| En italique, les parties chantées par Loreena McKennitt | Traduction : Licorne.
En italique, mes commentaires. |
| Part I | |
| On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the wold and meet the sky; And thro' the field the road runs by To many-tower'd Camelot; And up and down the people go, Gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there below, The island of Shalott. |
La traduction des parties chantées par Loreena
McKennitt se trouve sur le site "Une Lumière Dans L'Obscurité",
je ne la reprendrais donc pas ici, par respect pour son auteur et pour
le webmestre de ce site.
Quand mes commentaires se réfèrent à une traduction, il s'agit de celle-ci, signée par TM&J Delest |
| Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver Thro' the wave that runs for ever By the island in the river Flowing down to Camelot. Four gray walls, and four gray towers, Overlook a space for flowers, And the silent isle imbowers The Lady of Shalott. |
|
| By the margin, willow-veil'd
Slide the heavy barges trail'd By slow horses; and unhail'd The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd Skimming down to Camelot: But who hath seen her wave her hand? Or at the casement seen her stand? Or is she known in all the land, The Lady of Shalott? |
Contre la rive drapée de saules
Glissent les lourdes barges, halées Par de lents chevaux; et, librement, Le canot à la voile de soie file, Il rase l'eau vers Camelot. Mais qui l'a vu agiter la main? Ou qui l'a vu à sa fenêtre? Ou est-elle connue de tous, La Dame de Shalott? |
| Only reapers, reaping early
In among the bearded barley, Hear a song that echoes cheerly From the river winding clearly, Down to tower'd Camelot: And by the moon the reaper weary, Piling sheaves in uplands airy, Listening, whispers "'Tis the fairy The Lady of Shalott." |
Les quatre vers ci-dessus sont ceux qui figurent dans
le livret, sur l'image de la chapelle inondée.
|
| Part II | |
| There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay. She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot. She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott. |
|
| And moving thro' a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year, Shadows of the world appear. There she sees the highway near Winding down to Camelot: There the river eddy whirls, And there the surly village-churls, And the red cloaks of market girls, Pass onward from Shalott. |
Là, la rivière écume et tourbillonne,
|
| Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,
An abbot on an ambling pad, Sometimes a curly shepherd-lad, Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad, Goes by to tower'd Camelot; And sometimes thro' the mirror blue The knights come riding two and two: She hath no loyal knight and true, The Lady of Shalott. |
Parfois une groupe de joyeuses demoiselles,
Un abbé sur un vieux cheval à l'amble, Parfois un jeune berger frisé, Ou un page aux cheveux longs, tout d'écarlate vêtu, Passent, en route vers les tours de Camelot.
|
| But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights, For often thro' the silent nights A funeral, with plumes and lights And music, went to Camelot: Or when the moon was overhead, Came two young lovers lately wed; "I am half-sick of shadows," said The Lady of Shalott. |
Cette strophe est capitale! Jusqu'à présent, la Dame vivait trés bien dans son rêve -au dela du miroir. Elle prend conscience ici qu'il existe un autre monde -en deça du miroir, et elle n'exclue pas d'affronter la malédiction, ne serait-ce que pour échapper aux "ombres". |
| Part III | |
| A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley-sheaves, The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves, And flamed upon the brazen greaves Of bold Sir Lancelot. A redcross knight for ever kneel'd To a lady in his shield, That sparkled on the yellow field, Beside remote Shalott. |
|
| The gemmy bridle glitter'd free,
Like to some branch of stars we see Hung in the golden Galaxy. The bridle-bells rang merrily As he rode down to Camelot: And from his blazon'd baldric slung A mighty silver bugle hung, And as he rode his armour rung, Beside remote Shalott. |
La bride ornée de gemmes scintille librement,
Comme quelque constellation, comme on en voit Accrochée à la Galaxie dorée. Les clochettes de la bride tintent gaiement, Comme il descend vers Camelot: Et, accroché à ses couleurs, Pend une puissante corne d'argent, Et quand il chevauche son armure sonne, Auprés de la lointaine Shalott.. |
| All in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather, The helmet and the helmet-feather Burn'd like one burning flame together, As he rode down to Camelot. As often thro' the purple night, Below the starry clusters bright, Some bearded meteor, trailing light, Moves over still Shalott. |
Sous un ciel bleu sans nuage
Brillent les joyaux de la selle, Le casque et le plumet Flamboient, à l'unisson d'une autre flamme, Comme il descend vers Camelot. Parfois, dans la nuit pourpre, Sous les bouquets d'étoiles brillantes, Quelque météore barbu, au sillage lumineux, Passe sur la calme Shalott. |
| His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode; From underneath his helmet flow'd His coal-black curls as on he rode, As he rode down to Camelot. From the bank and from the river He flash'd into the crystal mirror, "Tirra lirra," by the river Sang Sir Lancelot. |
Le miroir de cristal est celui de la Dame, il faut ici prendre les mots au pied de la lettre. Et comme Lancelot se reflète aussi dans la rivière, elle peut contempler le reflet du reflet, il a traversé le miroir, il est avec elle. Et son émoi causera sa perte. |
| She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces thro' the room, She saw the water-lily bloom, She saw the helmet and the plume, She look'd down to Camelot. Out flew the web and floated wide; The mirror crack'd from side to side; "The curse is come upon me," cried The Lady of Shalott. |
"Water-lily" se traduit effectivement par "nénuphar",
mais, plus poétiquement, on peut également le traduire par
"lys d'eau", ce qui renvoie à la Dame au Lys.
Métaphoriquement, cette fleur de nénuphar est la Dame de Shalott, le plan d'eau sur lequel elle repose est son miroir, l'étoffe qui s'envole et flotte dans l'air symbolise la perte de ses rêves, et le bris du miroir l'impossibilité pour elle de retourner dans son monde idéal. |
| Part IV | |
| In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale-yellow woods were waning, The broad stream in his banks complaining, Heavily the low sky raining Over tower'd Camelot; Down she came and found a boat Beneath a willow left afloat, And round about the prow she wrote The Lady of Shalott. |
|
| And down the river's dim expanse--
Like some bold seër in a trance, Seeing all his own mischance-- With a glassy countenance Did she look to Camelot. And at the closing of the day She loosed the chain, and down she lay; The broad stream bore her far away, The Lady of Shalott. |
|
| Lying, robed in snowy white
That loosely flew to left and right-- The leaves upon her falling light-- Thro' the noises of the night She floated down to Camelot: And as the boat-head wound along The willowy hills and fields among, They heard her singing her last song, The Lady of Shalott. |
Etendue dans sa robe de neige
Ample, qui flotte de part et d'autre, Les feuilles la recouvrent doucement A travers les murmures de la nuit, Elle a dérivé vers Camelot: Et comme l'étrave serpentait entre Les collines boisées de saules et parmi les champs, On l'entendit chanter son dernier chant, La Dame de Shalott. |
| Heard a carol, mournful, holy,
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly, Till her blood was frozen slowly, And her eyes were darken'd wholly, Turn'd to tower'd Camelot; For ere she reach'd upon the tide The first house by the water-side, Singing in her song she died, The Lady of Shalott. |
|
| Under tower and balcony,
By garden-wall and gallery, A gleaming shape she floated by, Dead pale between the houses high,* Silent into Camelot. Out upon the wharfs they came, Knight and burgher, lord and dame, And round the prow they read her name, The Lady of Shalott. |
"Knight and burgher, lord and dame" : plutôt "Chevalier
et bourgeois, seigneur et dame", pour l'ensemble des classes "supérieures"
de la société médiévale temporelle. "Bourgeois"
n'a pas ici son sens moderne, mais un sens équivalent à "citadin"
- par opposition à "paysan".
Citoyen, tel qu'employé dans la traduction, me semble peu approprié, car ce terme a toujours impliqué un droit de regard sur les "affaires de la Cité", ce qui n'était pas le cas des "bourgeois" médiévaux, marchands et artisans, qui, bien que géographiquement plus proche du pouvoir, en étaient aussi éloignés sur le plan politique que les paysans. * : Loreena a retouché ce vers, la version originale se trouve avec la comparaison des versions 1833 et 1842 du poème. Je pense que sur cette page, le texte de la chanson prime sur celui du poème, alors que c'est l'inverse sur l'autre. |
| Who is this? and what is here?
And in the lighted palace near Died the sound of royal cheer; And they cross'd themselves for fear, All the knights at Camelot: But Lancelot mused a little space; He said, "She has a lovely face; God in his mercy lend her grace, The Lady of Shalott." |
Retour à la Dame de Shalott
Le poème, versions de 1833 et 1842 comparées