Anabel LeeBy E.A Poe

Original Translation

De demult s-a-ntâmplat, de demult...

Era lângă-o mare cu ape-argintii,

O fecioară trăia, şi poate c-o ştiţi,

O fecioară, Annabel Lee;

Şi trăia doar c-un gând - s-o iubesc mereu,

Şi trăia - să mă poată iubi.

Eu - un copil - şi ea un copil,

Lângă-o mare cu ape-argintii,

Ne iubeam ca un cântec mai presus de iubire

Ca un cântec - Annabel Lee;

Şi priveau, pizmuind preacurata iubire,

Chiar serafii de sus, din tării.

Şi aşa s-a-ntâmplat că-ntr-o zi, demult,

Lângă marea cu ape-argintii

Un vânt de pustiu s-a iscat dintr-un nor,

Îngheţând-o pe Annabel Lee;

Măritele-i neamuri au dus-o departe.

Departe de mine, spre miazăzi,

Şi-au închis-o în mormântul de piatră,

Lângă-o mare cu ape-argintii.

Chiar serafii, nicicând fericiţi ca noi,

Pizmuindu-ne priveau din tării -

Da, aşa s-a-ntâmplat (şi cu toţii o ştiu

Lângă marea cu ape-argintii)

Că-ntr-o noapte un vânt se-abătu, geros,

Îngheţând, ucigând pe Annabel Lee.

Dar iubirea ne-a fost mai presus de iubirea

Celor mai bătrâni decât noi, doi copii -

Celor mai înţelepţi decât noi, doi copii -

Şi nici îngerii de sus, din tării,

Nici demonii din funduri de-ocean

N-au să poată vreodată visul meu despărţi

De-al frumoasei Annabel Lee.

Şi, prin noapte, urcând, luna-mi pare un gând

Al fecioarei Annabel Lee;

Şi din ochii stelari eu văd ochii ei mari,

Ai frumoasei Annabel Lee;

Şi în fluxu-nnoptat lângă ea stau culcat,

Lângă draga, iubita, logodnica mea,

În mormântul din ţărmuri pustii,

Lângă ţărmuri cu valuri pustii.

ANNABEL LEE

BY E.A.POE

MY OWN TRANSLATION

De mult, pe-ai Timpului paşi,

Într-un regat cu ape argintii,

O fată trăia, c-un nume gingaş:

Cu numele Annabel Lee.

Şi ea trăia c-un gând, un singur gând:

Să-mi fie dragă şi drag să-i pot fi.

Eram un copil şi ea o copilă,

Într-un regat cu ape argintii,

Dar ne iubeam cu-o iubire mai mult ca iubirea -

Eu şi cu-a mea Annabel Lee;

Iubire pe care cheruvii din ceruri

Nu-ncetau a ne-o jindui.

Şi iată dar tâlcul pentru care de mult,

În cel ţinut de miază-zi,

Un vânt suflă rece din nori, şi răci

Pe dulcea mea Annabel Lee.

Un nobil domn sosi din depărtări,

Şi trist, fără cuvinte, mi-o răpi,

Şi-o-nchise-ntr-un mormânt, pe veci de vecii,

Pe draga mea Annabel Lee.

Dar îngerii însişi din cer ne priveau

Cu-aprinsele lor gelozii;

De-aceea /temeiul e prea cunoscut

În ăst ţinut din miază-zi/

Ţâşni vântul rece-ntr-o noapte din nori

Ucigând şi-ngheţând pe-a mea Annabel Lee.

Dar dragostea noastră fu dragoste tare:

Nici alţii mai vârstnici ca noi -

Nici cei mai cuminţi decât noi -

Nici îngerii-n nalta cerească-nstelare,

Nici demonii din miază-zi,

Deşi ea e moartă, nu pot să despartă

Un suflet de-alt suflet:

Pe mine de Annabel Lee.

Căci nici luna nu luce fără-n vis a mă duce

La frumoasa mea Annabel Lee;

De răsar dalbe stele, ochii-i văd dragei mele,

Ai frumoasei Annabel Lee;

Cât e noaptea de grea, eu stau singur cu ea,

Cu draga-mi, cu draga logodnica mea,

La micu-i mormânt din regatul argintiu -

Mormântul lui Annabel Lee!

Annabel Lee

By Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,

 In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

 By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

 In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love—

 I and my Annabel Lee—

With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven

 Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsmen came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

 In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

Went envying her and me—

Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,

 In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we—

Of many far wiser than we—

And neither the angels in Heaven above

Nor the demons down under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

 Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,

In her sepulchre there by the sea—

 In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Annabel Lee was the last poem by Edgar Allan Poe written days before his death on

October 7, 1849. It explores the topic of death because the “death of a beautiful woman is the

most poetic topic in the world.” This particular poem tells of the narrator’s love for an Annabel

Lee in a “kingdom by the sea”. The poem’s meter, language and style convey an archaic feeling

and remind of an old English fairy tale, a form which I tried to preserve in my translation. Poe

suggested that love of such strength as presented in his poem can transcend death. This theme

was by no means invented by Poe. Dante Alighieri who wrote Inferno and Vita Nuova wrote

about a woman, Beatrice with whom he claimed to share a spiritual bond over which death had

no power. Poe uses traditional English ballad form as well as repetition to tell the death of a

beautiful woman suggesting that the dead can maintain a spiritual connection with the living.

The poem was originally addressed to his dead wife, Virginia Clem who died, not accidentally as

a young woman, but her name is not an easy name to rhyme with. To ease the rhyme, Annabel

Lee provides the natural rhythm of iambic pentameter and the “bell” in her name has a

subconscious ring of death in it with an extra taste of melody. The reader thinks of the tolling of

bells in church.

I tried to preserve the conventional language for the ballad, the language of fairy tales, of

beautiful princesses and admirers, of great deeds and tragic consequences. The poem is certainly

very onomatopoeic, the rhythm is dirgelike recalling the tolling of a buoy in the ebb and the flow

of the sea. Poe uses a special kind of anapest that had long interested him, this he drew attention

to Wordsworth’s “many and many a song” in an early version of “Guilt and Sorrow”. Therefore,

“It was many, many a year ago/In a kingdom by the sea becomes “De demult, s-a intamplat

demult…” instead of De mult, pe-ai timpului pasi…” I also translated “kingdom by the sea” “as

regat cu ape argintii” and not “ o mare cu ape argintii” to emphasize that their world was like a

kingdom and their love was unique”.

For the lines “And this maiden she lived with no other thought/Than to love and be loved

by me” I translated “ Si ea traia cu un singur gand/ Sa-mi fie draga si drag sa-i pot fi”, I’ve

stressed the word “singur” and the word “drag” to underline the idea of singularity but also that

of pure reciprocity due to the repetition. The original translation referred to “Si traia doar cu un

gand – so iubesc mereu/ si traia – sa am poata iubi”.

Poe was extremely fond of children so, he added these lines: “I was a child and she was a

child” full of repetition which suggests the pure nature of their love since they started so young

and which I translated” Eram un copil si ea o copila” as opposed to “ Eu-un copil si ea-un copil”.

“But we loved with a love that was more than a love” is full of repetition, suggesting the

huge dimension of their feelings, which turns to supernatural, establishing that for a post-mortal

connection to exist this means that the connection and intimacy in life must have been great.

Therefore I translated it by “ Dar ne iubeam cu o iubire mai mult ca iubirea”, stressing the word

“iubire” which is hyperbolized as opposed to “Ne iubeam ca un cantec mai presus de iubire”

which doesn’t stick to the message of the line. Poe admired the purpose of a ballad which means

to present emotionally charged material that is too strong to be said only once. Hence, Poe’s use

of repetition which I tried to preserve.

I translated “With a love that winged the seraphs of Heaven/Coveted her and me/” by

“Iubire pe care serafimii din ceruri/ Nu incetau a ne-o jindui” as opposed to “Si priveau pizmuind

preacurata iubire/ Chiar serafii de sus, din tarii.” Because “pizmui” is much stronger than

“jindui” which has the meaning of craving, longing, and to my mind fits better in this context. I

translated “kingsmen “ by “serafi” because “angels”/ “ingeri” are not born as opposed to

“seraphs”/”serafi” which represent blessed human souls.

Respecting the fairy tale form of the ballad, I translated ”And this was the reason that,

long ago” by “Si asa s-a intamplat ca intr-o zi, demult” instead of “Si iata dar talcul pentru care

de mult”.

There is some evidence that the couple were actually married; at one point the speaker

refers to Annabel Lee as his “bride”. So great was their love that even the angels, who were’ not

half so happy in heaven” were envious of it. In their jealousy, the angels sent a chilling wind,

which stands for death, and killed Annabel Lee. This is why, I translated “That wind came out of

the cloud by night/ Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee” by “ Un vant sulfa rece din nori si raci/

Pe dulcea mea Annabel Lee” using repetition and alliteration to stress “chilling and killing”. The

other translation referred to these lines as “ Ca intr-o noapte un vant se-abatu, geros/ Inghetand,

ucigand – pe Annabel Lee”.

In stanzas four and five, Poe is consistently using traditional English ballad form

(alternating tetrameter with trimester lines), as well as repetition and concludes the poem by

making his most interesting and important point, that even death cannot completely separate the

narrator from his Annabel Lee. “Nor the demons under the sea/ can dissever my soul from the

soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee”. I particularly liked the association “my soul from the soul of

Annabel Lee” which suggested that the two lovers were one in life and would become one in

death as well, this is why I translated these lines trying to preserve this meaning:” Nici ingerii-n

nalta cereasca –nstelare/Nici demonii din miaza-zi/ Nu pot sa desparta/Un suflet de alt suflet: pe

mine de Annabel Lee.” The other translation didn’t stress this idea: “Nici ingerii de sus, din tarii/

Nici demonii din funduri de ocean/ N-ai sa poata vreodata visul meu desparti/ De-al frumoasei

Annabel Lee.”

The last stanza leaves the reader with a poetic and melodic taste; the author is calling the

moon, and the stars to witness their love since the narrator is still devoted to his lover. This is

why I translated ”For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams/ Of the beautiful

Annabel Lee/ And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes/ Of the beautiful Annabel Lee/”

as “Ca nici luna nu luce fara-n vis a ma duce/ La frumoasa mea Annabel Lee/ De rasar dalbe

stele, ochii-i vad dragei mele?Ai frumoasei Annabel Lee”, to convey the poem a more romantic

setting. The poet still dreams of her, still feels that their souls are united. He has remained true to

her; in fact he has literally never left her side, he feels that their souls are united and they will be

reunited in death. He says in the poem’s last lines that he spends every night lying next to her in

her sepulcher by the sea. This is emphasized by the last lines: “And so, all the night-tide, I lie

down by the side/ Of my darling – my darling- my life and bride/In her sepulcher there by the

sea - / In her tomb by the sounding sea.” I translated them stressing the words “sepulcher” and

“tomb” to underline the endless power of death over life. “ Cat e noaptea de grea/ eu stau singur

cu ea/Cu draga-mi, cu draga logodnica mea/La micu-i mormant din regatul argintiu/ Mormantul

lui Annabel Lee/” as opposed to “ Si in fluxu-nnoptat, langa ea stau culcat/ Langa draga, iubita,

logodnica mea/In mormantul din tarmuri pustii/Langa tarmuri cu valuri pustii.”

Poe takes a dramatically different approach to death: “death is merely a mirror to show

what other people think of life” and a connection with the dead can be maintained although the

specifics of the connection are left for the reader to ponder…