Friday 30 August 2002
A story we try to prove true
Michael Barrish, Story:
I’ve long believed that we each have a story, often unknown to us, that we try all our lives to prove true. As I see it, this is the key to understanding a lot of otherwise inexplicable behavior… It can usually be summarized in five words or less.
I am alone.
Mark Pilgrim, Proven True:
Every day, I try to clarify in my own mind some specific thing I am grateful for. This generally takes the form of “today is better than yesterday in some way”… But every now and then I—intentionally or accidentally—step back and feel gratitude on an absolute scale.
I am blessed.
Jonathon Delacour:
At a certain point I came to understand that nothing lasts, everything vanishes away, and my best approach is to lovingly embrace this transient world. I find pleasure in everyday pursuits whilst knowing they will soon disappear. I appreciate the poignancy of things.
Life is a beautiful dream.
Permalink
Que la vida es sueño,
y los sueños sueños son.
_La vida es sueño_, Pedro Calderón de la Barca
goodness, I haven't seen those words in 10 years...since high school Spanish class. that is still a lovely poem, even if my Spanish would probably no longer be good enough to read the whole thing. thanks, Dorothea.
Wow, you read LVES in high school? I am impressed. I didn't see it until upper-level college courses.
Jonathon politely reminded me in email that it's impolite not to translate. The lines above are the tag of the play's most important soliloquy. A fair translation is "For life is but a dream, and dreams -- just dreams as well."
'impolite not to translate'?
WHAT? Translate into what - some 'master language'?
I'm English myself, but feck that 'it's impolite' garbage - Jon you should be deeply ashamed of yourself. Since when is it 'impolite' for ppl to not write in, or translate to, English? Your attitude is bad and incredibly arrogant if you are emailing ppl about what language they can write in on the 'net. Fuck that.
Worst thing I've seen for ages.
Rogi, the suggestion of "impoliteness" was Dorothea's not mine. In a PS to an email about another subject, I wrote:
"I'd love to know the meaning of the quotation from Pedro Calderón de la Barca."
Nothing impolite, nothing to be ashamed of, no bad attitude, not the slightest bit arrogant.
Jonathon's right. No need to jump all over him.
Flippant based on comments earlier, but I did want to say that I think your, Mark's, and Michael's writing was gently honest and simply graceful.
Thanks Dorothea, for the clarification and the translation. The soliloquy is beautiful (and justly famous). I'm not one for reading plays but I'd love to see La Vida es Sueño performed -- in English or Spanish. (I couldn't find a video listed at Amazon.)
I'd love to direct it, love even more to play Clarin.
I don't know how in *hell* to translate such a play, though. It's all in verse, umpteen different kinds of verse at that (iambic pentameter? Spanish playwrights *scoff*!). Highly mannered stuff, too -- Calderon, at least; Lope de Vega is a little more natural.
I know it's been done, but I have trouble believing it's been done well.
My unreserved apologies to you Jonathon.
Wrong time, wrong post to read, I over-reacted. I kinda guessed I had as I pressed 'post'. Too late then tho' isn't it.
Ah well...that's a cold beer I owe you.
Peace.
No problem, Rogi. These things can happen.
I had a very unusual high school Spanish teacher - in both good ways and bad. we read a lot of poetry and songs.
seeing the whole thing...my Spanish skills are way far gone - 9 years since my last class. :( maybe sometime I'll have time to try it again.
This discussion is now closed. My thanks to everyone who contributed.
© Copyright 2002-2003 Jonathon Delacour
Que la vida es sueño,
y los sueños sueños son.
_La vida es sueño_, Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Posted by: Dorothea Salo on 30 August 2002 at 10:58 PM