Translation:French poem/Charles Baudelaire/Correspondances

Here is a translation of a French poem from a famous French poet:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Baudelaire

This poem is from his most famous book of poems:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Fleurs_du_mal

Les Fleurs du mal (1861), Charles Baudelaire

CORRESPONDANCES

La Nature est un temple où de vivants piliers
Laissent parfois sortir de confuses paroles ;
L’homme y passe à travers des forêts de symboles
Qui l’observent avec des regards familiers.

Comme de longs échos qui de loin se confondent
Dans une ténébreuse et profonde unité,
Vaste comme la nuit et comme la clarté,
Les parfums, les couleurs et les sons se répondent.


Il est des parfums frais comme des chairs d’enfants,
Doux comme les hautbois, verts comme les prairies,
- Et d’autres, corrompus, riches et triomphants,

Ayant l’expansion des choses infinies,
Comme l’ambre, le musc, le benjoin et l’encens,
Qui chantent les transports de l’esprit et des sens.

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Translation

Correspondences

The Nature is a temple where living pillars
Let sometimes come out confused voices ;
The man cross it through symbol forests
That look at him with familiar looks.

Like long echos that confound together from far
In a dark and deep unity,
Vast as the night and as the clarity,
The perfumes, the colors and the sounds respond to eachother.


There are perfumes fresh as children fleshes,
Soft as oboes, green as the grasslands,
- And others, corrupt, rich and triumphing,

With the expansion of infinite things,
Like the amber, the musk, the benzoin and the incense,
That sing the transport of the spirit and the senses.

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Word by word equivalence

1st paragraph

• une correspondance = correspondence, match, connection
• la nature = the nature
• est = is, from the verb être = to be
• un temple = a temple
• où = where
• vivant = alive, living
• un pilier = a pillar
• laisser =
  • to leave, to leave behind
  • to forget, to leave alone
  • to leave with, to give
  • to let, to allow
• parfois = sometimes
• sortir =
  • (intransitive) To exit, go out, come out
  • (transitive) To take out, bring out
• confus =
  • confused (chaotic, jumbled or muddled)
  • confusing
  • confuse (feminine)
  • confuses (plural feminine)
• une parole = voice, spoken word
• un homme = a man
• passer (verb from the 1st group) = to go past, to skip a go, to cross (a border)
• se passer = to take place, to happen
• à travers = through, across, throughout
• une forêt = a forest
• un symbole = a symbol
• observer = to observe, to watch
• un regard = a look, glance
• familier = familiar

---

2nd paragraph

• comme = as / like
• long = long (but don't pronounce the 'g')
• un écho = echo
• qui = that
• de loin = from far
• confondre (verbe 3rd group) =
  • to confuse, confound
  • (reflexive, with "avec") to mix up, to get confused (with)
• dans = in
• ténébreux (masculin), ténébreuse (feminin) = dark, somber (often used methaforicaly, not really related to the current light)
• et = and
• profond (masculin), profonde (féminin) = deep, profound
• une unité = a unity
• vaste (adj. same for masculin and feminin, but as usual add a 's' at the end for plural) = vast
• comme = like / as
• la nuit = the night
• et = and
• comme = as
• la clarté = clarity, light, illumination
• un parfum = a perfume
• une couleur = a color / colour
• et = and
• un son = a sound
• répondre (verb of the 3rd group) = (intransitive) to reply, to answer, to respond
• se répondre = respond together / mutually, respond to eachother

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3rd paragraph

• il est = there are (poetic form, usually we use "il y a")
• un parfum = a perfume
• frais = fresh, cool, recent
• comme = as
• la chair = the flesh
• de / d' = of
• un enfant = a child
• doux = sweet, soft, mild, gentle
  • masculin - singulier : doux
  • masculin - pluriel : doux
  • féminin - singulier : douce
  • féminin - pluriel : douces
• comme = as
• un hautbois (same for singular and plural) = an oboe
• vert = green
• comme = as
• une prairie = meadow, grassland, pasture, prairie
• et = and
• autre = other
• d’autres = some others
• corrompu = corrupt
• riche = rich
• triomphant = present participle of "triompher" (triumphing)
• triompher (verb of the 1st group) = to triumph

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4th paragraph

• ayant = present participle of avoir (pronounce : é-i-an, don't pronounce the 't')
• l’expansion (f.) = expansion
• une chose = a thing

• infini m. (adj.) (f. infinie, m. plural infinis, f. plural infinies) = endless, ceaseless, unending
• l'infini (noun) = the infinity

• comme l’ambre = as amber (fossil resin)
• le musc = the musk
• le benjoin = the benzoin (resine)
• et = and
• l’encens = incense (a perfume)
• qui = that
• chanter (verb from the 1st group) = to sing
• un transport = a transport
• de l’esprit = of spirit
• un sens = sense (like touch, smell, taste, see, hear)