Is That Good English?
I think I’m a mite cranky thanks to having blood drawn today, but to the searches for “modern English translation to Shakespeare’s Sonnet 87″ . . . you can’t be serious, can you? I mean, really? Sonnet 87 (the sonnet, not the blog) is as plain as day. Read it a few times over, digest the words. Don’t assume it’s not modern English (because it is—it’s not written in Old or Middle English, after all); the language of it is so clear (but the meaning can be terribly, wonderfully complex) and I am fearful for those who think it requires a translation. It doesn’t need a translation. You need to drink deeply of the words to explore the various meanings. Read it out loud. Several times over. Let the cadence of the words take you. Make links between the words Shakespeare uses to create the sonnet and the imagery therein. Allow the language a chance to charm you before you give up in frustration and do such a search.
I think kids today just don’t know how to analyze. They look for the quick meaning, the quick fix. There’s no in-depth analysis, there’s no commitment or attempt to understand. Where’s the poetry? Where’s the analysis?
I’m sorry. Cranky. But seriously, I am appalled.
Plain as day? Imagery? The poem is actually rather abstract and opaque in its language, given more to word play than particular details that evoke imagery. And don’t be fooled by the words estimate, charter, bonds, determinate, swerving, and patent. They don’t mean what we might think they mean. No, this poem requires quite a bit of scholarship to grasp and begs for translation.
I have been writing verse translations of Shakespeare’s plays for the last ten years and have some insights into how difficult he can be. You can read excerpts of my Shakespeare translations in modern English at http://www.fullmeasurepress.com or at my university website http://www.csulb.edu/~richmond/Shakespeare.html.
Check out John McWhorter’s article in the January 2010 issue of American Theater Magazine for a look at how difficult Shakespeare is. Here is the link: http://tcg.org/publications/at/jan10/shakespeare.cfm
Kent Richmond
Kent — thanks for dropping by. I think you misunderstand me — the sonnet is completely complex, as are the other sonnets and Shakespeare’s works. I’m not saying that the meaning of the sonnet is as plain as day, or the sonnet as a whole — it’s not — but I am saying that sonnet is already in an English all of us can understand. To me, the search I had says that there’s something unintelligible in the act of reading the sonnet, as if you would need footnotes for each line to do so. Teasing out the complexity of the sonnet, though, is another matter. I know that’s not easy, and I know it requires a great deal of scholarship. Which most people who are searching and end up here are not willing to do. The website takes its name for various reasons, but the focus isn’t scholarly. We’re a mishmash of topics here at Sonnet87.com.
I do realize how difficult Shakespeare is. I know a lot of people have trouble reading him. I still ruminate on Sonnet 87 all the time and have come to various conclusions over the years (with a new one currently forming). But the searches I get for this particular sonnet, always from high school and university IP addresses (example: “essay on sonnet 87″), leaves me wondering how much effort those searching are putting into whichever paper is currently due (and please trust me when I say this: February, March, October and November are times when my visitor numbers go through the roof).
Thanks for the links, though. I’ll be sure to check them out soon.