tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7723694470723601010.post8362656503808598112..comments2024-01-01T17:31:59.391-06:00Comments on Poems Found in Translation: Heinrich Heine: The Pine and the Palm (From German)A.Z. Foremanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178150009150360184noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7723694470723601010.post-80830575665924108592011-09-21T08:53:09.639-05:002011-09-21T08:53:09.639-05:00Well said Leonie. I didn't know this poem unti...Well said Leonie. I didn't know this poem until today when I was trawling the internet for a few catchy lines about pine trees. I read four or five translations before I came to this site and saw the German for the first time. It is the start of the fifth line, "Er"/"he" that gives it away that it is a forlorn love poem. I'm sure Heine could have written "Es" instead.<br /><br />But I think most of the English translations make the mistake of trying to put in too much anthropomorphic tension. I read the palm tree as suffering from the heat, just as the Fichtenbaum has to endure intense cold, not that the palm is sorrowing.<br /><br />Finally, Fichtenbaum = spruce and Tannenbaum = fir, and neither is a pine tree!Ross Samsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7723694470723601010.post-80700596245397065532011-09-06T04:26:23.568-05:002011-09-06T04:26:23.568-05:00It is sad, though, that the English cannot capture...It is sad, though, that the English cannot capture the tension fully. The whole point of the poem in German is, that the pine tree is masculine ("Der Fichtenbaum") and the palm tree is feminine ("Die Palme"). This is a splendid example of how a language confines you in expression.LeonieMuecknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7723694470723601010.post-80371821972291877392011-02-10T00:03:36.195-06:002011-02-10T00:03:36.195-06:00One of my favorites. I've added this link to m...One of my favorites. I've added this link to my collection of translations of this poem: http://autodidactproject.org/heine1.htmlRalph Dumainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7723694470723601010.post-73728714561821009482010-08-24T03:23:57.916-05:002010-08-24T03:23:57.916-05:00Hello. A good capture of the sense of the poem (I...Hello. A good capture of the sense of the poem (I'm not German, or German-speaking, but Afrikaans is close enough to read the language). <br />I'm just wondering about your choice to translate "Fichtenbaum" as "pine". I thought "pine" was "Tannenbaum" (denneboom in Afrikaans).<br />Regards,<br />DavidDavidnoreply@blogger.com