Fighting Moliere's Verses
Translation: Kristin Addis
Abstract
The translator who takes on a work written in verse finds himself facing the dilemma of whether to translate it as prose or verse. The difficulty of translation is undoubtedly lesser if prose is chosen, but the results will be more satisfactory if a good verse translation can be achieved.
Once verse has been chosen, the meter and type of rhyme must be established. In the case of Tartuffe, I chose to use fifteen syllables to express the twelve-syllable line in the original French, in the knowledge that Basque needs more space to express similar contents. With respect to rhyme, I tried to use consonant rhyme as much as possible, though taking all the poetic license I thought appropriate. If translating is difficult in and of itself, it is more so in verse, since one must continually weigh and balance to achieve the goal of the translator: to transmit the content of the original, as beautifully and faithfully as possible.
