"The Glove" Schiller analysis. "Glove"

He mainly wrote ballads, which were based on legendary or mythological subjects - they are what give his works brightness and originality. The poem “The Glove” was no exception. Schiller described the era of brave, strong knights and beautiful ladies, and although these times are long gone, the themes of the works still remain relevant and interesting for readers.

All the poet’s ballads are filled with a special drama that hides deep knowledge. The heroes in them must constantly prove to society their courage and devotion to their homeland, show nobility, courage, fearlessness and selflessness. In many of Schiller's works there are similarities with the works of Shakespeare, the great English playwright. It can be said with all confidence that Frederick became his faithful follower.

Schiller based the ballad “The Glove” on a real historical fact. The plot takes us to the times of the knights and it may seem rather banal and unremarkable, but the author managed to show the real deep meaning of the work, made the reader think about the situation, find out who is right and who is wrong. Schiller talks about the events that happened at the court of the French king in the 15th century in his ballad “The Glove”.

The summary of the work can be divided into several scenes. Initially, the king and nobles gathered for the performance to watch the fight between wild animals. The first to be released into the arena was a huge lion, which soon lay down to the side. Then a brave tiger came out, but, seeing a stronger opponent, did not get involved in trouble. Two leopards ran out after them and attacked the striped animal, but the menacing roar of the lion forced them to step aside. But the nobility wanted the bloody spectacle to continue... By creating the ballad “The Glove,” Schiller wanted to emphasize human cruelty and heartlessness.

Among the spectators, the young beauty Kinigunda shone, wanting to test the sincerity of the knight Delorge’s feelings for her, and at the same time have fun. The lady deliberately threw her glove into the arena, which fell right between the predators. Kinigund turns to the knight with an innocent request to bring the dropped item and thereby prove his devotion. Delorge understands that the beauty did this on purpose, but cannot refuse the request, because refusal would undermine his reputation. With the help of the ballad “The Glove,” Schiller wanted to draw the reader’s attention to how valuable human life is.

The animals did not touch Delorge - he brought the glove to his lady, but he did not want her praise and recognition, because he realized that Kinigunda did not love him and did not appreciate his actions. Moreover, the glove flew into the arrogant beauty's face.

The main meaning of the work is that nothing can be more valuable than a person’s life, and it is stupid to risk it for the whim of a spoiled girl. Despite the fact that so much time has passed, the ballad still attracts attention and makes you think about the meaning - Schiller created an eternal work... The glove (Zhukovsky's translation is the most accurate and understandable for the reader) as a symbolic detail - the embodiment of someone else's will, requiring absurd victims and meaningless evidence of feelings... Reading the ballad, you involuntarily think about the true value of love and life.

What does the ballad “The Glove” make us think about? I'm screwed as I should be, it's terrible!!! Help me, will you? and got the best answer

Answer from Alexey Khoroshev[guru]
Glove. Tale
In front of your menagerie,
With the barons, with the crown prince,
King Francis was seated;
From a high balcony he looked
In the field of battle, waiting;
Behind the king, enchanting
Blooming beauty look,
There was a magnificent row of court ladies.
The king gave a sign with his hand -
The door opened with a knock,
And a formidable beast
With a huge head
Shaggy lion
Goes out;
He rolls his eyes around sullenly;
And so, having looked at everything,
Wrinkled his forehead with a proud posture,
He moved his thick mane,
And he stretched and yawned,
And lay down. The king waved his hand again -
The shutter of the iron door banged,
And the brave tiger jumped out from behind the bars;
But he sees a lion, becomes timid and roars,
Hitting himself in the ribs with his tail,
And sneaks, glancing sideways,
And licks the face with his tongue,
And, having walked around the lion,
He growls and lies down next to him.
And for the third time the king waved his hand -
Two leopards as a friendly couple
In one leap we found ourselves above the tiger;
But he gave them a blow with a heavy paw,
And the lion stood up with a roar...
They resigned themselves
Baring their teeth, they walked away,
And they growled and lay down.
And the guests are waiting for the battle to begin.
Suddenly a woman fell from the balcony
The glove...everyone is watching it...
She fell among the animals.
Then on the knight Delorge with the hypocritical
And he looks with a caustic smile
His beauty says:
"When me, my faithful knight,
You love the way you say
You will return the glove to me."
Delorge, without answering a word,
He goes to the animals
He boldly takes the glove
And returns to the meeting again.
The knights and ladies have such audacity
My heart was clouded with fear;
And the knight is young,
As if nothing happened to him
Calmly ascends to the balcony;
He was greeted with applause;
He is greeted by beautiful glances...
But, having coldly accepted the greetings of her eyes,
A glove in her face
He quit and said: “I don’t demand a reward.”
Glove.
Written in March 1831. First published in the magazine “Anthill”, 1831, N III. Translation of Schiller's poem of the same name; “The Glove” was translated by Lermontov in 1829.
Belinsky considered “The Glove” to be a ballad. However, Schiller defines this work as a story (“Eine Erzählung”). Schiller's poem was based on legends about the entertainments of the French court during the time of Francis I (1515-1547). The prototype of the hero of “The Glove” is the knight Delorge, about whose courage and love adventures there were many anecdotes. Zhukovsky did not keep the name of the heroine (Cunegonde) and changed the verse (in Schiller it was tonic).
In the palace of the King of France they have fun watching the fight of animals in the arena. It turns out “a terrible lion with a thick mane in all its beauty.” Then the tiger boldly jumped out, but was afraid to catch the king of beasts. Two agile leopards attacked the tiger. He hits them with his heavy paw. A lion rises and they hear his mighty roar.
And guests expect a spectacle. And suddenly a lady’s glove fell from the balcony down to the animals. Young beauty Cunegonde turns to her knight Delorge with the order to bring her a glove as a sign of his loyalty and love. A courageous knight goes and takes the glove and the animals do not rush at him. The young knight returns and throws his glove in the face of his chosen one, instead of lifting it with words of love.
It seems that the glove ended up in the arena for a reason. Yuna the beauty decided to make a cruel joke, forgetting that she was exposing the knight to senseless mortal danger. Delorge could not refuse the challenge; it would call into question his courage. But he realized that Cunegonde did not truly love him, and his life was nothing to her. That’s why he left her, publicly showing his disdain.
Although the plot of the ballad is based on a specific historical fact, which was copied by the writer Saintfoy, the idea of ​​the work acquires a broad generalization - nothing can be more valuable than human life.

Research

Interpretation of two translations

F. Schiller's ballad "The Glove"

Supervisor:

Repina Nadezhda Pavlovna, teacher of the highest qualification category

2011

CONTENT

Introduction………………………………………………………..p. 3

Chapter 1.Comparative analysis of the plot of F. Schiller's ballad

“Glove”………………………………………………………...p. 5

Chapter 2.Comparison of characters' images and author's attitude

to them.……………………………………………………………....With. 9

Chapter 3.Comparative analysis of translations of F. Schiller's ballad

“Glove”……………………………………………………....p. eleven

Conclusion………………………………………………………...p. 13

List of references…………………………….p.14

Introduction

Today, there is again a genuine interest in Western European lyric poetry of the early 19th century, including translations of works by European poets by Russian authors.

The literature of any country is composed of two elements: domestic literature and translated literature. In the modern era, truly significant works of all national literatures are translated into foreign languages ​​and become fully part of the literatures of other peoples. To study and, if possible, adequately translate foreign literary works is our goal and main task.

Each literary work undergoes significant changes during the translation process, but this is not the main indicator of the quality of the newly created opus.

Also N.G. Chernyshevsky in 1857, in the preface to the collection “Schiller in Translations of Russian Poets,” wrote that Russian translated literature before Pushkin and Gogol was incomparably higher than the original, therefore much more attention should be paid to translated literature.

Studying literary translations of great authors of past centuries in literature lessons is an excellent opportunity not only to study the history and traditions of other peoples, but also to become familiar with global cultural values.

Russian authors of the early 19th century turned to the poetry of Schiller, Goethe and Heine because their romantic worldview was close to them. They were especially attracted to the ballad genre. (Ballad- a lyric epic work, that is, a story presented in poetic form, of a historical, mythical or heroic nature.).

One of the credits for introducing the Russian reader to the European ballad belongs to V. A. Zhukovsky. Ballad is his favorite genre. Zhukovsky translated the ballads of Goethe and Schiller so masterfully that his works could rightfully compete with the famous originals.

The ballad "" is one of the best works of V. A. Zhukovsky, written by him in 1831. It tells about the entertainments of the French court during the time of King Francis I and depicts the image of the knight Delorge, about whose amazing deeds there were many legends at that time.

M. Lermontov also turned to Western European lyrics, and in his work we also find translations of ballads by Goethe, Heine and Schiller, including the ballad “The Glove”.

The purpose of this study is give a comparative analysis of two translations of F. Schiller’s ballad “The Glove” (M. Lermontov and V. Zhukovsky), identify the artistic originality of these translations.

Tasks:

Get acquainted with the original version of Schiller’s ballad “The Glove” (in German) and identify the features of the interlinear translation.

Get acquainted with the translations of V. Zhukovsky and M. Lermontov of F. Schiller’s ballad and make a comparative analysis of them.

Chapter 1. Comparative analysis of the plot of F. Schiller’s ballad “The Glove”

Let's try to compare two poetic translations into Russian of the ballad of the great German poet I.F. Schiller "The Glove" by the classics of Russian poetry of the 19th century V.A. Zhukovsky and M.Yu. Lermontov.

F. Schiller took the plot of the ballad from Saint Foy's book; it describes a real incident that occurred at the court of King FrancisI. The theme of the plot is the shaming of a cruel beauty. The German poet paints readers a picture of medieval entertainment at the royal court with the participation of wild animals and a brave knight performing a feat in the name of a beautiful lady.

It would seem to be a completely traditional medieval plot. However, the ending of the ballad is unusual: the brave knight, having accomplished a brave but senseless feat, refuses the lady’s reward, behaves rudely and contemptuously towards the beauty.

The second part depicts wild animals that should instill real fear in the reader. Here there is a “shaggy lion”, and a “brave tiger”, and “two leopards”. The hero of the ballad faces real danger.

In the third part of the ballad, the image of a cruel and proud beauty appears, who, demanding worship, commands the knight to take her glove from the menagerie. The price of someone else's life is too small for her and she values ​​herself too highly. The beauty tests Delorge in the lowest possible way. What is she waiting for? The fact that the hero will chicken out and, with the entire audience on the gas, refuse to take a reckless action? Or maybe that he will rush for the glove and amaze everyone with his devotion to the beauty?

Why did Schiller choose this particular historical plot for the ballad? Why did this particular ballad attract the attention of Russian poets?
Answers to these and other questions can be found by studying the life and work of great poets.

Johann Friedrich Schiller (1759 – 1805) - theorist of the art of education, founder of German classical literature.

The rebellious desire for freedom, the affirmation of human dignity, and hatred of the feudal order are already expressed in youthful dramatic works (“Cunning and Love”, “Robbers”). The clash of educational ideals with reality, interest in the social upheavals of the past determine the intense drama of his works. ("Don Carlos", "Mary Stuart"). Schiller creates the theory of "aesthetic education" as a way to achieve a just society.

Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky (1783 – 1852) - author of elegies and ballads, translator of Schiller, Byron, Homer.

A sentimental romantic, who was characterized by the thought of the transcendental value of the individual, the clash between dreams and reality, and thoughts about untapped talent. Zhukovsky never expressed open protest, but his work, detached from the troubling issues of our time, is imbued with deep humanity. The poet retained impeccable honesty, moral independence and straightforwardness of character at court. Nothing could make him forget about “the holiest of titles: man.”

A. S. Pushkin prophetically said about Zhukovsky’s work:

His poems are captivatingly sweet

Centuries will pass in envious distance...

The great poet's prediction came true. And today we are reading the amazingly poetic ballads of Zhukovsky, a subtle lyricist and unsurpassed translator.

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (1814 – 1841) is a great Russian poet, whose work developed after the Decembrist uprising.

Disappointment in reality, longing for the ideal of a free and rebellious personality fueled his early romantic poems and mature lyrics. The rebellion of the individual against the injustice of the “world order”, the tragedy of loneliness runs like a red thread through all of his work. In Lermontov's lyrics, socio-civil, philosophical and deeply personal motives are closely intertwined. He introduced verse into Russian poetry, marked by unprecedented energy of thought and melody.

Based on the above, we can conclude that all three poets are united by common moral values, which are based on the human personality. But still, Schiller and Lermontov are also united by a rebellious spirit and a desire to change the injustice of the social system.

I think that this is why the plot of the ballad became interesting to all three poets.

At first glance, when comparing the text of the original and the translations, it is clear that Zhukovsky’s text conveys the content of the ballad much more fully, while in Lermontov’s one one feels a more emotional intensity of passions, the action develops rapidly (although some lines are omitted).

Schiller, with German punctuality, adheres to the historical chronicle, names the names of the characters, but it seems that what is most important for him is the rebellion of the knight, who no longer wants to be a hostage to the traditions of medieval society.

Zhukovsky calls his version of the translation “story”, retains the names of the king and the knight, but the name of the lady (“beauty”) has no meaning for him.

For young Lermontov ("The Glove" is one of the first attempts at translation), all attention is concentrated on the personality of the young beauty, only her name is mentioned. But the reader feels that the author clearly sympathizes with the nameless noble knight and, perhaps, even associates himself with his hero.

F. Schiller pays great attention to the description of animals, their behavior in the arena, and their relationships. Perhaps this is a symbol of the hierarchical ladder of medieval society that was hated by the German poet:

Lion - tiger - leopards;

King - Duke - Knights?

Zhukovsky, being a masterly translator, tried to convey the description of animal behavior as accurately as possible, trying not to miss a single detail.

Lermontov limits himself to only mentioning the presence of a lion and a tiger in the arena. Obviously, this description does not have much meaning for the 15-year-old boy; all his attention is focused on the relationship between the loving knight and the beautiful lady.

It should be noted that later Mikhail Yuryevich very vividly and accurately described the snow leopard in “Mtsyri”:

"……………. Suddenly on her

A shadow flashed and two lights

Sparks flew... and then

Some beast in one leap

He jumped out of the bowl and lay down,

While playing, lie down on the sand.

It was the desert's eternal guest -

Mighty leopard. Raw bone

He gnawed and squealed joyfully;

Then he fixed his bloody gaze,

Wagging its tail affectionately,

For a full month, and on it

The wool had a silvery sheen.

It is a pity that Lermontov did not consider it necessary to translate the description of the huge cats in detail. I think he would have done it expressively.

The image of the beautiful Cunegonde and her relationship with the knight Delorge is the most mysterious and controversial moment of the ballad.

Schiller does not give a clear description of the relationship between the main characters; the address “Fraulein” indicates that Cunegonde is a young unmarried girl. She admires the knight's actions and is ready to generously reward the brave man.

Lermontov uses the wonderful, purely Russian concept of “maiden” in relation to Cunegonde; the relationship between the lady and the knight is more defined, emotional and romantic (“…..And suddenly turning to his knight ..."). The return of the hero was also greeted enthusiastically: "...And a gentle, flaming look - A pledge of short-term happiness …."

The protest of a noble knight against such a cruel and senseless test is a gauntlet thrown in the face of a lady - the climactic denouement is reflected in both translations. But in Lermontov, the ending is determined by the angry line: “...cruel vexation blazing on fire ... ", and in Zhukovsky the knight behaves more restrained.

Chapter 2. Comparison of the images of heroes and the author’s attitude towards them.

How do poets translate words and expressions that characterize heroes, their actions, their feelings? How can the author's attitude be traced in this? What words disappear in translation? Which ones are added? What changes does this make?
In Zhukovsky, the relationships between the characters are closer (“You », « my knight is faithful "), but the lady is hypocritical, cold, and in the end only friendly; in Lermontov, the lady openly tests her admirer (one of many) and after the knight’s act is full of love. In this Lermontov is closer to the original.

The hero of the ballad responds to the words of the vain lady with a courageous act:

Delorge, without answering a word,

He goes to the animals

He boldly takes the glove

And returns to the meeting again.

The knight behaves with restraint and composure. He's proud. He is not alien to self-esteem, and this explains his behavior at the end of the ballad. Delorge does not need the beauty’s gratitude, because he perceives her act as an attempt at humiliation and wants to show her that she has no right to play with human life.

Lermontov's knight is more youthful, hot-tempered, and impetuous than Zhukovsky and Schiller's. Phrase "I don't need your gratitude " sounds more "offended" and "scandalous" than "I don't require a reward " That is why Lermontov must add: “And he immediately left the proud one ", and in Zhukovsky, the knight uttered such words with such strength and dignity, after which there is nothing more to add. Schiller's hero in this case is more “neutral”. The moment is especially significant when the translators add characteristics of the state of a knight returning from the arena that are missing from Schiller: in Zhukovsky he is cold, and in Lermontov he is burning in the fire of vexation.

Lermontov's heroine is perceived by the reader as a spoiled and eccentric girl, and her act is only a fleeting, playful idea. She doesn't think about the consequences of her words. She dropped the glove, obviously unintentionally: “...Fate by a random game ..." However, the words: "...Knight, I love to torture hearts, ....", make it clear that she does not understand the feelings that the knight has for her. Perhaps the image of the beautiful but cruel Cunegonde became for Lermontov the personification of the secular ladies of his time: beautiful and cold.

Zhukovsky, the translator, does not retain the name of the heroine from the original work - Cunegonde, and this is his assessment of the beauty’s act. She is soulless and cold.

Zhukovsky in his translation does not even indicate the marital status of the “beauty”; there is no hint of the relationship between the characters, but the lady’s action is clearly described (“...his beauty looks with a hypocritical and caustic smile ...."). One gets the impression that the lady is clearly older and more experienced than her admirer, and her action was completely deliberate.

Based on this, we can conclude that we meet Schiller’s knight in Zhukovsky’s translation, and Schiller’s lady in Lermontov’s translation. But Zhukovsky’s lady and Lermontov’s knight are “our own”, not the same as in the original. This reveals the question of why in Schiller both heroes are named, while Zhukovsky leaves the lady nameless and Lermontov the knight.

But this issue does not and cannot have an unambiguous solution. However, it leads to important reflections both on Schiller's ballad and on translation interpretation as such. Reflecting on this, we can assume that:

1. Each translator leaves the name of the hero he took from the author. And he comes up with the second hero himself; he is not the same as Schiller’s, so the author leaves him nameless.

2. Each translator leaves the name of the hero whose action is more important to him. Zhukovsky writes more about the deed of a knight, and Lermontov - about the deed of a lady.

3. Lermontov writes more of a lyrical poem, so his knight is himself, and the poet does not give him a name.

Chapter 3. Comparative analysis of translations of F. Schiller’s ballad “The Glove”

By comparing the two translations, we are convinced that the two translations are two different texts. Different in mood, in the pictures they evoke in the reader’s imagination, in the author’s attitude towards the characters and their actions. We also saw the characters in the ballad differently. Zhukovsky's heroes seem older to them than Lermontov's. Zhukovsky’s beauty is hypocritical and cold and takes the knight’s action for granted, while the knight is self-possessed and full of self-esteem; Lermontov's lady is a frivolous coquette, whose heart, however, is inflamed with love from the knight's act, and he himself is young and impetuous. At the end of the ballad, Zhukovsky’s knight acts outwardly calmly, making a deliberate decision and not betraying any excitement of passions. He throws his glove in the beauty's face, "coldly accepting greetings from her eyes “And Lermontov’s hero is seized by a fit of despair, simply offended by the behavior of his lady,”cruel vexation blazing on fire ».

If you make a literal translation like Schiller’s, you will notice a significant distance between both translations and Schiller’s text. It can be noted that “substantively” Zhukovsky turns out to be closer to Schiller, and “musically” Lermontov.

However, we will be able to see both the deviations and their causes and consequences more clearly only after a detailed comparative analysis of the three texts.

After which we can conclude that Zhukovsky’s four Schiller scenes depicting the exit of animals merge into one. Hence, the impression of the animals coming out, which shows the danger of the task facing the knight, is somewhat reduced; the “cinematic quality” of the scene, its “pictorial quality” decreases. In Lermontov, the scene of the animals coming out is generally significantly reduced, their number decreases. The emphasis in the ballad shifts to the dialogue between the knight and the lady. But the fall of the glove stands out as a separate picture (“frame”), again emphasizing the most important conflict for Lermontov.

In Schiller, the image of danger is expressed both through composition (unfolding of paintings) and through vocabulary; Lermontov creates tension with vocabulary - epithets characterizing animals; Zhukovsky is more epic and restrained than Lermontov and Schiller.

Each translation is good in its own way. Lermontov tried to preserve the rhythm and size of the verse as much as possible, but shortened a lot, added drama, energy and personal attitude. Zhukovsky tried to convey the full content as accurately as possible, but, being a master in the genre of creating ballads, he created his own rhythm, more familiar to the Russian ear; one’s own attitude towards the characters is not clearly expressed.
However, none of the translators could do without traditional Russian vocabulary in the descriptions: "girl ", ".. enchanting the blooming beauty …", " young knight ", " hello from her eyes ".

When comparing translations, the question arises: “Why does Zhukovsky give the subtitle “Tale”, which Schiller does not have?” It turns out that in Schiller the epic (narrative) and lyrical (subjective-personal, emotional) beginnings of the ballad are in relative balance, while Zhukovsky strengthens the narrative beginning. But Lermontov’s ballad is more like a lyric poem, and its hero is more like the poet himself.

It can also be said that in the era of Lermontov and Zhukovsky there was no such boundary between one’s own and the translated as there is now. Zhukovsky said that almost everything was translated and, at the same time, everything was his: the poet translated what was close to him, and in the way he understood it - and therefore expressed his soul in poetry, first of all.

Conclusion

We again come to the idea that the two translations give a different picture of the original text. And the final question in this regard becomes: “Why did two poets, equally proficient in both language and poetic skill, translate one poem so differently?”

Answering this question, we can say that the translator translates the text as he understands, sees, feels; he identifies and brings to the fore what personally touches and excites him; it does not copy, but transforms the original text.

The question of the boundaries of freedom in literary translation arises especially acutely when the translator is a great poet, since such translations, as a rule, are distinguished by the least accuracy, but most captivate the reader with talent, beauty and poetic power. No wonder V. A. Zhukovsky said that a translator in prose is a slave, and in poetry he is a rival.

Thus, comparing translations and turning to the interlinear translation when studying Schiller’s ballad helped me to better understand the work being studied, to realize the features of the ballad as a lyric-epic genre, and also gave me an idea of ​​the features of the poetic world of Zhukovsky and Lermontov, which I have yet to come into contact with in the future.

Personally, my perception is closer to Vasily Andreevich’s translation. His text is more poetic, more accurate and Russified. But, if you want to understand a poetic work absolutely accurately, you should read it only in the original. No one can convey his thoughts to the reader better than the author.
It's worth learning languages ​​for such pleasure.

Bibliography

Zhukovsky V.A.Ballads, poems and fairy tales. - M.: Pravda, 1982.

Lermontov M.Yu. Selected works. – M.: Children's literature, 1977.

"I'm exploring the world." – Publishing house “Prosveshcheniye”, 1998

"Poetic Russia". – Soviet Russia, 1974

Shamanskaya L.P.Zhukovsky and Schiller: poetic translation in the context of Russian literature. - M., 2000.

Danilevsky R.Yu.Schiller in Russian lyrics of the 1820s–1830s // Russian literature.1976. № 4.

Ermolenko S. I. Lyrics by M. Yu. Lermontov: genre processes. Ekaterinburg, 1996.

Andronikov I. L. Lermontov: research and findings. M., 1977.

Application.

Translation by M. Lermontov. "Glove"

The nobles stood in a crowd
And they waited silently for the spectacle;
Sitting between them
The king is majestically on the throne;
All around on the high balcony
The beautiful choir of ladies sparkled.

Here they heed the royal sign.
The creaky door opens,
And the lion comes out of the steppe
Heavy foot.
And suddenly silently
Looks around.
Yawning lazily
Shaking his yellow mane
And, having looked at everyone,
The lion lies down.
And the king waved again,
And the tiger is harsh
With a wild leap
Dangerous took off
And, having met a lion,
Howled terribly;
He beats his tail

After
Quietly he goes around the owner,
The bloody eyes do not move...
But a slave is before his master
Grumbles and gets angry in vain

And involuntarily lies down
He's next to him.
Then fall from above
Glove from a beautiful hand
Fate by a random game
Between a hostile couple.

And suddenly turning to his knight,
Cunegonde said, laughing slyly:
“Knight, I love to torture hearts.
If your love is so strong,
As you tell me every hour,
Then lift up my glove!”
And the knight runs from the balcony in a minute,
And he boldly enters the circle,
He looks at the glove between the wild animals
And he raises his bold hand.

And the spectators are around in timid anticipation,
Trembling, they look at the young man in silence.
But then he brings the glove back.
Praise flies out from everywhere,
And a gentle, flaming look -
A pledge of short-term happiness -
He meets the hero with the girl's hand.
But cruel vexation blazing in the fire,
He threw the glove in her face:
“I don’t need your gratitude!”
And he immediately left the proud one.

Translation by V. Zhukovsky. "Glove"

In front of your menagerie,
With the barons, with the crown prince,
King Francis was seated;
From a high balcony he looked
In the field, awaiting battle;
Behind the king, enchanting
Blooming beauty look,
There was a magnificent row of court ladies.
The king gave a sign with his hand -
The door opened with a knock,
And a formidable beast
With a huge head
Shaggy lion
Goes out;
He rolls his eyes around sullenly;
And so, having looked at everything,
Wrinkled his forehead with a proud posture,
He moved his thick mane,
And he stretched and yawned,
And lay down. The king waved his hand again -
The shutter of the iron door banged,
And the brave tiger jumped out from behind the bars;
But he sees a lion, becomes timid and roars,
Hitting himself in the ribs with his tail,
And sneaks, glancing sideways,
And licks the face with his tongue,
And, having walked around the lion,
He growls and lies down next to him.
And for the third time the king waved his hand -
Two leopards as a friendly couple
In one leap we found ourselves above the tiger;
But he gave them a blow with a heavy paw,
And the lion stood up roaring...
They resigned themselves
Baring their teeth, they walked away,
And they growled and lay down.
And the guests are waiting for the battle to begin.
Suddenly a woman fell from the balcony
The glove... everyone is watching it...
She fell among the animals.
Then on the knight Delorge with the hypocritical
And he looks with a caustic smile
His beauty says:
"When me, my faithful knight,
You love the way you say
You will return the glove to me."
Delorge, without answering a word,
He goes to the animals
He boldly takes the glove
And returns to the meeting again.
The knights and ladies have such audacity
My heart was clouded with fear;
And the knight is young,
As if nothing happened to him
Calmly ascends to the balcony;
He was greeted with applause;
He is greeted by beautiful glances...
But, having coldly accepted the greetings of her eyes,
A glove in her face
He quit and said: “I don’t demand a reward.”

Der Handschuh

Glove (interlinear)

Vor seinem Lowengarten,
Das Kampfspiel
zu erwarten,
Saβ König Franz,
Und um ihn die Groβ en
der Krone,
Und rings auf dem
Balkone

In front of your lion garden,
Waiting for the battle (fighting game),
King Franz sits
And around him are the most important people of the kingdom,
And they sit on the balcony

Die Damen in Schönem Kranz.

Ladies are a wonderful crown.

Und wie er winkt mit dem Finger,

And as soon as he lifts a finger,
The cage opens

Auftut sich der weite Zwinger,
Und hinein mit bedächtigem Schritt
Ein Lowe tritt
Und sieht sich stumm
Rings um
Mit langem Gahnen
Und schüttelt die Mähnen
Und streckt die Glieder
Und legt sich nieder.
Und der König winkt
Wieder,

And inside with a cautious step
The lion enters
And looking around silently
Around
With a long yawn,
Shakes his mane
And stretches out its paws,
And he lies down.
And the king waves again
(finger)
They open up quickly there
Second gate
From there it rushes

Da öffnet sich behind

In a wild leap

Ein zweites Tor,

Tiger out.

Daraus rent

As soon as he sees a lion,

Mit wildem sprunge

Roars loudly

Ein Tiger hervor.

Beats his tail

Wie der den Lowen schaut,

Drawing terrible figures for them,

Bröllt er laut,

And sticks out his tongue

Schlägt mit dem Schweif

Timidly walking around the lion,

Einen furchtbaren Reif

Growling furiously;
Then he stretches out, grumbling,

Und recket die Zunge,

Aside.

Und im Kreise scheu

Umgeht er den Leu

And the king waves again,

Grimmig schnurrend;

Two opened doors
Houses

Darauf streckt er sich murrend

They spit out two at once
leopards
They, wanting a fight, attack

Zur Seite nieder.

bravely
On the tiger;

Und der König winkt wieder,

He knocks them over with his
with fierce paws,

Da speit das doppelt geöffnete Haus

And the lion with a roar
rises, becomes

Zwei Leoparden auf

quiet;

einmal aus,

And there in a circle,

Die störzen mit mutiger Kampfbegier

Where in the murderous passion
Terrible cats settled down,

Auf das Tigertier;
Das packt sie mit seinen

Falls there from the edge of the terrace

grimmigen Tatzen,

Glove from a beautiful hand

Und der Leu mit Gebröll

Between a tiger and a lion

Richtet sich auf, da wird’s still;

In the middle.

Und herum im Kreis,
Von Mordsucht heiβ ,

And to the knight Delorge,
mocking
Fraulein Cunegonde addresses:
“Mr. Knight, is it so hot

Lagern die greulichen Katzen.

Your love,
How you swear to me every hour,

Da fällt von des Altans Rand

Pick up the glove for me!”

Ein Handschuh von Schöner Hand
Zwischen den Tiger und den Leun
Mitten hinein.

And the knight
Goes down into the terrible
cell

Und zu Ritter Delorges,

With a firm step,

spottender Weiss,

And from the monstrous middle

Wendet sich Fraulein Kunigund:

Quick movement

“Herr Ritter, ist Eure Liebe so heiβ ,

He takes the glove with a bold hand.

Wie Ihr mir’s schwört zu jeder Stund,

And with surprise and horror

Ei so hebt mir den Handschuh auf!”
Und der Ritter in Schnellem Lauf
Steigt hinab in den furchtbaren

Knights and noble ladies are watching,
And coolly he returns with the glove.

Zwinger

There sounds praise for him from

Mit festem Schritte

every mouth

Und aus der Ungeheuer

But tender loving

Mitte

glance,

Nimmt er den Handschuh mit keckem Finger.

Promising him close happiness,
The fraulein receives him
Cunegonde.

Und mit Erstaunen und mit Grauen

And he throws the glove in her face:

Sehens die Ritter und Edelfrauen,
Und gelassen bringt er den Handschuh zurück.
Da schallt ihm sein Lob aus jedem Munde,
Aber mit zärtlichem Liebesblick -
Er verheiβ t ihm sein nahes Glück -
Empfängt ihn Fraulein Kunigunde.
Und er wirft ihr den Handschuh ins Gesicht:
“Den Dank, Dame, begehr’ ich nicht!”
Und verlässt sie zur selben Stunde.

“Gratitude, lady, I don’t demand!”
And immediately leaves her.

CREATION

SCHOOL ESSAYS

Comparative analysis of translations of F. Schiller's ballad "The Glove"

Comparative analysis of translations of F. Schiller's ballad "The Glove"

Before us is the ballad of the great German poet I.F. Schiller “The Glove” and translations of this work into Russian by the classics of Russian poetry of the 19th century V.A. Zhukovsky and M.Yu. Lermontov. Let's try to compare all three poetic works.
F. Schiller took the plot of the ballad from Saintfoy's book; it describes a real incident that occurred at the court of King Francis 1. Theme: the shame of a cruel beauty. The German poet paints readers a picture of medieval entertainment at the royal court with the participation of wild animals and a brave knight performing a feat in the name of a beautiful lady.
It would seem to be a completely traditional medieval plot. However, the ending of the ballad is unusual: the brave knight, having accomplished a brave but senseless feat, refuses the lady’s reward, behaves rudely and contemptuously towards the beauty.
Why did Schiller choose this particular historical plot for the ballad? Why did this particular ballad attract the attention of Russian poets?
Answers to these and other questions can be found by studying the life and work of great poets.

Johann Friedrich Schiller (1759 - 1805) - theorist of the art of education, founder of German classical literature. The rebellious desire for freedom, the affirmation of human dignity, and hatred of the feudal order are already expressed in youthful dramatic works (“Cunning and Love”, “Robbers”). The clash of educational ideals with reality, interest in the social upheavals of the past determine the intense drama of his works (“Don Carlos”, “Mary Stuart”). Schiller creates the theory of "aesthetic education" as a way to achieve a just society.

Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky (1783 -1852) - author of elegies and ballads, translator of Schiller, Byron, Homer. A sentimental romantic, who was characterized by the thought of the transcendental value of the individual, the clash between dreams and reality, and thoughts about untapped talent. Zhukovsky never expressed open protest, but his work, detached from the troubling issues of our time, is imbued with deep humanity. The poet retained impeccable honesty, moral independence and straightforwardness of character at court. Nothing could make him forget about “the holiest of titles: man.”

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (1814 -1841) is a great Russian poet whose work developed after the Decembrist uprising. Disappointment in reality, longing for the ideal of a free and rebellious personality fueled his early romantic poems and mature lyrics. The rebellion of the individual against the injustice of the “world order”, the tragedy of loneliness runs like a red thread through all of his work. In Lermontov's lyrics, socio-civil, philosophical and deeply personal motives are closely intertwined. He introduced verse into Russian poetry, marked by unprecedented energy of thought and melody.

Based on the above, we can conclude that all three poets are united by common moral values, which are based on the human personality. But still, Schiller and Lermontov are also united by a rebellious spirit and a desire to change the injustice of the social system.
I think that this is why the plot of the ballad became interesting to all three poets.
At first glance, when comparing the text of the original and the translations, it is clear that Zhukovsky’s text conveys the content of the ballad much more fully, while in Lermontov’s one one feels a more emotional intensity of passions, the action develops rapidly (although some lines are omitted).
Schiller, with German punctuality, adheres to the historical chronicle, names the names of the characters, but it seems that what is most important for him is the rebellion of the knight, who no longer wants to be a hostage to the traditions of medieval society.
Zhukovsky calls his version of the translation “story”, retains the names of the king and the knight, but the name of the lady (“beauty”) has no meaning for him.
For young Lermontov ("The Glove" is one of the first attempts at translation), all attention is concentrated on the personality of the young beauty, only her name is mentioned. But the reader feels that the author clearly sympathizes with the nameless noble knight and, perhaps, even associates himself with his hero.

F. Schiller pays great attention to the description of animals, their behavior in the arena, and their relationships. Perhaps this is a symbol of the hierarchical ladder of medieval society that was hated by the German poet:
Lion - tiger - leopards
King - Duke - Knights?

Zhukovsky, being a masterly translator, tried to convey the description of animal behavior as accurately as possible, trying not to miss a single detail.
Lermontov limits himself to only mentioning the presence of a lion and a tiger in the arena. Obviously, this description does not have much meaning for the 15-year-old boy; all his attention is focused on the relationship between the loving knight and the beautiful lady.
It should be noted that later Mikhail Yuryevich very vividly and accurately described the snow leopard in “Mtsyri”:

"……………. Suddenly on her
A shadow flashed and two lights
Sparks flew... and then
Some beast in one leap
He jumped out of the bowl and lay down,
While playing, lie down on the sand.
It was the desert's eternal guest -
Mighty leopard. Raw bone
He gnawed and squealed joyfully;
Then he fixed his bloody gaze,
Wagging its tail affectionately,
For a full month, and on it
The wool had a silvery sheen.

It is a pity that Lermontov did not consider it necessary to translate the description of the huge cats in detail. I think he would have done it expressively.

The image of the beautiful Cunegonde and her relationship with the knight Delorge is the most mysterious and controversial moment of the ballad.
Schiller does not give a clear description of the relationship between the main characters; the address “Fraulein” indicates that Cunegonde is a young unmarried girl. She admires the knight’s actions and is ready to generously reward the brave man:

"…….mit zartlichem Liebensblick
Er verheisst ihm sein nahes Gluck…..”

Lermontov uses the wonderful, purely Russian concept of “maiden” in relation to Cunegonde; the relationship between the lady and the knight is more defined, emotional and romantic (“….. And suddenly turning to his knight...”). The hero’s return was also greeted with enthusiasm: “...And a gentle, flaming look -
A pledge for short-term happiness...”
Lermontov's heroine is perceived by the reader as a spoiled and eccentric girl, and her act is only a fleeting, playful idea. She doesn't think about the consequences of her words. She dropped the glove, obviously unintentionally: “...Fate plays a random game...”. However, the words: “...Knight, I love to torture hearts,...”, make it clear that she does not understand the feelings that the knight has for her.
Perhaps the image of the beautiful but cruel Cunegonde became for Lermontov the personification of the secular ladies of his time: beautiful and cold.
Zhukovsky in his translation does not even indicate the marital status of the “beauty”; there is no hint of the relationship between the characters, but the lady’s action is clearly described (“... his beauty looks at him with a hypocritical and caustic smile...”). One gets the impression that the lady is clearly older and more experienced than her admirer, and her action was completely deliberate.

The protest of a noble knight against such a cruel and senseless test is a gauntlet thrown in the face of a lady - the climactic denouement is reflected in both translations. But in Lermontov, the ending is determined by the angry line: “...cruel annoyance blazing in the fire...”, and in Zhukovsky the knight behaves more restrained.

Each translation is good in its own way. Lermontov tried to preserve the rhythm and size of the verse as much as possible, but shortened a lot, added drama, energy and personal attitude. Zhukovsky tried to convey the full content as accurately as possible, but, being a master in the genre of creating ballads, he created his own rhythm, more familiar to the Russian ear; one’s own attitude towards the characters is not clearly expressed.
However, none of the translators could do without traditional Russian vocabulary in the descriptions: “maiden”, “..bewitching with blooming beauty...”, “young knight”, “hello from her eyes”.

Personally, my perception is closer to Vasily Andreevich’s translation. His text is more poetic, more accurate and Russified.
But, if you want to understand a poetic work absolutely accurately, you should read it only in the original. No one can convey his thoughts to the reader better than the author.
I am very glad that I can (albeit with a dictionary) read truly (in the original) German classics. It's worth learning languages ​​for such pleasure.

The literature of any country is composed of two elements: domestic literature and translated literature. In the modern era, truly significant works of all national literatures are translated into foreign languages ​​and become fully part of the literatures of other peoples. To study and, if possible, adequately translate foreign literary works is our goal and main task.

Each literary work undergoes significant changes during the translation process, but this is not the main indicator of the quality of the newly created opus.

Also N.G. Chernyshevsky in 1857, in the preface to the collection “Schiller in Translations of Russian Poets,” wrote that Russian translated literature before Pushkin and Gogol was incomparably higher than the original, therefore much more attention should be paid to translated literature.

Studying literary translations of great authors of past centuries in literature lessons is an excellent opportunity not only to study the history and traditions of other peoples, but also to become familiar with global cultural values.

I offer my version of the translation of F. Schiller's ballad "The Glove".