| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | Poll: Can you quote literary passages from books or poetry by memory? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
|
|---|
| Bits & Pieces | Sep 23, 2009 |
e.g.
"Like flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport."
Comes up towards the end of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles but is of course Shakespeare (Macbeth?).
| | | | Nikki Graham 
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:11
Spanish to English
Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.
What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation.
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
To... See more Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.
What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation.
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
Into the rose-garden.
I studied TS Eliot at school for A levels, but not the above, which is an extract from Burnt Norton (The Four Quartets).
Other favourites by the same poet:
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper
(The Hollow Men)
and
Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table
(The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock) ▲ Collapse
| | | |
Dante, Pascoli, Leopardi...
| | | | lillkakan
Local time: 22:11
English to Swedish
| Yes, of course | Sep 23, 2009 |
In high school I prouded myself with being able to quote Vogon poetry from the HHGTTG (the third worst poetry in the world and de facto torture to most sentient creatures):
Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
Thy micturations are to me
As plurdled gabbleblotchits
On a lurgid bee
...etc.
(Douglas Adams)
However I also learned plenty of dark and/or melancholy 18th-19th century poetry to impress my "goth" friends:
When I am dead, m... See more In high school I prouded myself with being able to quote Vogon poetry from the HHGTTG (the third worst poetry in the world and de facto torture to most sentient creatures):
Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
Thy micturations are to me
As plurdled gabbleblotchits
On a lurgid bee
...etc.
(Douglas Adams)
However I also learned plenty of dark and/or melancholy 18th-19th century poetry to impress my "goth" friends:
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree;
...etc.
(Christina Georgina Rosetti)
I also still know the opening lines to some of my favourite children's books: Ronja the robber's daughter, Mio my Mio and the absolutely brilliant story Varför är det så ont om Q? ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
| En castellano: | Sep 23, 2009 |
"Llueve en la ciudad y llueve en mi corazón". O al menos así lo recuerdo:)
Nathalie Reis wrote:
Il pleure dans mon coeur
Comme il pleut sur la ville;
Quelle est cette langueur
Qui pénètre mon coeur?
I absolutely adored this poem and the symbolists in general.
Nathalie
| | | | | Shakespeare - and some rather more basic works! | Sep 23, 2009 |
I had to learn large chunks of Macbeth at school, but I can also remember such literary great as:
"What happens to the little man in winter when it snows? He opens up the cupboard and takes out his warm clothes..." (I won't bore you any further!)
The Little Man In Winter - Author? I have no idea - I was probably about 3!
| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 22:11
English to French
+ ...
| Bits and pieces | Sep 23, 2009 |
The first that comes to my mind are Latin "Tytire tu patulae recubans sub tegmine fagi" by Virgile and Dutch "o 't ruisen van het ranke riet, o wist ik toch uw droevig lied! wanneer de wind voorbij u voert en buigend uwe halmen roert (...) ootmoedig nijgend neer (...) alleen en van geen mens gestoord (...)" by Gezelle or "Confiteor pater mater dat ik den otter en de kater en zo menig ander dier kwaad heb gedaan voor mijn plezier" (Van den Vos Reynaerde). There are many others but always by bits ... See more The first that comes to my mind are Latin "Tytire tu patulae recubans sub tegmine fagi" by Virgile and Dutch "o 't ruisen van het ranke riet, o wist ik toch uw droevig lied! wanneer de wind voorbij u voert en buigend uwe halmen roert (...) ootmoedig nijgend neer (...) alleen en van geen mens gestoord (...)" by Gezelle or "Confiteor pater mater dat ik den otter en de kater en zo menig ander dier kwaad heb gedaan voor mijn plezier" (Van den Vos Reynaerde). There are many others but always by bits and pieces (and hardly ever when needed).
Actually rythm and rhyme (musicality) make poetry easier to remember. Isn't that also what nursery rhymes are all about? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | english lit major here.... | Sep 23, 2009 |
there are few, one by Swinburne: Atalanta in Calydon
When winter's rains and ruins are over
and the seasons of snows and sins
the days that divide lover from lover,
the light that loses, the night that wins....
(it's very long!)
And APRIL by Marcia Masters
it's the sun like watermelon
and the sidewalk overlaid
with glaze of yellow yellow
like a jar of marmalade....
(that's just an excerpt)
... See more there are few, one by Swinburne: Atalanta in Calydon
When winter's rains and ruins are over
and the seasons of snows and sins
the days that divide lover from lover,
the light that loses, the night that wins....
(it's very long!)
And APRIL by Marcia Masters
it's the sun like watermelon
and the sidewalk overlaid
with glaze of yellow yellow
like a jar of marmalade....
(that's just an excerpt)
Edna st Vincent Millay, Prayer to persephone...
Be to her persephone
all the things i might not be...
take her head upon your knee
she who was so proud and wild
flippant, arrogant and free
is a little lonely child, lost in hell
Persephone, take her head upon your knee
say to her, My dear my dear,
it is not so dreadful here.
and various snippets from Keats, yeats, shelley, webster etc etc.... ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Paul Kachur
Germany
Local time: 22:11
German to English
+ ...
| The music of speech | Sep 23, 2009 |
There was a time when educated people were expected to memorize and recite verse in order to impart a certain melody and substance to their manner of speaking.
I remember hearing a rather Bohemian buddy reading "The Waste Land" out loud as a teenager and I was terribly impressed, a lot more so than if I had just sat down to read it silently.
I beilieve that Eliot and Yeats have shaped the way I speak and express myself, and I notice a lot of people are quick to adopt m... See more There was a time when educated people were expected to memorize and recite verse in order to impart a certain melody and substance to their manner of speaking.
I remember hearing a rather Bohemian buddy reading "The Waste Land" out loud as a teenager and I was terribly impressed, a lot more so than if I had just sat down to read it silently.
I beilieve that Eliot and Yeats have shaped the way I speak and express myself, and I notice a lot of people are quick to adopt my turns of phrase. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Two of my favorites... | Sep 23, 2009 |
Mark Antony's Speech ("Julius Caesar") and "The Ancient Mariner" (S.T.Coleridge)
My favorites since high school, a that was a long, long time ago.
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them
The good is oft interred with their bones,
So let it be with Caesar.
The noble Brutus hath told you
Caesar was ambitious.
If it were so it was a grievous ... See more Mark Antony's Speech ("Julius Caesar") and "The Ancient Mariner" (S.T.Coleridge)
My favorites since high school, a that was a long, long time ago.
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them
The good is oft interred with their bones,
So let it be with Caesar.
The noble Brutus hath told you
Caesar was ambitious.
If it were so it was a grievous fault
And grievously hath Caesar answered it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest
- For Brutus is an honourable man
So are they all, all honourable men?
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me
But Brutus says he was ambitious
And Brutus is an honourable man….
...
The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew
The furrow followed free
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.
Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down
'Twas sad as sad could be
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea.
All in a hot and copper sky
The bloody Sun at noon
Right up above the mast did stand
No bigger than the Moon.
Day after day, day after day
We stuck nor breath nor motion
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Water, water, everywhere
And all the boards did shrink
Water, water, everywhere
Nor any drop to drink. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Valeria Fuma
Argentina
Local time: 17:11
English to Spanish
+ ...
“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth”.
Yes, it's brief and easy to remember!
I can also quote the first stanza of Poe's “The Raven”, but it has already been quoted in this topic
| | | | | Far too much to quote it all here! | Sep 23, 2009 |
Yes, my mind is absolutely full of bits of poetry, books and plays I've known either since schooldays or as a result of being a keen amateur actress (actor??) most of my life - far too much to quote it all here - the thread would never end.
A French poem I learnt at school is still fresh in my mind. It was written by Charles, Duc d'Orléans (1394-1465), who was taken prisoner after the battle of Agincourt (1415) and spent 25 years under house arrest in various castles as a valuable ... See more Yes, my mind is absolutely full of bits of poetry, books and plays I've known either since schooldays or as a result of being a keen amateur actress (actor??) most of my life - far too much to quote it all here - the thread would never end.
A French poem I learnt at school is still fresh in my mind. It was written by Charles, Duc d'Orléans (1394-1465), who was taken prisoner after the battle of Agincourt (1415) and spent 25 years under house arrest in various castles as a valuable hostage of the English, poor man. I believe it was during his captivity that he wrote this Rondeau:
Le temps a laissé son manteau
De vent, de froidure et de pluie
Et s'est vêtu de broderie
De soleil luisant, clair et beau.
Il n'y a bête ni oiseau
Qu'en son jargon ne chante ou crie:
Le temps a laissé son manteau
De vent, de froidure et de pluie.
Rivière, fontaine et ruisseau
Portent en livrée jolie
Gouttes d'argent, d'orfèvrerie.
Chacun s'habille de nouveau.
Le temps a laissé son manteau.
What a nice thread!
Jenny ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:11
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Bits and pieces | Sep 23, 2009 |
or snippets, which I also often prefer to misquote for [intended] comic or hyperbolic effect.
"...to see ourselves as others see us... " R. Burns.
"... gone the way of all flesh..." S. Butler
"... o ye of little faith!! The Bible (anon)
etc etc...
| | | |
The first and the last lines of Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn have remained in my mind, maybe for their intensity and evocative power:
"Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme..."
"...When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom... See more The first and the last lines of Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn have remained in my mind, maybe for their intensity and evocative power:
"Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme..."
"...When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rebecca Garber
Local time: 16:11
Member (2005)
German to English
+ ...
| Bits and pieces from English, German and Latin | Sep 23, 2009 |
But my favorites are Middle High German, like the Nibelungenlied or Walther von der Vogelweide.
Swer ana forchte herre got
wil sprechen diniu zehen gebote
und brichet diu, daz ist nicht rechtiu minne
dich heiszet vater manager vil
der mich zu bruoder niht enwil
der sprichet starkiu worte uz krankem sinne
wir wahsen us gelichem dinge
spise frumet uns, sie wird ringe
so sie durch dem mund geveret
wer kann den herren von dem knehte... See more But my favorites are Middle High German, like the Nibelungenlied or Walther von der Vogelweide.
Swer ana forchte herre got
wil sprechen diniu zehen gebote
und brichet diu, daz ist nicht rechtiu minne
dich heiszet vater manager vil
der mich zu bruoder niht enwil
der sprichet starkiu worte uz krankem sinne
wir wahsen us gelichem dinge
spise frumet uns, sie wird ringe
so sie durch dem mund geveret
wer kann den herren von dem knehte scheiden
swa er ir gebeine bloszes finde
und haeter er ir joch lebende künde
so gewürme daz fleisch verzert?
im dienet kristen juden unde heiden
der elliu lebendiu wunder nert.
The Dichterstreit between Walther and Reinmar der Alte leads to *wonderful* poetic jibes that you can only understand if you know a lot of both of their poetry.
And then there's the poetry that I read with my daughter from 2 wonderful collections. Some rhymes, some doesn't, but it expresses so many emotions that it's always a treat.
We are the Dead. Short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders Field. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Can you quote literary passages from books or poetry by memory? | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
| | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
