Published 2014 (reprint).
Almeida Garrett (1799 – 1854)
Barca Bela
Pescador da barca
bela,
Onde vais pescar com
ela,
Que é tão bela,
Oh pescador?
Não vês que a última
estrela
No céu nublado se
vela?
Colhe a vela,
Oh pescador!
Deita o lanço com
cautela,
Que a sereia vanta
bela…
Mas cautela,
Oh pescador!
Não se enrede a rede
nela,
Que perdido é remo e
vela
Só de vê-la,
Oh pescador.
Pescador da barca
bela,
Inda é tempo, foge
dela,
Foge dela,
Oh pescador!
At school learned a lot of things: running
in the hallway, eating crap, dangling pencils from my nose, pop my gum, fake a
burp, paraphrase and summarize. Once in a while I also got acquainted with some
poetry. "Barca Bela" was
one of those poems I used to know by heart. Not anymore. Let me say straight
away that I learned poems at school at a very young age. When I was at the
primary school we did at least a poem a week from the very beginning. That was
the way for me to know a lot of Portuguese poetry. It was nice to get myself
reacquainted now with this poem and with a lot of Garrett's poetry as well
(Along the years Garrett's poetry was never one of my favourites). I still remember
my first contact with poetry at school. I had to learn by heart one of the verses
from this poem. After toiling for some time, I got to recite it in class. I
remember the teacher asking me what it meant, and I also remember what I said:
"Mas professora, a poesia não
significa nada." ("But teacher, poetry doesn't mean a thing").
What do I think about Poesy now and Garrett's poetry in particular? I've never
assumed that there is such a thing as the meaning of a poem. Nor have I ever
assumed that poems contain the same species of meaning sentences do, or that
meaning in poetry consists in the making of a kind of statement, i.e., the
laying out of discrete bits of information. Is it the metaphoric thing? Nope.
I've never thought metaphors have anything to do with it poetry-wise (I could
mention a few poems without metaphors; this alone made skeptical of the very
idea). On top of that I've always thought metaphors can be embarrassing (like
jokes do) because sometimes no one gets them...So, what's the deal with poems?
For me it's not important what a poem means. What is really important is that figuring
out a poet's true purpose is impossible. For me what really matters is what we
do with a poem. And not what it means. It goes without saying that the more I
know a particular author (Shakespeare comes to mind), the more I'll be able to
enjoy his work. That's one of the
reasons I enjoy translating poetry. It allows me to get in closer contact with
what the poet is trying to "convey".
Wonderful poetry always begs me to include
pieces of myself in the way I interpret a poem. That's the way it should be (I'm
not including here the so-called "modern poetry", which is a
different beast altogether).
And here’s my attempt at translating “Barca
Bela” into German, using my favourite language for translating the
untranslatable:
Schönes Boot
Fischer mit dem schönen Boot,
Wohin fährst du fischen?
Denn es ist so schön,
Oh Fischer!
Siehst du, wie der letzte Stern
Sich im Dunst verschleiert?
Hol die Segel ein,
Oh fischer!
Wirf das Netz behutsam aus!
Denn die Nixe singt so schön…
Ganz behutsam,
Oh Fischer!
Wenn sie sich im Netz verfängt,
Sind verloren Ruder und Segel
Schon bei ihrem Anblick,
Oh Fischer!
Fischer mit dem schönen Boot,
Noch ist Zeit. Drum flieh vor ihr,
Flieh vor ihr,
Oh Fischer!
NB: I’ll leave to you, dear reader, the
interpretation of the poem. I know what it means to me. But what is really
important is what it means TO YOU. “Barca Bela” is still one of favourite poem
in Portuguese. The rest of Garrett’s poetry not so much. Romantic poetry, as
far I’m concerned, needs something more…
