Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Panther vs. Panther

In the first translation of “The Panther,” Cottrell rhymes at the end of each line within the stanzas. For example, using words such as bars and are, stare and there, and come and numb. I guess this translation of the poem did not fully grasp on how the panther felt. Yes the panther is trapped behind the bars, but that did not scream to me how hopeless the panther was. As comparing to the second translation of “The Panther,” Kline describes the panther’s hopelessness very well. At the end, I felt no hope for the panther.
  Cottrell:
Just at times the curtain parts
quietly inside his eyes.
Along a nerve, awareness darts-
arriving in his heart, it dies.
  Kline:
Only, at times, the curtain of his pupils
Silently rises- Then an image enters,
Rushes through his tense, arrested limbs,
And echoing, inside his heart, is gone.
By comparing both of the last stanzas, I see that the word choices affect the impact it has on the reader. In Cottrell’s translation, I see that the panther is aware of its captivity. I guess using the word “it” in the last line made it ambiguous on what “it” is referring to exactly. What dies? In Kline’s translation, the buildup of the vision of freedom the panther sees suddenly vanishes. Wow! Words such as silently, arrested, and echoing made the meaning of the panther’s pain appear deep. Just as hope slowly rises in him, it quickly disappears without a trace.

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