The poem that started Translations #2 follows, followed by the source text:
Blíđur er árblćr,
blíđ er dags koma,
fylgja henni tónar
töfrafullir
árvakra fugla,
sem er eyrna lyst.
Blíđur er röđull,
ţá er breiđir hann
austan árgeisla
á unađs foldir,
yfir grös, eikur
og aldini,
sem ţá deig glansa
fyrir döggfalli.
Blíđur er sá ilmur,
sem upp af jörđ
eftir regn rakri
rauk í blóma.
Blíđ er kvöldkoma
í kćlu mildri,
og hljóđlát ríma,
međ helgum sér
fagurrödduđum
fugli ţessum.
Og međ mána ţeim,
er svo milt lýsir,
međur gimsteinum,
er glóa svo
hvervetna himins
á hvelfingu,
stjarna fjölfylktu
föruneyti.
It's a 1790s Icelandic translation in Eddic metre of an English poem in
blank verse. The same passage from the original follows:
'Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet,
With charm of earliest Birds; pleasant the Sun
When first on this delightful Land he spreads
His orient Beams, on herb, tree, fruit, and flow'r,
Glist'ring with dew; fragrant the fertile earth
After soft showers; and sweet the coming-on
Of grateful Ev'ning mild, then silent Night
With this her solemn Bird and this fair Moon,
And these the Gems of Heav'n, her starry train:'
You're right, it's Milton's Paradise Lost. The translator was the brilliant
Jón Thorláksson (1744-1819), a poverty stricken clergyman in the north of
Iceland. Comparing his text with the original leaves you breathless, not
least when you know he translated it from German and Danish as he knew
little or no English! I had occasion to check this when I was translating
Samuel Beckett's Happy Days. After Milton, Thorláksson turned to Pope among
others and translated Essay on Man. In his old age he received some
financial support from English friends who were aware of his accomplishment.
Best
Árni
--
Árni Ibsen
Stekkjarkinn 19,
220 Hafnarfjördur,
Iceland
tel.: +354-555-3991
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.centrum.is/~aibsen/
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