Translation of Marshak Translation of Shakespeare's Sonnet No. 116

 

William Shakespeare, Sonnet No. 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments, love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come,
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

d

 

 

William Shakespeare, Sonnet No. 116

Translated by Samuil Marshak

 

Перевод: С.Я. Маршак

Мешать соединенью двух сердец
Я не намерен. Может ли измена
Любви безмерной положить конец?
Любовь не знает убыли и тлена.

Любовь – над бурей поднятый маяк,
Не меркнущий во мраке и тумане.
Любовь – звезда, которою моряк
Определяет место в океане.

Любовь – не кукла жалкая в руках
У времени, стирающего розы
На пламенных устах и на щеках,
И не страшны ей времени угрозы.

А если я не прав и лжет мой стих,
То нет любви – и нет стихов моих!

Literal Translation of Marshak Translation

To hinder the merging of two hearts

I do not intend; can betrayal of

A limitless love put an end to it?

Love knows no diminution nor decay.

 

Love is a lighthouse raised above a storm,

Which fades not in darkness nor in fog.

Love is the lodestar, by which a seaman

Determines his location in the ocean.

 

Love is not a pitiful doll in the hands

Of time, which wipes away the rose

On the fiery lips and on the cheeks,

And she [love] fears not the threats of time.

 

And if I am wrong and my verse lies,

Then there is no love—and my verses don’t exist!

 

 

 

Literary Translation/Adaptation of Marshak Translation by U.R. Bowie

To part the meld of two hearts intermingled

I do not wish; if boundless love one chances to betray,

Are hearts that once were blended once more singled?

No. Love knows not diminution nor decay.

 

Love is like a lighthouse standing tall above a storm;

Love’s beam fades not in darkness, nor in fog.

Love is polar star by which a seaman sails past harm,

Succor’s benefactor and bright hope’s fond analog.

 

Love is not a wretched fool that time torments and tweaks,

While wiping sheen of rose from aging lips,

And dimming fervent fire on a lover’s ardent cheeks.

Love feels no threat, knows time won’t love eclipse. 

And if my words are false and my verse lies,

There’s no such thing as love, and this poem dies!

 

d

From the Website “No Sweat Shakespeare”

Sonnet 116: Let Me Not To The Marriage Of True Minds

Shakespeare’s sonnet 116 can be seen as the definitive response to the ‘what is love’ question. The language of the sonnet is as deep and profound as any philosopher’s could be, expressed in the most beautiful language. Love is given an identity as an immortal force, which overcomes age, death, and time itself. Love, unlike the physical being, is not subject to decay.

Shakespeare employs an amazing array of poetic devices throughout the sonnet to convey the eternal nature of love, and ends by staking everything on his observations by asserting that if he is wrong, then no-one ever wrote anything, and no-one ever loved. And in sonnet 116 – as with all of his sonnets – Shakespeare manages to squeeze all of these thoughts and words into just fourteen lines.

Sonnet 116 Explanation In Modern English

I would not admit that anything could interfere with the union of two people who love each other. Love that alters with changing circumstances is not love, nor if it bends from its firm state when someone tries to destroy it. Oh no, it’s an eternally fixed point that watches storms but is never itself shaken by them. It is the star by which every lost ship can be guided: one can calculate its distance but not gauge its quality. Love doesn’t depend on Time, although the rosy lips and cheeks of youth eventually come within the compass of Time’s sickle. Love doesn’t alter as the days and weeks go by but endures until death. If I’m wrong about this then I’ve never written anything and no man has ever loved.

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From shakespeareonline.com

SONNET 116 PARAPHRASE

Let me not to the marriage of true minds Let me not declare any reasons why two True-minded people should not be married. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Which changes when it finds a change in circumstances, Or bends with the remover to remove: Or bends from its firm stand even when a lover is unfaithful: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark! it is a lighthouse That looks on tempests and is never shaken; That sees storms but it never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Love is the guiding north star to every lost ship, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Whose value cannot be calculated, although its altitude can be measured. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Love is not at the mercy of Time, though physical beauty Within his bending sickle's compass come: Comes within the compass of his sickle. Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, Love does not alter with hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. But, rather, it endures until the last day of life. If this be error and upon me proved, If I am proved wrong about these thoughts on love I never writ, nor no man ever loved. Then I recant all that I have written, and no man has ever [truly] loved.

d

Translator’s Comments

(U.R. Bowie)

You wonder to what extent a writer whose native language was not English understood some of the sixteen-century words, which often present huge problems even for native speakers. Marshak does, nonetheless, capture the gist of the original. For me the use of the word doll (kukla) in the next-to-last stanza strikes a false note: “love is not a pitiful doll in the hands of time.” Shakespeare is saying, quite clearly here, “love is not Time’s fool,” so I see no need to bring in the image of a doll. Only Marshak could tell us where and why he came up with that. To fix the problem he would have to change only one word in one line: kukla (doll) to dura (fool): Любовь – не кукла (дура) жалкая в руках/ У времени . . . I made that change for him in my translation.

Samuil Marshak