Translation

Last week, I (finally) participated in the annual Translation Symposium that is organized by the Comparative Literature Department. I've always wanted to do this, but always managed to hear about it after the submission deadline. Well, this year I had my act together, submitted a translation, and was picked! I translated a speech of Dido's from book four of the Aeneid. The specific lines are 296-332 if you want to look up the lines, but here is my translation:

But the queen knew something was wrong- who could fool a woman in love? She seemed to know everything, jumping at shadows. Nothing was safe. She heard a terrible rumor that the fleet was being armed and prepared for voyage, which infuriated her. With a broken spirit, and burning with rage, she tore through the whole city, like crazy Bacchants shaking the sacred rattle during the triennial orgies after they have heard the ritual cry, “Bacchus!.” In the night, the mountain Cithaeron lures them away. At last, she confronts Aeneas:

“Traitor! How did you expect to hide such a horrible crime and leave without telling me? Will nothing keep you here? Not our love nor our marriage nor even me? I will die! Why would you try to sail during the stormy winter winds anyway? I mean, if you weren’t trying to find a new home, and if Troy hadn’t been destroyed, would you even be here? Are you running away from me? I am nothing without you! What about these tears? Your left hand? Or our marriage and the ceremonies we just started? Do I deserve nothing good from you? Was nothing of mine sweet to you? I beg you to pity a falling house! Please, I pray, give up this mindset. Don’t you know that because of you all of Africa hates me, and my own people are my enemies? I destroyed my honor for you and my good reputation which would have made me immortal. Why, guest- since that is all you are now- would you want to leave me? I should kill myself now! Or should I just sit around and wait for my brother, Pygmalion, to destroy my city, or for Iarbas to capture and rape me? If only I could have had your child before you abandon me, if only a baby Aeneas would play with me and remind me of you, I would not feel so completely deserted.”

She spoke, and that one could not look at her. He would obey the command of Jove and, though he struggled, pushed his love for her deep into his heart.

I tried to make this a more modern translation, since Dido is just going through something every girl goes through at least once in her life- a terrible break up. Ok, hers is so bad she kills herself, but I think most women can relate to her on some level. I know I can. So I tried to bring that sense of loss, anger and frustration out here while keeping it as modern-sounding as the Latin would allow me.

The Symposium itself was pretty cool. There were about 20 people total reading in a variety of languages and its really amazing what some people came up with. As someone who translates every single day for class, and who mostly translates as literally as possible, it was really fun to sit there and listen to other people's interpretations of their text. All in all, a good experience. :-)