Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Bronze Trumpets and Sea Water: On Turning Latin Verse into English" by Elinor Wylie, the poem reflects on the challenges and limitations of translation, particularly the task of conveying the musicality and essence of one language—Latin—into another, English. Wylie uses metaphorical imagery, such as "bronze" and "sea water," to explore the transformation and potential loss of meaning, beauty, and sound when one language is converted into another. The poem addresses the tension between fidelity to the original text and the inherent differences between languages that shape both their structure and their beauty.

The opening lines, "Alembics turn to stranger things / Strange things, but never while we live / Shall magic turn this bronze that sings / To singing water in a sieve," introduce the idea of transformation, but the speaker is cautious about the possibility of turning something as solid and enduring as "bronze" into something as fluid and ephemeral as "singing water." The metaphor of the alembic, a distillation apparatus used in alchemy, suggests that while processes of transformation can create strange results, they cannot turn something inherently strong and stable (like bronze) into something delicate or fluid (like water). The "singing" quality of the bronze trumpet symbolizes the enduring musicality and power of the original Latin verse, which cannot be perfectly replicated in translation. The comparison of the "singing water" to a sieve further emphasizes the idea that even if some transformation occurs, it cannot retain the essence of the original—the water would escape through the sieve, just as the nuances of the Latin would be lost in English.

The next stanza shifts focus to historical imagery, with the reference to "the trumpeters of Caesar's guard" who salute the emperor’s "rigorous bastions" with their "ordered bruit." The "ordered bruit" suggests the disciplined, structured sound of the trumpets, representing both the authority of Caesar and the authority of the Latin language itself, which has its own set of rules, rhythms, and sounds that cannot easily be conveyed in another tongue. The phrase "the bronze is hard / Though there is silver in the bronze" evokes the idea that even though the Latin language may contain beauty ("silver in the bronze"), it remains a firm, solid structure that resists the fluidity of translation. Latin is depicted as both beautiful and rigid, requiring precision in its representation, whereas the English language may lack the same sense of order and elegance.

The final stanza brings the poem back to the metaphor of the sea, comparing the "mutable tongue" (English) to the sea itself: "Our mutable tongue is like the sea, / Curled wave and shattering thunder-fit." The "mutable tongue" refers to English, which is flexible, ever-changing, and unpredictable. It contrasts with the rigid, fixed nature of Latin. The sea, with its "curled wave" and "shattering thunder-fit," symbolizes the dynamic, sometimes chaotic nature of English, which lacks the unyielding structure of Latin. The speaker notes that someone who tries to "smooth the ripples out of it" by imposing order or structure on this fluidity will fail, as the sea (or English) will always retain its inherent instability. The image of "strings of sand" further emphasizes the fragility of attempting to control or perfect language, as sand is constantly shifting and slipping away.

“Bronze Trumpets and Sea Water: On Turning Latin Verse into English” meditates on the difficulties of translation, particularly the challenge of preserving the beauty, structure, and musicality of the original text. Wylie uses the imagery of bronze trumpets and the sea to emphasize the tension between the firm, structured beauty of Latin and the fluid, mutable nature of English. Through these metaphors, the poem illustrates the inherent limitations and sacrifices involved in the process of translation, suggesting that while something can be transformed, it can never be perfectly replicated. The essence of the original language—its beauty, sound, and meaning—will always be altered in the act of translation.

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