appreciated. ;)