Innovative, In Vogue, Inferior
Cyrano de Bergerac: by Edmond Rostand translated by Anthony Burgess
I agree with Ramon Katigbak (2/25/08), that this translation of Cyrano de Bergerac is substantially inferior to Brian Hooker's superb translation, first published in 1923. Burgess' initial translation (1971) was written for a production of Cyrano by the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis. His later version (1985) was prepared for the Royal Shakespeare Company production, starring Derek Jacobi as Cyrano. Both versions were influenced by the dramatic needs and preferences of his employers. Some of the original play was eliminated, and much was changed, resulting in a translation/adaptation, rather than a faithful translation.
The original French, written by Edmond Rostand in the late 1890s, is perhaps the most famous French play of the last two centuries. Its language is noble, clear, comical and powerful. Hooker's work seems to me nobler, clearer, and more powerful than Burgess'. Quite often, Hooker hits the center of the target, having imagined a translation as solid, striking and appropriate as the original. When archers shoot at a target, the second archer's bull's eye counts as much as the first. But when translators aim for a bull's eye, the first one to hit has a great advantage. His successor must choose between copying the previous translation, thus making his own work superfluous, or creating a different translation equally solid, striking and appropriate, which may be difficult in the extreme.
In one respect, Burgess is closer to the French. He often translates in rhymed couplets. These can add to a sense of poetry, creating a slight emphasis on the last word of a line, which rhymes with the next or previous line. On the other hand, Hooker's blank verse, like Shakespeare's, allows midline emphases by author and actor, which heighten dramatic freedom and effect, and prevent tendencies to singsong monotony, or racing to the line's end.
In addition to the Jacobi Cyrano, the Burgess translation was used for the recent Broadway production, starring Kevin Kline, and televised early this year by PBS' Great Performances. The latter production will surely be available on DVD, and the former certainly ought to be. The Hooker translation was the basis for the 1950 film starring Jose Ferrer, and the 1972 American Conservatory Theatre production starring Peter Donat. Both these productions are on DVD.
For the reader who would like to compare Hooker and Burgess with Rostand, here are three famous passages:
[ROSTAND] Moi, c'est moralement que j'ai mes élégances.
Je ne m'attife pas ainsi qu'un freluquet,
Mais je suis plus soigné si je suis moins coquet;
[HOOKER] I carry my adornments on my soul.
I do not dress up like a popinjay;
But inwardly I keep my daintiness.
[BURGESS] I'm one of those who wear their elegance
Within. To strut around and dance and prance
Got up like a dog's dinner - that's not me.
[ROSTAND] N'écrire jamais rien qui de soi ne sortit,
Et modeste d'ailleurs, se dire: mon petit,
Soit satisfait des fleurs, des fruits, même des feuilles,
Si c'est dans ton jardin à toi que tu les cueilles!
[HOOKER] Never to make a line I have not heard
In my own heart; yet, with all modesty
To say: "My soul, be satisfied with flowers,
With fruit, with weeds even; but gather them
In the one garden you may call your own"
[BURGESS] Writing only the words down that I hear
Here -- and saying, with a sort of modesty,
"My heart, be satisfied with what you see
And smell and taste in your own garden --
Weeds, as much as fruit and flowers."
[ROSTAND] Un baiser, mais à tout prendre, qu'est-ce ?
Un serment fait d'un peu plus près, une promesse
Plus précise, un aveu qui veut se confirmer,
Un point rose qu'on met sur l'i du verbe aimer;
C'est un secret qui prend la bouche pour oreille,
Un instant d'infini qui fait un bruit d'abeille,
Une communion ayant un goût de fleur,
Une façon d'un peu se respirer le coeur,
Et d'un peu se goûter, au bord des lèvres, l'âme !
[HOOKER] And what is a kiss, when all is done?
A promise given under seal - a vow
Taken before the shrine of memory -
A signature acknowledged - a rosy dot
Over the i of loving - a secret whispered
To listening lips apart - a moment made
Immortal, with a rush of wings unseen -
A sacrament of blossoms, a new song
Sung by two hearts to an old simple tune -
The ring of one horizon around two souls
Together, all alone!
[BURGESS] How
Shall we define a kiss? The sacrament of a vow,
The lightly stamped seal of a promise, the endorsement of
A promissory note on the bank of love,
The very O of love in the expectant lips,
Eternity in the instant the bee sips,
The music of the spheres in the bee's wing,
A flower-tasting eucharist, a rose-red ring
Richening already with the coming gold.
No Improvement
Although I am an Anthony Burgess fan, I find this translation to be nowhere near as good as the classic Brian Hooker translation.
An exquisite tragi-comedy
If there's one thing that has me miffed, it's those ridiculous academic critiques of this play. Yes, it's unrealistic, yes, it's energetic to the point of insanity, yes, the character of Cyrano is particularly vulnerable to the ridiculous Freudian analyses that Lit. professors are obsessed with. But the essence of this work, what makes it breathe, are the very qualities so mocked by elitists: its color, its flamboyance, and above all its wonderfully unashamed idealism. First of all, this is entertaining reading at its best: a combination of witty repartee and laugh-out-loud humor, balanced with emotional depth that is subtle yet wrenching in its intensity. With just a few lines the scenes come alive, with characters whose brash gallantry is reminiscent of Dumas' Musketeers. All this virtuoso treatment finds a focal point in the character of Cyrano, who is at once comic and tragic: his biting wit provides a facade for a soul in torment, for his sensitivity to beauty makes his own ugliness that much more painful. Yet there is so much fire and pride in Cyrano that never once does he beg for our pity, and endures the pain of thwarted love with the same charisma and bravery with which he does battle. The contradiction between Cyrano as he is inside--a veritable furnace of eloquent passion--and his markedly ugly exterior, is his tragedy. Through the vehicle of this contradiction, Edmond Rostand explores the nature of love, particularly regarding how much of it is dependant upon exteriors. Yet this theme does not smother the tale, which is such a heady mixture of beauty, hilarity and subtle insight that it fairly intoxicates. My only complaint, upon finishing it, was that it had to end.
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