Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Como consejo previo, cuya validez depende obviamente del grado de conocimiento de la
lengua inglesa de cada estudiante, debe intentar leerse el texto, o un fragmento sustancial del
mismo una parte, si est dividido en varias para comprender el argumento y el tema o los
temas ms importantes que se tratan. Una vez que se han entendido el argumento y los temas
principales, debe leerse el texto de nuevo ya ms despacio, poniendo atencin en los aspectos
formales y en el modo en que forman parte del sentido, intensificando ideas y sentimientos, o
aportando matices diferentes importantes, como por ejemplo la irona, que introduce un
significado distinto, a veces opuesto, al enunciado literal.
No deben obsesionarse tratando de buscar en el diccionario el significado de todas las palabras
que no conocen porque la lectura se les har tediosa y se aburrirn. El sentido de muchos
trminos se extrae con mucha frecuencia del contexto. Busquen, al principio, solo las palabras
imprescindibles para comprender el significado general del fragmento. En la segunda lectura
busquen los trminos que enriquecen el sentido prestando atencin a las figuras retricas,
particularmente las construcciones metafricas, que son las que pueden plantearles ms
dificultad.
Aunque todos los textos que tienen que leer estn traducidos al ingls moderno, hay muchos
trminos que, por pertenecer a un registro potico, son menos habituales. Conscientes de que
no pueden memorizar todo el vocabulario nuevo que aprendan, estos, como tambin los
arcaicos, en su caso, se los facilitamos en los exmenes, tanto en las pruebas presenciales
como en las de evaluacin continua, proporcionndoles un sinnimo sencillo para que no se
agobien ni pierdan un tiempo valioso en esas circunstancias.
La Antologa est pensada para evitarles gastos adicionales o tiempo de bsqueda en internet
y facilitarles, as, el material de estudio imprescindible. Trabajen sobre ella, anotando los
significados de los trminos que desconocan as como las figuras retricas y los recursos
estilsticos que van descubriendo y su efecto sobre el sentido. De esta manera el repaso les
ser mucho ms sencillo.
Una vez han entendido bien el texto en cuestin, se recomienda leer fragmentos en voz alta
tratando de reproducir la cadencia natural del lenguaje y de identificar, en consonancia con
ella, el ritmo del verso. Es conveniente acostumbrarse, al principio, a marcar las slabas
acentuadas.
Cuando no se sepa cmo se pronuncia una palabra o en qu slaba recae el acento, debe
consultarse un diccionario de pronunciacin como, por ejemplo, http://www.howjsay.com.
2
Por lo general, los diccionarios monolinges, como el Merriam Webster (http://www.merriamwebster.com) les ofrecen tanto la pronunciacin, como la divisin silbica y la representacin
fontica. Por ejemplo, si consultamos la palabra comfort, aparece en primer lugar el icono
de un altavoz, pinchando sobre el cual podemos or la pronunciacin. Inmediatamente
despus se nos indica primero la divisin silbica: comfort y a continuacin se nos ofrece la
representacin fontica que nos permite ver la posicin del acento \km(p)-frt\. El apstrofe
indica la slaba sobre la que recae, precedindola; en este caso, la primera: /km(p)-/). Los
signos entre parntesis (p) indican que solo se pronuncia el sonido que representan en
determinados y escasos contextos lingsticos.
Debemos advertirles que no todos los diccionarios se acogen a la misma representacin
fontica. Este nos parece el ms sencillo, en este sentido y, por tanto, til.
La acentuacin ayuda a percibir el tipo de verso que vara de acuerdo con el nmero y la
posicin de los acentos as como la secuencia de la rima. La combinacin de ritmo y rima nos
indica la clase de estrofa, y las alteraciones o cambios en uno y otra nos ayudarn a percibir
una modificacin o intensificacin del sentimiento, o a captar significados que, de otro modo,
podran pasar desapercibidos. Es una buena prctica anotar las irregularidades rtmicas ms
notorias que se observen y su funcin en el significado del fragmento.
Obviamente, para reconocer el ritmo y la rima es imprescindible un conocimiento bsico de la
fontica inglesa que todos deben tener. Sin embargo, como es normal que les surjan muchas
dudas, pueden consultar el siguiente sitio en internet: Phonics on the Web:
http://www.phonicsontheweb.com/theory.php que les proporcionar una ayuda sumamente
til. Consulten detenidamente el men de la izquierda y vern un apartado esencial para
dividir slabas, por ejemplo, sin un buen conocimiento de lo cual difcilmente podrn identificar
patrones rtmicos como el aliterativo de la poesa anglosajona o el del pentmetro ymbico,
base de la poesa medieval y renacentista, respectivamente, que estudiarn en este curso.
Quienes tengan dificultades en este aspecto puede encontrar unas reglas sencillas en un
apartado del mismo sitio en internet: http://www.phonicsontheweb.com/syllables.php
Quienes carezcan de conocimientos bsicos de prosodia inglesa, pueden encontrar muy til las
explicaciones que ofrece la pgina web, BASIC GUIDE TO ENGLISH PROSODY:
http://www.uv.es/~tronch/stu/GuideEnglishProsody.html
Todos los poemas cuya lectura se indica que es preceptiva estn en el manual bsico, Ejes de
la Literatura Inglesa Medieval y Renacentista, o en esta Antologa. En muchos de los sitios
web de donde estn tomados, y cuya referencia se acompaa, encontrarn, adems,
explicaciones tiles que pueden facilitarles el estudio y proporcionarles informacin adicional
interesante para quienes deseen profundizar en la produccin potica de un autor
determinado o en poemas concretos. Esta informacin no es en ningn caso obligatoria ni
constituir, por tanto, materia de examen.
En muchos casos les ofrecemos sinnimos sencillos de algunos trminos para facilitarles su
lectura. Asimismo hemos procedido a actualizar la ortografa de algunas palabras de uso
arcaico y a corregir erratas que aparecan en muchos de los textos digitalizados.
10
*to suffer
20
*loyal
*banqueting hall
70
*mead[banqueting]-hall
*to distribute
80
*collar, necklace, armband
*to torment
90
*encircled
100
110
120
*chaos
170
*pagan
180
*to give up
190
200
*skilled
A hero arrives
(Beowulf and his men traveled over a calm sea from Geatland to Denmark, and as they disembark, a Danish coast
guard questions them- especially why they have come dressed for battle. The Geat leader answers )
*speech
260
270
*to deal in
*to offer
280
*unrest
(The coast guard recognizes the nobility in the Geat leader, and readily leads them to Heorot. The Geat soldiers
leave their boat and carry their beautiful, ancient, and family battle-gear toward the mead-hall. Upon arrival,
Wulfgar, a renowned fighter, similarly questions them about their intentions at Heorot. )
340
(The guard takes this message to Hrothgar with the description of the Geats noble appearance. Hrothgar recounts
hearing of Beowulfs deeds as a hero and how the king once helped save Ecgtheow -Beowulfs father. Hrothgar
quickly agrees to let the Geats come to Heorot. Once there, Beowulf greets the Danish king.)
410
.
Fight with Grendel
Then out of the night
Came the shadow-stalker, stealthy and swift;
The hall-guards were slack*, asleep at their posts,
All except one; it was widely understood
That as long as God disallowed it,
The fiend could not bear them to his shadow-bourne*.
One man, however, was in a fighting mood,
Awake and on edge, spoiling for action.
In off the moors*, down through the mist bands
God-cursed Grendel came greedily loping.
The bane* of the race of men roamed forth,
Hunting for a prey in the high hall.
Under the cloud-murk he moved toward it
Until it shone above him, a sheer keep
Of fortified gold. Nor was that the first time
He had scouted the grounds of Hrothars dwelling
Although never in his life, before or since,
Did he find harder fortune for hall-defenders.
Spurned and joyless, he journeyed on ahead
And arrived at the bawn*. The iron-braced door
Turned on its hinge when his hands touched it.
Then his rage boiled over, he ripped open
The mouth of the building, maddening for blood,
Pacing the length of the patterned floor
With his loathsome tread, while a baleful* light,
Flame more than light, flared from his eyes.
He saw many men in the mansion, sleeping,
A ranked company of kinsmen and warriors
Quartered together. And his glee was demonic,
Picturing the mayhem: before morning
He would rip life from limb and devour them,
Feed on their flesh; but his fate that night
Was due to change, his days of ravening*
Had come to an end.
Mighty and canny,
Hygelacs kinsman was keenly watching
For the first move the monster would make.
Nor did the creature keep him waiting
But struck suddenly and started in;
He grabbed and mauled* a man on his bench,
Bit into his bone-lappings*, bolted down his blood
And gorged on him in lumps, leaving the body
Utterly lifeless, eaten up
Hand and food. Venturing closer,
His talon was raised to attack Beowulf
Where he lay on the bed; he was bearing in
11
*careless
*somber destination
*open wasteland
710
720
*a rocky shoreline
*full of sorrow
730
*destroying
*destroyed
*ligaments
740
750
760
770
780
790
12
800
810
*tendons
*ligaments
820
(After the battle, the Danes rejoice. The proof of the victory as they followed the trail of blood to Grendels swamp
where he died in the murky waters. The people rejoiced throughout Denmark, and many raced back and forth
telling the mighty deeds of Beowulf- often comparing him to Sigemund the dragon slayer. Hrothgar returned to the
hall and adopts Beowulf (symbolically) as a son. He praises the mighty hero and blessings of God. Hrothgar finishes
his speech by saying)
953
960
*subjected
970
*limping
980
(Hrothgar orders the hall to be restored to its former glory, and soon a victory feast begins. Beowulf and his men
are awarded gold, jewels, swords, and armour for their reward. Then a minstrel sings a tale of Hildeburh, a Danish
princess, who was married off to an ally of her enemies as part of a truce. In this story, the Danes are in exile after a
stalemate battle with the Jutes and Frisians, but they thirst for vengeance. After a year, they attack and kill the king
and bring his widow Hildeburh back home to Denmark. This story foreshadows the feud between the Geats and the
Swedes.)
Grendels Mother
(After the celebration, men once again stay in Heorot. However, Grendels Mother will come, and for one of them
this will be his last night on earth. She is an outcast because of her ancestor Cain who killed his own brother. The
family of Cain has become monsters. Seeking vengeance for her sons death, she attacks Heorot and kills just one
man -Hrothgars closest friend and advisor. In his grief over the loss of his friend, Hrothgar describes where
Grendels Mother lives to Beowulf. The old king will ask for one more favour.)
1370
1380
1390
female troll
(A war party is quickly formed, and they track Grendels Mother to the fen where she lives. To the astonishment of
the party, it is marked by the head of Hrothgars slain friend; the blood from the severed head stirs up all kinds of
sea monsters near the shore. Beowulf kills one with an arrow and brings it ashore allowing all to see the type of
monsters that await him in the water. Unferth, too afraid to go into the water, gives Beowulf a mighty sword named
Hrunting. Beowulf also dresses for battle with chain-mail, shield, and helmet. Beowulf reminds Hrothgar of his
earlier words about the death of a warrior.)
1492
1500
1510
*long projecting teeth
*brave
1520
*explore carefully
1580
1590
2210
*moving around furtively
*treasure
2220
17
2400
*to inspect
2420
(Beowulf recounts his childhood and several battles between the Geats and Swedes. In the most recent skirmish,
the Swedish king is killed by one of Hygelacs thanes- at the time a peer with Beowulf. This foreshadows the
continued strife between the Swedes and the Geats.)
2510
2520
*hill
2530
*noisy quarrel, brawl
2540
Before long
The fierce contenders clashed again.
The hoard-guard took heart, inhaled and swelled up
And got a new wind; he who had once ruled
Was furled* in fire and had to face the worst.
No help or backing was to be had then
From his high-born comrades; that hand-picked troop
Broke ranks and ran for their lives
To the safety of the wood. But within one heart
Sorrow welled up: in a man of worth
The claims of kinship cannot be denied.
*rolled up
2600
2630
2640
2650
2660
2670
Inspired again
By the thought of glory, the war-king threw
His whole strength behind the sword-stroke
And connected with the skull. And Naegling [the sword] snapped.
2680
Beowulfs ancient iron-grey sword
Let him down* in the fight. It was never his fortune
*to fail
To be helped in combat by the cutting edge
Of weapons made of iron. When he wielded a sword,
No matter how blooded and hard-edged the blade
His hand was too strong, the stroke he dealt
(I have heard) would ruin it. He could reap no advantage.
Then the bane* of that people, the fire-breathing dragon,*a person or thing that causes misery or stress
Was mad to attack for a third time.
When a chance came, he caught the hero
2690
In a rush of flame and clamped sharp fangs
Into his neck. Beowulfs body
Ran wet with his life-blood: it came welling out.
Next thing, they say, the noble son of Weohstan
Saw the king in danger at his side
And displayed his inborn bravery and strength.
He left the head alone, but his fighting hand
Was burned when he came to his kinsmans aid.
He lunged at the enemy lower down
So that his decorated sword sank into its belly
2700
And the flames grew weaker.
Once again the king
Gathered his strength and drew a stabbing knife
He carried on his belt, sharpened for battle.
He stuck it deep into the dragons flank.
Beowulf dealt it a deadly wound.
They had killed the enemy, courage quelled* his life;
That pair of kinsmen, partners in nobility,
21
2710
2720
(Beowulf asks Wiglaf to go into the barrow and examine the dragons treasure before bringing some to Beowulf.
The dying king wants to see what he gave his life for, so Wiglaf does as he is commanded. Once Wiglaf returns with
the gold, Beowulf gives thanks to the everlasting Lord of All and asks to be buried in a barrow on the coast to
remind his people and sailors of his brave deeds.)
2810
23
3173
3180
The Wanderer
Translation by Michael Alexander
http://research.uvu.edu/mcdonald/wanderweb/trans3.htm
(Tengan en cuenta la terminacin arcaica [e/th] de la tercera
persona del singular)
Who liveth alone longeth for mercy,
Maker's mercy. Though he must traverse
Tracts of sea, sick at heart,
- Trouble with oars ice-cold waters,
The ways of exile - Weird is set fast.
Thus spoke such a 'grasshopper', old griefs in his mind,
Cold slaughters, the death of dear kinsmen:
'Alone am I driven each day before daybreak
To give my cares utterance*.
*expression
None are there now among the living
10
To whom I dare declare me thoroughly,
Tell my heart's thought. Too truly I know
It is in a man no mean virtue
That he keep close his heart's chest,
Hold his thought-hoard, think as he may.
No weary* mind may stand against Weird
*tired or exhausted
Nor may a wrecked* will work new hope;
*destroyed
Wherefore*, most often, those eager for fame
*the reason why
Bind the dark mood fast in their breasts.
So must I also curb my mind,
20
Cut off from country, from kind far distant,
By cares over worn*, bind it in fetters;
*exhausted
This since, long ago, the ground's shroud
Enwrapped my gold-friend. Wretched I went thence,
Winter-wearied, over the waves' bound;
Dreary I sought hall of a gold-giver,
Where far or near I might find
Him who in mead-hall might take heed of me,
Furnish comfort to a man friendless,
Win me with cheer.
30
He knows who makes trial
How harsh and bitter is care for companion
To him who hath few friends to shield him.
Track ever taketh him, never the torqued* gold,
*twisted [in armbands or necklaces]
Not earthly glory, but cold heart's cave.
He minds him of hall-men, of treasure-giving,
How in his youth his gold-friend
Gave him to feast. Fallen all this joy.
He knows this who is forced to forgo his lord's,
His friend's counsels, to lack them for long:
40
Oft sorrow and sleep, banded together,
Come to bind the lone outcast;
24
50
60
*to age
70
80
90
'Where is that horse now? Where are those men? Where is the hoard-sharer?
Where is the house of the feast? Where is the hall's uproar?
Alas, bright cup! Alas, burnished fighter!
Alas, proud prince! How that time has passed,
Dark under night's helm, as though it never had been!
There stands in the stead of staunch thanes
A towering wall wrought with worm-shapes;
100
The earls are off-taken by the ash-spear's point,
- That thirsty weapon. Their Weird is glorious.
Storms break on the stone hillside,
The ground bound by driving sleet,
Winter's wrath. Then wanness cometh,
Night's shade spreadeth, sendeth from north
The rough hail to harry mankind.
In the earth-realm all is crossed;
Weird's will changeth the world.
Wealth is lent us, friends are lent us,
110
Man is lent, kin is lent;
All this earth's frame shall stand empty.'
So spoke the sage in his heart; he sat apart in thought.
Good is he who keeps faith: nor should care too fast
Be out of a man's breast before he first knows the cure:
A warrior fights on bravely. Well is it for him who seeks forgiveness,
The Heavenly Father's solace, in whom all our fastness stands.
26
28
(4)
While the year was as young as New Years can be
the dais was prepared for a double feast.
The king and his company came in together
when mass had been chanted; and the chapel emptied
as clergy and commons alike cried out,
"Noel! Noel!" again and again.
And the lords ran around loaded with parcels,
palms extended to pass out presents,
or crowded together comparing gifts.
The ladies laughed when they lost at a game
(that the winner was willing, you may well believe!)
29
Round they milled in a merry mob till the meal was ready,
washed themselves well, and walked to their places
(the best for the best on seats raised above.)
Then Guinevere moved gaily among them,
took her place on the dais, which was dearly adorned
with sides of fine silk and a canopied ceiling
of sheer stuff: and behind her shimmering tapestries from far Tarsus,
embroidered, bedecked with bright gems
that the jewelers would pay a pretty price for any day,
but the finest gem in the field of sight
looked back: her eyes were grey.
That a lovelier's lived to delight
the gaze - is a lie, I'd say!
(5)
But Arthur would not eat till all were served.
He bubbled to the brim with boyish spirits:
liked his life light, and loathed the thought
of lazing for long or sitting still longer.
So his young blood boiled and his brain ran wild,
and in many ways moved him still more
as a point of honor never to eat
on a high holiday till he should have heard
a strange story of stirring adventures,
of mighty marvels to make the mind wonder,
of princes, prowess, or perilous deeds.
Or someone might come, seeking a knight
to join him in jousting, enjoying the risk
of laying their lives on the line like men
leaving to fortune the choice of her favour.
This was the king's custom at court,
the practice he followed at pleasant feasts held in his hall;
therefore with bold face
he stood there straight and tall.
As New Years proceeded apace
he meant to have mirth with them all.
(6)
So he stood there stock-still, a king standing tall,
talking of courtly trifles before the high table.
By Guinevere sat Gawain the Good,
and Agravaine of the Heavy Hand on the other side:
knights of great worth, and nephews to the king.
Baldwin, the bishop, was above, by the head,
with Ywain, Urien's son, sitting across.
These sat at the dais and were served with due honor;
and many mighty men were seated on either side.
Then the first course came with a clamor of trumpets
whose banners billowed bright to the eye,
while kettledrums rolled and the cry of the pipes
30
you'd relax in this land, and not look for me further. But stop!
Take up the grim tool you need,
and show me how you chop."
"Gladly, sir," he said, "Indeed,"
and gave the ax a strop.
(19)
The green knight got ready, feet firm on the ground;
leaned his head a little to let the cheek show,
and raised the rich riot of his hair
so the nape of his neck was naked and exposed.
Gawain held the ax high overhead,
his left foot set before him on the floor,
swung swiftly at the soft flesh
so the bit of the blade broke through the bones,
crashed through the clear fat and cut it in two,
and the brightly burnished edge bit into the earth.
The handsome head fell, hit the ground,
and rolled forward; they fended it off with their feet.
The red blood burst bright from the green body,
yet the fellow neither faltered nor fell
but stepped strongly out on sturdy thighs,
reached roughly right through their legs,
grabbed his graceful head and lifted it from the ground,
ran to his horse, caught hold of the reins,
stepped in the stirrup, strode into the saddle,
the head dangling by the hair from his hand,
and seated himself as firmly in the saddle
as if he were unhurt, though he sat on his horse without a head.
He swiveled his bulk about;
the ugly stump still bled.
They gaped in fear and doubt
because of the words he said.
(20)
For he held the head up evenly in his hand,
turned the face toward the top of the high table,
and the eyelids lifted and looked on them all
while the mouth moved, making these words:
"Gawain, get ready to go as you have promised,
Seek me out, sir; search till you find me
as sworn here in this hall where all these knights heard.
I charge you, come as you chose to the Green Chapel to get
as good as you gave -- you've got it coming
and will be paid promptly when another year has passed.
Many men know me as the Knight of the Green Chapel,
so search faithfully and you'll not fail to find me.
Come, or be called a faithless coward!"
He roared like a raging bull, turned the reins,
and drove for the door, still dangling the head,
37
while fire flashed from the horse's feet as if its hooves were flints.
Where he went no one knew,
nor could they name the country he came from nor his kin. What then?
The king and Gawain grinned
and laughed at the Green Knight when
they knew full well it had been
a portent to their men.
(21)
Though High King Arthur's heart was heavy with wonder
he let no sign of it be seen, but said aloud
with a king's courtesy to his lovely queen:
"Beloved lady, never let this dismay you.
It is good to get such games at Christmas,
light interludes, laughter and song,
or the whole court singing carols in chorus.
But truly, I can turn now to my table and feast;
as my word is good, I have witnessed a wonder."
He turned to Sir Gawain and tactfully said,
"Hang up your ax; it has cut all it can."
It was attached to a tapestry above the high table
for all men to marvel on who might see it there,
as a true token of a tale of wonder.
Then they sat in their seats to resume their feast,
Gawain and the king together, while good men served them
the rarest, dearest delicacies in double portions,
with whole batteries of the best foods, and the singing of bards.
The day finished, and their feast was filled with joy and zest.
Sir Gawain, have a care
to keep your courage for the test,
and do the deed you've dared.
You've begun: now brave the rest.
38
(1.) "It thunders through the realms," Seneca, Phaedra, 1.1140. The first two stanzas
paraphrase lines from that play.
http://forum.quoteland.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5511096101/m/43510894
39
6
Some lovers speak when they their Muses entertain,
Of hopes begot by fear, of wot not what desires:
Of force of heavnly beams, infusing hellish pain:
Of living deaths, dear wounds, fair storms, and freezing fires.
Some one his song in Jove, and Joves strange tales attires,
Broidered with bulls and swans, powdered with golden rain;
Another humbler wit to shepherds pipe retires,
Yet hiding royal blood full oft in rural vein.
To some a sweetest plaint a sweetest style affords,
While tears pour out his ink, and sighs breathe out his words:
His paper pale despair, and pain his pen doth move.
I can speak what I feel, and feel as much as they,
But think that all the map of my state I display,
When trembling voice brings forth that I do Stella love.
37
My mouth doth water, and my breast doth swell,
My tongue doth itch, my thoughts in labor be:
Listen then, lordings, with good ear to me,
For of my life I must a riddle tell.
Toward Aurora's court a nymph doth dwell,
Rich in all beauties which man's eye can see:
Beauties so far from reach of words, that we
Abase her praise, saying she doth excel:
Rich in the treasure of deserved renown,
Rich in the riches of a royal heart,
Rich in those gifts which give th'eternal crown;
Who though most rich in these and every part,
Which make the patents of true worldly bliss,
Hath no misfortune, but that Rich she is.
40
Penelope Rich
41
Having this day my horse, my hand, my lance
Guided so well, that I obtained the prize,
Both by the judgment of the English eyes,
And of some sent from that sweet enemy France;
Horsemen my skill in horsemanship advance,
Town-folks my strength; a daintier judge applies
His praise to sleight, which from good use doth rise;
Some lucky wits impute it but to chance;
Others, because of both sides I do take
My blood from them who did excel in this,
Think Nature me a man of arms did make.
How far they shot awry! The true cause is,
Stella looked on, and from her heav'nly face
Sent forth the beams, which made so fair my race.
47
What, have I thus betrayed my liberty?
Can those black beams such burning marks engrave
In my free side? Or am I born a slave,
Whose neck becomes such yoke of tyranny?
Or want I sense to feel my misery?
Or sprite, disdain of such disdain to have,
Who for long faith, though daily help I crave,
May get no alms but scorn of beggary?
Virtue awake, beauty but beauty is;
I may, I must, I can, I will, I do
Leave following that, which it is gain to miss.
Let her go! Soft, but here she comes. Go to,
Unkind, I love you not. Oh me, that eye
Doth make my heart give to my tongue the lie.
53
In martial sports I had my cunning tried,
And yet to break more staves did me address:
While, with the people's shouts, I must confess,
Youth, luck, and praise, ev'n filled my veins with pride;
When Cupid having me his slave descried,
In Mars's livery, prancing in the press:
"What now, Sir Fool," said he; I would no less.
"Look here, I say." I looked and Stella spied,
Who hard by made a window send forth light.
My heart then quaked , then dazzled were mine eyes;
One hand forgot to rule, th'other to fight.
Nor trumpet's sound I heard, nor friendly cries;
My foe came on, and beat the air for me,
Till that her blush taught me my shame to see.
41
Edmund Spenser
The Faerie Queene
http://www.bartleby.com/153/55.html
Fragmentos del Libro II. The Legend of Sir Guyon, Canto XII, episodio de The Bower of Bliss
XLII
Thence passing forth, they shortly do arrive,
Whereas the Bower of Bliss was situate;
A place picked out by choice of best alive,
That Nature's work by art can imitate:
In which what-ever in this worldly state
Is sweet, and pleasing unto living sense,
Or that may daintiest fantasy aggrate*,
Was poured forth with plentiful dispense,
And made there to abound with lavish affluence.
*to please
XLIII
Goodly it was enclosed round about,
As well their entred guests to keep within,
As those unruly beasts to hold without;
Yet was the fence thereof but weak and thin:
Nought feared their force, that fortilage* to win,
But wisdom's power, and temperance's might,
By which the mightiest things efforced* bin:
And eke* the gate was wrought of substance light,
Rather for pleasure, than for battery or fight.
*a little fort
* to compel to yield.
*also [archaic]
XLIV
It framed was of precious ivory,
That seemed a work of admirable wit;
And therein all the famous history
Of Jason and Medaea was ywritt*;
Her mighty charms, her furious loving fit,
His goodly conquest of the golden fleece,
His falsed faith, and love too lightly flit,
The wondred Argo, which in venturous peace
First through the Euxine Seas bore all the flower of Greece.
*written
..
LXX
Eftsoons* they heard a most melodious sound,
Of all that mote delight a dainty ear,
42
*creature
LXXI
The joyous birds, shrouded in cheerful shade,
Their notes unto the voice attempred sweet;
Th' angelical soft trembling voices made
To th' instruments divine respondence meet:
The silver sounding Instruments did meet
With the base murmur of the water's fall:
The water's fall with difference discreet,
Now soft, now loud, unto the wind did call:
The gentle warbling wind low answered to all.
LXXII
There, whence that music seemed heard to be,
Was the fair witch, herself now solacing
With a new lover, whom through sorcery
And witchcraft, she from far did thither* bring:
There she had him now laid a slumbering,
In secret shade, after long wanton joys;
Whilst round about them pleasantly did sing
Many fair ladies, and lascivious boys,
That ever mixt their song with light licentious toys.
*there
43
LXXIII
And all that while, right over him she hung,
With her false eyes fast fixed in his sight,
As seeking medicine whence she was stung,
Or greedily depasturing* delight:
And oft inclining down, with kisses light,
For fear of waking him, his lips bedewd*,
And through his humid eyes did suck his spright*,
Quite molten into lust and pleasure lewd;
Wherewith she sighed soft, as if his case she rewd*
..
LXXVII
Upon a bed of roses she was laid,
As faint through heat, or dight* to pleasant sin,
And was arrayed, or rather disarrayed,
All in a veil of silk and silver thin,
That hid no whit* her alabaster skin,
But rather shewd more white, if more might be:
More subtle web Arachne cannot spin,
Nor the fine nets, which oft we woven see
Of scorched dew, do not in th' air more lightly flee.
LXXVIII
Her snowy breast was bare to ready spoil
Of hungry eyes, which n'ote therewith be filled;
And yet through languour of her late sweet toil,
Few drops, more clear than nectar, forth distilled,
That like pure orient pearls adown* it trilled**:
*downward;
And her fair eyes sweet smiling in delight,
Moistened their fiery beams, with which she thrilled
Frail hearts, yet quenched not; like starry light,
Which sparkling on the silent waves, does seem more bright.
LXXXIII
But all those pleasant bowers, and palace brave,
Guyon broke down, with rigour pitiless;
Ne ought* their goodly workmanship might save
Them from the tempest of his wrathfulness,
But that their bliss he turn'd to balefulness:
Their groves he felled, their gardens did deface*,
Their arbors spoil, their cabinets suppress,
Their banket houses burn, their buildings raze,
And of the fairest late*, now made the foulest place.
*destroy
*previous
En http://www.bartleby.com/358/781.html
45
William Shakespeare
Sonnets
46
106
When in the chronicle of wasted time
I see descriptions of the fairest wights*,
And beauty making beautiful old rhyme,
In praise of ladies dead and lovely knights,
Then, in the blazon of sweet beauty's best,
Of hand, of foot, of lip, of eye, of brow,
I see their antique pen would have expressed
Even such a beauty as you master now.
So all their praises are but prophecies
Of this our time, all you prefiguring;
And for they looked but with divining eyes,
They had not skill enough your worth to sing:
For we, which now behold these present days,
Have eyes to wonder, but lack tongues to praise.
129
The expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action: and till action, lust
Is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame,
Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust;
Enjoyed no sooner but despised straight;
Past reason hunted; and no sooner had,
Past reason hated, as a swallowed bait,
On purpose laid to make the taker mad.
Mad in pursuit and in possession so;
Had, having, and in quest to have extreme;
A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe;
Before, a joy proposed; behind a dream.
All this the world well knows; yet none knows well
To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.
130
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,
As any she belied with false compare.
47
*creatures
135
Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will,
And Will to boot, and Will in over-plus;
More than enough am I that vexed thee still,
To thy sweet will making addition thus.
Wilt thou, whose will is large and spacious,
Not once vouchsafe to hide my will in thine?
Shall will in others seem right gracious,
And in my will no fair acceptance shine?
The sea, all water, yet receives rain still,
And in abundance addeth to his store;
So thou, being rich in Will, add to thy Will
One will of mine, to make thy large will more.
Let no unkind, no fair beseechers kill;
Think all but one, and me in that one Will.
48
Ben Jonson
To John Donne
Donne, the delight of Phoebus and each Muse
Who, to thy one, all other brains refuse;
Whose every work of thy most early wit
Came forth example, and remains so yet;
Longer a-knowing than most wits do live;
And which no affection praise enough can give!
To it, thy language, letters, arts, best life,
Which might with half mankind maintain a strife.
All which I meant to praise, and yet I would;
But leave, because I cannot as I should!
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173721
Song to Celia
Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And Ill not look for wine.
The theirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine;
But might I of Joves nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.
I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honouring thee
As giving it a hope, that there
It could not withered be.
But thou thereon didst only breathe,
And sentst it back to me;
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,
Not of itself, but thee.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173729
49
Robert Herrick
Delight in Disorder
A sweet disorder in the dress
Kindles in clothes a wantonness;
A lawn about the shoulders thrown
Into a fine distraction;
An erring lace, which here and there
Enthrals the crimson stomacher;
A cuff neglectful, and thereby
Ribands to flow confusedly;
A winning wave, deserving note,
In the tempestuous petticoat;
A careless shoe-string, in whose tie
I see a wild civility:
Do more bewitch me, than when art
Is too precise in every part.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176697
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175882
50
The Vine
I dreamed this mortal part of mine
Was metamorphosed to a vine,
Which crawling one and every way
Enthralled my dainty Lucia.
Methought her long small legs and thighs
I with my tendrils did surprise;
Her belly, buttocks, and her waist
By my soft nervelets were embraced.
About her head I writhing hung,
And with rich clusters (hid among
The leaves) her temples I behung,
So that my Lucia seemed to me
Young Bacchus ravished by his tree.
My curls about her neck did crawl,
And arms and hands they did enthrall,
So that she could not freely stir
(All parts there made one prisoner).
But when I crept with leaves to hide
Those parts which maids keep unespied,
Such fleeting pleasures there I took
That with the fancy I awoke;
And found (ah me!) this flesh of mine
More like a stock than like a vine.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/181082
To Bacchus: A canticle
Whither dost thou whorry* me,
Bacchus, being full of thee?
This way, that way, that way, this,
Here and there a fresh love is.
That doth like me, this doth please,
Thus a thousand mistresses
I have now; yet I alone,
Having all, enjoy not one.
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/herrick/bacchus2.htm
51
52
Andrew Marvell
To His Coy Mistress
Had we but world enough and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long loves day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the flood,
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires and more slow;
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But theirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.
But at my back I always hear
Times wingd chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found;
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song; then worms shall try
That long-preserved virginity,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
53
John Donne
The Sun Rising.
Busy old fool, unruly Sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers seasons run?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late school-boys and sour prentices,
Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices;
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
Thy beams so reverend, and strong
Why shouldst thou think?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long.
If her eyes have not blinded thine,
Look, and to-morrow late tell me,
Whether both th Indias of spice and mine
Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
Ask for those kings whom thou sawst yesterday,
And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.
Shes all states, and all princes I;
Nothing else is;
Princes do but play us; compared to this,
All honours mimic, all wealth alchemy.
Thou, Sun, art half as happy as we,
54
The Flea
Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be.
Thou knowst that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead;
Yet this enjoys before it woo;
And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than we would do!
O stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea, more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.
Though parents grudge, and you, were met,
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.
Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumphst, and sayst that thou
Findst not thyself nor me the weaker now.
Tis true; then learn how false fears be;
Just so much honour, when thou yieldst to me,
Will waste, as this fleas death took life from thee.
http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/English/DonneSongsAndSonnets.htm#_Toc258309897
The Canonization
For Gods sake hold your tongue, and let me love;
Or chide my palsy, or my gout;
My five grey hairs, or ruined fortune flout;
With wealth your state, your mind with arts improve;
Take you a course, get you a place,
55
56
57
A Valediction of Weeping
Let me pour forth
My tears before thy face, whilst I stay here,
For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,
And by this mintage they are something worth,
For thus they be
Pregnant of thee;
Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more,
When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore,
So thou and I are nothing then, when on a diverse shore.
On a round ball
A workman that hath copies by, can lay
An Europe, Afric, and an Asia,
And quickly make that, which was nothing, all;
So doth each tear
Which thee doth wear,
A globe, yea world, by that impression grow,
Till thy tears mix'd with mine do overflow
This world; by waters sent from thee, my heaven dissolved so.
O more than moon,
Draw not up seas to drown me in thy sphere,
58
The Relic
When my grave is broke up again
Some second guest to entertain,
(For graves have learn'd that woman head,
To be to more than one a bed)
And he that digs it, spies
A bracelet of bright hair about the bone,
Will he not let'us alone,
And think that there a loving couple lies,
Who thought that this device might be some way
To make their souls, at the last busy day,
Meet at this grave, and make a little stay?
If this fall in a time, or land,
Where mis-devotion doth command,
Then he, that digs us up, will bring
Us to the bishop, and the king,
To make us relics; then
Thou shalt be a Mary Magdalen, and I
A something else thereby;
All women shall adore us, and some men;
And since at such time miracles are sought,
I would have that age by this paper taught
What miracles we harmless lovers wrought.
First, we lov'd well and faithfully,
Yet knew not what we lov'd, nor why;
Difference of sex no more we knew
Than our guardian angels do;
Coming and going, we
Perchance might kiss, but not between those meals;
Our hands ne'er touch'd the seals
Which nature, injur'd by late law, sets free;
These miracles we did, but now alas,
All measure, and all language, I should pass,
Should I tell what a miracle she was.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173380
59
61
John Milton
Paradise Lost, Book I, versos 1-194:
(Se ha actualizado la ortografa en ocasiones para facilitar la comprensin)
De la excelente edicin con notas: Dartmouth College, The John Milton Reading Room,
Paradise Lost: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_1/text.shtml
(Pulse sobre los trminos subrayados e iluminados para encontrar su explicacin)
BOOK 1
THE ARGUMENT
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*to ought to do
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*overblown
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.....
BOOK 4
THE ARGUMENT
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_4/text.shtml
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*before
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..
Out of the fertile ground he caus'd to grow
All Trees of noblest kind for sight, smell, taste;
And all amid them stood the Tree of Life,
High eminent, blooming Ambrosial Fruit
Of vegetable Gold; and next to Life
Our Death the Tree of Knowledge grew fast by,
Knowledge of Good bought dear by knowing ill.
[ 220 ]
.
A whole days journey high, but wide remote
From this Assyrian Garden, where the Fiend
Saw undelighted all delight, all kind
Of living Creatures new to sight and strange:
Two of far nobler shape erect and tall,
Godlike erect, with native Honour clad
In naked Majestie seemed Lords of all,
And worthy seemed, for in their looks Divine
The image of their glorious Maker shone,
Truth, wisdom, Sanctitude severe and pure,
Severe but in true filial freedom plac'd;
Whence true authority in men; though both
Not equal, as their sex not equal seemed;
For contemplation he and valour formed,
For softness she and sweet attractive Grace,
He for God only, she for God in him:
His fair large Front and Eye sublime declar'd
Absolute rule; and Hyacinthin Locks
Round from his parted forelock manly hung
Clustering, but not beneath his shoulders broad:
71
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73
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Through wood, through waste, oer* hill, o'er* dale his roam.
*over
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