REELING AND WRITHING
or,
Miss Dermark's 2015 Advent Calendar
DAY SIXTEEN
THE CREATION MYTH OF THE SHAKESPEAREVERSE
(By Marin Sorescu)
BEGINNINGS
CHAPTER THE FIRST
1. In the beginnings, SHAKESPEARE created the universe in seven days.
2. On the first day, He made the skies, the peaks, and the chasms of the soul.
3. On the second day, He made the rivers, the lakes, the seas, the oceans, and all the other feelings.
4. And He gave them unto Hamlet, unto Julius Caesar, unto Cleopatra, unto Ophelia, unto Othello, and unto others,
5. To become masters of these feelings with their successors,
6. Forever and ever.
7. On the third day, He gathered all of humankind, and He taught them every taste:
8. The taste of joy, the taste of love, the taste of despair,
9. The taste of jealousy, the taste of glory.
10. And then, thus came some individuals who had been left behind.
11. The Creator, compassionate, stroked their heads,
12. And He told them that they had no other choice but to become literary critics
13. And to deny their own works.
14. The fourth day and the fifth He consecrated to laughter.
15. He freed the clowns, so that they could do their somersaults,
16. And He left the kings, the emperors, and the other unfortunate ones amusing themselves.
17. On the sixth day, He solved some administrative problems:
18. He unleashed a Tempest,
19. He taught King Lear how to wear his crown of straw.
20. There had been leftovers from the genesis,
21. And he created Richard III.
22. On the seventh day, He took a look around to see if He had anything left to do.
23. By then, the directors of the theatres had already filled the Earth with signs,
24. And thus, SHAKESPEARE considered that, after all the work He had done,
25. It would be worthwhile for Him to watch a show as well.
26. Yet before that, feeling weary in the extreme,
27. He went forth to die a little.
Haha, no choice other than being literary critics. How clever of you! smile emoticon
ResponderEliminarNot of me
Eliminarbut of Sorescu
the author
A translator is not a traitor
I merely translated Sorescu's poem.
The credit you give me should be his.
I merely wrote SHAKESPEARE in all caps as a reference to the LORD in the Bible
Indeed, how very considerate and honest you are. It's rare these days, you know.
The last part where in you say, ' He went forth to die a little. ' I suppose it's a lot more than the curtains being closed or his acts of seven stages being complete. What say you, O mighty one?
'Tis my only license.
I merely wrote SHAKESPEARE in all caps as a reference to the LORD in the Bible
His seven days of creation -seven ages/stages- had come to an end.
It's both a Biblical reference and to As You Like It.
That, I guessed.
EliminarBrilliant read.
Gave me something to ponder on.
What?
What to ponder on?
Indeed, how very considerate and honest you are. It's rare these days, you know.
EliminarThe last part where in you say, ' He went forth to die a little. ' I suppose it's a lot more than the curtains being closed or his acts of seven stages being complete. What say you, O mighty one?
'Tis my only license.
I merely wrote SHAKESPEARE in all caps as a reference to the LORD in the Bible
His seven days of creation -seven ages/stages- had come to an end.
It's both a Biblical reference and to As You Like It.
That, I guessed.
Brilliant read.
Gave me something to ponder on.
What?
What to ponder on?
Could you please reply?
How fleeting life is. Imagine, if Shakespeare, the mighty soul of his age whose shadow still covers the entire English language, and his works can be summarised into seven days, just seven days; think how short and transitory our momentary existence is. We, mere mortals, with so few achievements and negligible legacies are nothing compared to him.
I know it is more of a literary device at work, but still...
Our lives are short indeed
SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI
Or, in Valyrian...
VALAR MORGHULIS
(Not said as a farewell, but as a reply to your Latin).