I love this poem; I always taught it if it was available in our anthology in Intro to Lit. I think I actually like Pound's version better -- maybe because it's the first I knew and the one I taught, but I think it calls us to interpret more, to fill in the blanks.
I remembered this from many many years ago, or thought I did. It's much longer than I remembered. Even prettier, though. The Poochigian translation is a fascinating contrast. I had always thought the last line was meant to convey a jaded lack of enthusiasm--"I'll only come so far." But Poochigian's is entirely the opposite and presumably the accurate sense.
Our friend A.M. Juster points out that Pound's recasting of Chinese poetry stripped it of its original rhymed and metered forms. Here is another translation of the same poem by Aaron Poochigian, who has translated extensively from the Chinese, and who does seek to preserve these poems as formal poetry: https://www.literarymatters.org/15-2-a-song-of-chang-kan/
I love this poem; I always taught it if it was available in our anthology in Intro to Lit. I think I actually like Pound's version better -- maybe because it's the first I knew and the one I taught, but I think it calls us to interpret more, to fill in the blanks.
I think you can tell from Pound’s translation, that she is desperate for him to come back.
I remembered this from many many years ago, or thought I did. It's much longer than I remembered. Even prettier, though. The Poochigian translation is a fascinating contrast. I had always thought the last line was meant to convey a jaded lack of enthusiasm--"I'll only come so far." But Poochigian's is entirely the opposite and presumably the accurate sense.
Our friend A.M. Juster points out that Pound's recasting of Chinese poetry stripped it of its original rhymed and metered forms. Here is another translation of the same poem by Aaron Poochigian, who has translated extensively from the Chinese, and who does seek to preserve these poems as formal poetry: https://www.literarymatters.org/15-2-a-song-of-chang-kan/