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Translation of ‘Orillas Del Duero’
Orillas Del Duero
Se ha asomado una cigüeña a lo alto del campanario. Girando en torno a la torre y al caserón solitario, ya las golondrinas chillan. Pasaron del blanco invierno, de nevascas y ventiscas los crudos soplos de infierno.
Es una tibia mañana. El sol calienta un poquito la pobre tierra soriana.
Pasados los verdes pinos, casi azules, primavera se ve brotar en los finos chopos de la carretera y del río. El Duero corre, terso y mudo, mansamente. El campo parece, más que joven, adolescente.
Entre las hierbas alguna humilde flor ha nacido, azul o blanca. ¡Belleza del campo apenas florido, y mística primavera!
¡Chopos del camino blanco, álamos de la ribera, espuma de la montaña ante la azul lejanía, sol del día, claro día! ¡Hermosa tierra de España!
Translation of ‘Orillas Del Duero’
by Antonio Machado
Izzy Oliver Isabel Singleton
The Banks Of The Duero
A stork has leant out at the top of the bell tower. Revolving around the tower and the deserted decrepit shelter, already the swallows screech. They passed the white winter, the snowstorms and gales, those breezes of hell are bitter.
It is a warm morning. The sun on the poor land of Soria is slightly warming.
The green pine trees of the past are, nearly blue, springtide is seen emerging in the slender black poplars on the roadside and by the river. The Duero flows gently, smooth and silent. The countryside seems, more than young, adolescent.
Amongst the grass some humble flower is birthed, blue or white. The beauty of the field scarcely flowered, and mystical springtime!
The black poplars of the white path, poplars of the riverbank, the foam of the mountain facing the blue distance, sun of the day, clear day! Beautiful land of Spain!
The Difficulties of Translating Poetry
The difficulty I encountered throughout translation was trying to transcribe the exact meaning of the poem whilst maintaining the flow of it. There is inevitably change in rhyme and metre between the languages, which I attempted to reinstall, mainly by mirroring rhyming patterns. However, in some cases it is not possible to match the structure. Therefore, I find it difficult to prefer my English translation. The original has beautiful flow and rhythm, which has been sacrificed to some extent as I mainly prioritised the literal translation. For example, in the final stanza the regular rhyme was impossible to reflect whilst mirroring the meaning. Although meaning and structure have been portrayed to the best of my ability, some has been, sadly, lost in translation.
