He mēneus. Re is a de T aducción e In e p e ación Núm. 4 - Año 2002
INCENDIARIO BY VERNON SCANNELL: AN IMAGINARY EXAMPLE OF A
FUNCTIONAL ANNOTATED VERSE TRANSLATION
Incendia io de Ve non Scannell: un ejemplo imagina io de una aducción en e so uncional
y ano ada
Juan Miguel ZARANDONA
Uni e sidad de Valladolid
TRANSLATION BRIEF
The Na ional Lib a y o Poe y, 1 Poe y Plaza, Owings Mills, Ma yland 21117-6282, is he
la ges and mos ac i e poe y socie y in he wo ld, wi h membe s all o e Ame ica and in o e 60
o he coun ies. Regula ly, i s Boa d o Di ec o s and Ad iso y Commi ee o ganize mul iawa ded
Poe y Con es s open o all dese ing poe s, whe he published o no , and ega dless o expe ience,
Poe ic E en s consis ing o di e en poe ic semina s, wo kshops and eadings, and In e na ional
Con en ions and Symposiums on poe y. They also publish, on a egula basis, The Poe ’s Co ne , a
colou ul, 40-page qua e ly magazine, and di e en An hologies, which ha e p o ed o be e y
popula among new poe s.
The Na ional Lib a y o Poe y has ecen ly published many such An hologies, which a e
open - ee o cha ge- o all ou s anding c ea i e con ibu ions and ha boas o showcasing oday’s
mos alen ed poe s and songw i e s, o whom hey ha e become a so o guide o be used by
edi o s and publishe s in he sea ch o aspi ing poe s. Recen gene al book i les a e: A Quie
Place, Fligh s o Imagina ion, Las Good-Byes, The Fullness o Time, and The Colo s o he Wind.
So a , hey ha e only published o iginal poems, and neglec ed « ansla ed poe y». Bu his is
a si ua ion ha is going o change. They ha e inally ealized he key ole played by ansla ed
poe y, and li e a y ansla ion in gene al, in he his o y o human cul u al e en s, and he pa amoun
di icul ies his kind o highly a is ic ac i i ies in ol es.
Consequen ly, hey ha e ad e ised hei p ojec he wo ld o e , and explained ha hey will
publish wo di e en an hologies de o ed o ansla ed poe y du ing he yea 2001. The i s one,
specializing in poe y om any wo ld language in o English, and he second, en i led Feelings ha
T a el Fa , om English o any wo ld language.
Las week, a ansla ion o he poem «Incendia y» (1962) by he B i ish a is Ve non Scannell
(1922- ) was submi ed o The Na ional Lib a y o Poe y headqua e s in Ma yland: «Incendia io»
(2000) by he Spanish poe and eelance li e a y ansla o Ca los Joaquín Peña.
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He mēneus. Re is a de T aducción e In e p e ación Núm. 4 - Año 2002
A le e no i ying M Peña ha his ansla ed poem was selec ed o publica ion, and as a
possible new ansla ed poe y con es semi inalis , on he basis o his unique alen was deli e ed
wo days la e .
INITIATOR OF THE TRANSLATION: The Na ional Lib a y o Poe y.
SOURCE TEXT READERS: English speaking lo e s o he poe y o Ve non Scannell.
PROJECTED TARGET READER: Spanish speaking lo e s o would-be lo e s o he poe y
o Ve non Scannell.
INTENDED FUNCTION OF THE TRANSLATION: P omo ion o poe y in gene al, and o
ansla ed poe y in pa icula . Exp essi e unc ion (indi idual eelings and emo ions); appella i e
unc ion (appealing o he eade ’s aes he ic sensi i i y by means o poe ic language).
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE
Ve non Scannell, he Man and he Poe
I disco e ed he poems by Scannell in 1993, when he published his Collec ed Poems.
1950-1993. I disco e ed ha he e was a man o sensibili y and alen who has spen his li e w i ing
poe y and o whom I did no know any hing, bu ha book changed my li e a y li e.
Now I know his poe y book i les by hea : G a es and Resu ec ions (1948), A Mo al Pi ch
(1957), The Masks o Lo e (1960), A Sense o Dange (1962), Walking Wounded (1965), Epi he s o
Wa (1965), The Win e Man (1973), The Lo ing Game (1975), Win e lude (1982), Fune al Games
(1987), Soldie ing On (1989), A Time o Fi e (1971), e c.
Now I know ha Ve non Scannell was bo n in 1922 in Spilsby (Lincolnshi e), he land o
ano he g ea poe , Al ed Lo d Tennyson, and s udied a Leeds Uni e si y, ha his uncon en ional
ca ee has emb aced a my se ice, boxing, eaching and eelance w i ing and b oadcas ing. He has
also been awa ded many okens o public ecogni ion: The Heinemann Awa d o Li e a u e, The
Cholmondeley Poe y Awa d, Socie y o Au ho s T a elling Schola ship, Fellow o he Royal
Socie y o Li e a u e, and Ci il Lis Pension o Se ices o Li e a u e.
Howe e , now I know ha i is su p ising o many ha he is no mo e widely ecognized,
ha , al hough his wo k has won he admi a ion o eade s and c i ics h oughou he English-
speaking wo ld, he has no ea ned he uni e sal ecogni ion he dese es as one o he majo alen s
o his gene a ion. T ansla o s a e p obably much o blame o his.
Scannell is also a membe o a anishing b eed o a is s, a poe o echnical accomplishmen s
who unde s ands ha poe y, like o he a s, is a c a as well. His books a e ull o he o ms,
s anzas, e ses, me es, hymes and hy hms o he bes adi ion o English poe y. In he
In oduc o y No es o his Collec ed Poems. 1950-1993 he w o e:
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He mēneus. Re is a de T aducción e In e p e ación Núm. 4 - Año 2002
A a ime when much con empo a y poe y seems o be w i en o specialis exegesis s in
he uni e si ies in o de ha hey may p ac ise hei own skills in decons uc ion I ha e, as
Wo dswo h said, ‘wished o keep he eade in he company o lesh and blood, pe suaded ha
by doing so I shall in e es him’.
In his 1993 in oduc ion he also men ions a second nine een h-cen u y poe , p obably his
second mas e and belo ed model poe :
... no less se iousness o pu pose in he sense ha Ge a d Manley Hopkins used he
wo d ‘se iousness’ when he explained ha he did no mean g a i y bu he being in ea nes wi h
you subjec - eali y
‘A man is also hose whom he admi es’. ‘P esen poe y always bene i s om pas poe y’.
Ve non Scannell p o es bo h claims igh . And «Incendia y» bene i s om his g ea ly.
Incendia y
Scannell is a e y ca e ul poe ega ding wha he publishes and wha he does no . He lo es his
wo k oo much o ake any isks. In he In oduc o y No es o New and Collec ed Poems (1980) he
w o e:
Well he e I suppose is my li e, o he pa o i by which I would wish o be judged. In his
book I ha e included all o he pieces ha I belie e o be, i espec i e o hei li e a y quali y,
genuine poems, ha is o say poems which ha e been w i en om a sense o compulsion, a eal
need o explo e and a icula e expe iences ha ha e been impo an o me.
«Incendia y», published in A Sense o Dange in 1962, is one chosen by he ansla o , and a
a ou i e o mine, o he The In e na ional Socie y o Poe y an hology o ansla ed poe y Feelings
ha T a el Fa .
The poem was w i en in he mos impo an me e in English le e s, ‘blank e se’, he one in
which mos o i s g ea e poe y has been w i en. I is un hymed and consis s o i e iambic ee : /
/ / / /, and usually occupies he ime aken by a b ea h, making i sui able o d ama ic
pe o mance. The Ea l o Su ey (?1517-1547) was he i s poe who used i in English o his
ansla ion o he Aeneid by Vi gil as he bes equi alen o he La in he oic line, he hexame e .
Al hough he i e s ess pa e n is almos a mus , i also has he ad an age o conside able
a ie y in hy hm, which pe mi s he iden i ica ion o many a ie ies wi hin he me e. Th ee o
hese may be held o p edomina e: he ‘Mil onic blank e se’, wi h i s hea y s esses and slow
hy hm; ‘ he Shakespea ian blank e se’, wi h i s d ama ic con as s and nea -b eakage in hy hm;
and he ‘Wo dswo hian blank e se’, no ably quie in one wi h i s p e e ence o medium s ess.
‘Blank e se’ can sound e y di e en om one poe o ano he . This may be he eason why
his me e has ne e los i s place as he cen al medium o English poe y. Scannell, a wen ie h-
cen u y poe , s ill p o es i by means o poems such as «Incendia y». His blank e se p obably
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He mēneus. Re is a de T aducción e In e p e ación Núm. 4 - Año 2002
ollows he ules o Wo dswo h, mo e o less, bu i is c ys al clea ha he has made such e sa ile
o m sound jus he way he poe Scannell’s inne li e sounds.
Bu «Incendia y» is nei he ee e se no a p ose poem, i is ‘ o m bound poe y’, and, no
ma e how ewa ding o c ea i e i may be, his is always a complex ansla ion challenge. Bo h he
con en s and he o m mus be aken in o accoun by he ansla o .
Resea che s and ansla ion heo is s ha e ne e hesi a ed o p oclaim hei scep icism
ega ding he possibili y o ansla ing me ical poe y, and, when a emp ed, he una oidable
necessi y o mas e he me ics bo h o he sou ce and a ge li e a y languages o he u mos .
Holmes (1970: 24-45), o example, alks o me ali e a u e, and men ions se en ew i ing
p ocesses a poem can unde go: c i icism in he same language, c i icism in a di e en language,
li e al o ee p ose ansla ion, e se ansla ion, di ec imi a ion, pa cial imi a ion and emo e
imi a ion. Le e e e (in Bassne 1991: 81-82) w i es abou se en possible s a egies: phone ic,
li e al, p ose, hymed o blank e se ansla ion ( he only one he ecommends), and an in e p e a ion
whe e only he con en s a e kep o a new independen poem in imi a ion o he o iginal one. Finally
E kin (in Gallego 1994: 133) o e s a six-poin ypology: in o ma i e, in e p e a i e, allusi e,
app oxima i e, ec ea i e and imi a i e. The second is he only one ha in ol es eal ansla ion
p ocesses.
We wan o ansla e a blank e se poem, so he encou aging wo ds by Le e e e a e e y
help ul. The sound wo ds by Ch is ine Pagnoulle (1992: 139-148) in a ou o he ansla ion o
poe y a e e y com o able as well.
JUAN CARLOS PEÑA
ANNOTATED TRANSLATION
INCENDIARY
Tha one small boy wi h a ace like pallid cheese
And bu n -ou li le eyes could make a blaze
As b azen, ie ce and huge, as ed and gold
And zany yellow as he one ha spoiled
Th ee housand guineas’ wo h o p ope y
And c ops a Godwin’s Fa m on Sa u day
Is igh ening -as ac and me apho :
An o dina y ma ch in ended o
The ligh ing o a pipe o ki chen i e
Misused may se a whole menage ie
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O lame- anged ige s oa ing hung ily.
And igh ening, oo, ha one small boy should se
The sky o i e and choke he s a s o hea
Such skinny limbs and such a li le hea
Which would ha e been con en wi h one wa m kiss
Had he e been anyone o o e his.
INCENDIARIO 1
Que un pequeñín
de ca a de queso pálido 2
y ojillo apagado pueda
p ende una g an hogue a
5 y an desca ada, eno me
y e oz, an a a, ojiza,
do ada y ama illen a 3
como la que des uyó
esa g anja, alo ada
10 en es miles de guineas 4,
de los Godwin el sábado,
da mucho miedo 5 ya sea
e dad 6 o ya mé a o a: 7
El que una ulga ce illa 8
15 pa a p ende el uego de
la pipa o de la cocina
p oduzca, po su mal uso,
al e oz ugido hamb ien o
y a ig ado de colmillos
20 lamíge os en su jaula 9.
Y da ambién mucho miedo 10,
que un niño an pequeñi o 11
pueda p ende has a el cielo
y ahoga a las es ellas
25 con el calo del g an uego 12
con b azos an delgadines 13
y un co azón an chiqui o 14
que se hab ían con en ado
con un beso de ca iño
30 si allí an sólo ya alguien
sí se lo hubie a o ecido 15.
VERNON SCANNELL
(T ansla ed by J.C. Peña)
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He mēneus. Re is a de T aducción e In e p e ación Núm. 4 - Año 2002
ENDNOTES
1 Fi s o all, we keep he same i le. We hink i is a e y good one o he o iginal poem and,
consequen ly, he bes op ion o he ansla ion as well. Besides, «incendia y» and «incendia io»
display e y simila o ms and equal con en s in bo h languages.
Secondly, we ha e chosen an oc osyllabic me e o ansla e he o iginal blank e se. The
Spanish oc osílabo is he mos impo an sho me e in he his o y o Spanish poe y. No only ha e
g ea poe s made use o i since he ea ly Middle Ages un il ou p esen imes, bu i is he o m in
which mos popula poe y is w i en, he omance o, o example, and he o m o he Spanish
classical hea e as well. I also usually occupies he ime aken by a b ea h (Quilis 1978 54-55).
Consequen ly, i is a me e ha sha es many o he ea u es ypical o English blank e se. Howe e ,
he e is one di e ence, he iambic pen ame e is longe han he Spanish oc osílabo, which added o
he ac ha Spanish wo ds a e gene ally longe han he English ones, esul s in a much longe 31-
line ansla ed poem ins ead o he 16-line o iginal one. No p oblem om ou poin o iew.
Howe e , in spi e o hese logical di e ences, we belie e ha ansla ing English blank e se
by his ype o Spanish blank oc osyllabic me e could be conside ed a clea example o wha No d
(1997: 47-52) calls homologous ins umen al ansla ion, one in which he li e a y s a us o he ST
wi hin he TT cul u e co esponds o he li e a y s a us o he o iginal.
2 The i s line p esen s a e y impo an igu e o speech, a simile: ‘like pallid cheese’, which
can be easily associa ed o he colou whi e. I is e y impo an no o omi any hing ela ed o his
because o he pa adoxical con as be ween he ‘pallid cheese whi eness’ o he beginning and he
eds and yellows o he es o he agi a ed poem. Ac ually, he whole poem con en s and s uc u e is
o ganized in he he o ic o m o se e al pa adoxes o con adic ions: wha a weak small boy
usually is and does, and wha has happened.
3 The desc ip ion o he i e is based on a e y special long accumula ion o adjec i es which
we ha e ep oduced. Fi s , hose desc ibing hei especially iolen na u e, and hen hose ela ed o
i s ho colou s. The epe i ion o do ado (gold) and ama illo (yellow) is e y empha ic.
We can also hink o an example o alli e a ion among he wo ds bu n -ou , blaze and b azen.
Alli e a ion has no much o do wi h he adi ion o Spanish me ics o wi h he possibili ies o his
language ei he . I is almos impossible o ansla e.
4 Fo me ly in B i ain, a guinea was a gold coin wo h he sum o 21 shillings (now &1.05).
We ha e kep his name because i is well known among Spanish eade s, because we wan ou
ansla ion o sound a bi exo ic, because an old Spanish gold coin name would no sound e y
na u al in a poem by a B i ish Ve non Scanell, and, mainly, because we belie e ha i is no he
igu e ha ma e s, bu he idea o a huge amoun o money, which is pe ec ly p ese ed in he
ansla ion.
5 The ph ase «Da mucho miedo» ansla es he o iginal line 7 ph ase «Is igh ening», which
is again epea ed i e lines la e . This impo an poe ic cohesion de ice, small e ain o anapho ic
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he o ical epe i ion, is e y impo an in he global con ex o he ex . The same wo ds mus be
ep oduced a second ime in he ansla ion, as we ha e done in lines 12 and 21.
Wha is igh ening? Why did such pa adoxical e ible goings-on ake place? Wha eally
happened and why? Reade s a e no ully old he whole answe un il he end o he poem. The
poem success ully c ea es an a mosphe e o mys e y and suspense, a kind o in iguing iddle. The
ansla o mus be awa e o his.
6 This dis inc ion be ween he eal wo ld ( ac ) and li e a u e, i.e., he wo ld o ic ion
(me apho ), is e y in e es ing, empha ic, in ol es he wo dimensions o human li e, ells us a lo
abou he au ho , and mus , consequen ly, be ansla ed e y ca e ully.
7 The i s pa o he poem inishes he e. The ex p esen s a e y clea s uc u e consis ing o
h ee di e en sec ions o ci cles a ound he same inciden s: a) lines 1-7; b) lines 8-11; and c) lines
12-16. Each pa ep oduces he same s o y again bu gi ing new in o ma ion abou he child and
he i e. I has been no ed he sh ewd s uc u es o Scannell’s supe bly in eg a ed poems hold hei
elemen s inally in place, and he e i appea s ha we ha e p oo o his asse ion. This kind o
epe ion is e y empha ic and communica es a e y deep eeling o pain ul su p ise and inc eduli y.
The ansla ion s i es o ep oduce his sophis ica ed layou . The new s uc u e is as ollows: pa 1,
lines 1-13; pa 2, lines 16-20; and pa 3, lines 21-31.
8 This second ime, he poem ocuses i s a en ion no on he boy bu on he small seemingly
innocen ins umen he made use o , an o dina y ma ch. The poem, nex o me apho s and o he
poe ic adi ional he o ical de ices and mo i es, includes some e e yday objec s wi hou an
es ablished adi ion in he li e a y wo ld: cheese, ma ch, pipe, guineas. The egis e con as s a e
some imes shocking, bu we mus emembe ha ‘li e a iness’ is i s and o emos a p agma ic
quali y assigned o a pa icula ex o pa o elemen (s) by i s use s. In a ex ual ac o s a e no
ma ked ‘li e a y’ o ‘non-li e a y’ as such. I is he ecei e s o eade s who decide o ead a ex as
li e a u e (No d 1997: 82). Howe e , wha we canno deny is ha i is e y impo an o ep oduce
hese objec s in he ansla ion because i is some hing he au ho planned e y ca e ully.
9 This is he mos impo an image -o se o images- ha he poem con ains: i e, and i s
iolen and noisy capaci y o des uc ion, is desc ibed in e ms o a wild and igh ening menage ie
o ige s. I is a g ea and di icul me apho ha mus be ansla ed e y ca e ully as well. In spi e
o he isky challenge, ou ansla ion keeps all he o iginal igu a i e elemen s.
10 This line, con aining he small e ain again, opens he hi d and las pa o he poem. We
a e app oaching he inal message, bu we a e s ill old wha happened a hi d ime.
11 The boy is he ocus o all a en ion again and he i s line ph ase «small boy» makes a
second appea ance in he poem.
12 These appeals o ‘sky’ and ‘s a s’ ele a e he scope o he disas e g ea ly. The one is e y
emo ional, hype bolic and empha ic in i s li e a y exagge a ion. New igu es o speech he ansla o
mus ake in o accoun .
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13 As he i e and i s e ec s inc ease, he boy and his ana omy a e desc ibed as dec easing.
The basic unde lying pa adox again. The conclusion and poem end a e close.
14 The oc osyllabic e ses o ou ansla ion a e un hymed, bu he o iginal Spanish
oc osílabo p esen ocalic hyme e e y wo lines. In Spanish, consequen ly, he lines ending in he
wo ds chiqui o (line 27), ca iño (line 29), o ecido (line 31), wi h he epe i ion o he i/o owel
combina ion a e hymed. The ansla o has no done i on pu pose and does no conside i
necessa y o change i . The gene al pa e n is un hymed and hose examples can jus be ega ded as
isola ed cases o no impo ance. Besides, some occasional hymes a e no necessa ily a aul .
15 We inally ealize ha i is a lo e poem, a lack o lo e poem o be mo e p ecise. This is he
answe o he mys e y, he iddle, he pa adox and e e y hing else. Do no o ge o kiss and lo e
you child en. The ansla o mus no omi his message a all. This is he kind o w i ing ha eally
s ops one sho , he kind o w i ing by Ve non Scannell.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(li e a u e and li e a y ansla ion)
BASSNETT-McGUIRE, Susan: T ansla ion S udies, London-New Yo k, Rou ledge, 1991.
CUDDON, J.A.: The Penguin Dic iona y o Li e a y Te ms and Li e a y Theo y, London,
Penguin, 1999.
ESTÉBANEZ CALDERÓN, Deme io: Dicciona io de é minos li e a ios, Mad id, Alianza
Edi o ial, 1999.
GALLEGO ROCA, Miguel: T aducción y li e a u a: los es udios li e a ios an e las ob as
aducidas, Mad id, Júca , 1994.
HOBSBAUM, Philip: «Blank e se», in Me e, Rhy hm and Ve se Fo m, London, Rou ledge,
1996a, pp. 10-21.
HOBSBAUM, Philip: «F ee e se», in Me e, Rhy hm and Ve se Fo m, London, Rou ledge,
1996b, pp. 89-120.
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He mēneus. Re is a de T aducción e In e p e ación Núm. 4 - Año 2002
HOBSBAUM, Philip: «Ve se o ms», in Me e, Rhy hm and Ve se Fo m, London, Rou ledge,
1996c, pp. 121-184.
HOLMES, James S.: «Fo ms o Ve se T ansla ion and T ansla ion o Ve se Fo m», in The
Na u e o T ansla ion. Essays on he Theo y and P ac ice o Li e a y T ansla ion,
B a isla a- Pa is-The Hague, Slo ak Academy o Sciences-Mou on, 1970, pp 24-45.
LEECH, G.N.: A Linguis ic Guide o English Poe y, London, Longman, 1979.
NAVARRO TOMÁS, T.: Mé ica española, Mad id-Ba celona, Guada ama Labo , 1978.
NORD, C.: «Func ionalism in T ansla o T aining», ch.4 in T ansla ing as a Pu pose ul
Ac i i y, Manches e , Sain Je ome, 1997a., pp. 39-52.
NORD, C.: «Func ionalism in Li e a y T ansla ion», ch.5 in T ansla ing as a Pu pose ul
Ac i i y, Manches e , Sain Je ome, 1997b.
OUSBY, Ian: «Ve non Scannell», in The Camb idge Guide o Li e a u e in English, o ewo d
by Do is Lessing, Camb idge, Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, 1995, p. 832.
PAGNOULLE, Ch is ine: «T ansla ing Poems: A P eca ious Balance», in Babel, 38:3,
Ams e dam, John Benjamins, 1992, pp. 139-148.
PARAÍSO DEL LEAL, ISABEL: El e so lib e hispánico. O ígenes y co ien es, Mad id,
G edos, 1985.
PREMINGUER, Alex & T.V.F. B ogan (eds): The New P ince on Encyclopedia o Poe y and
Poe ics, P ince on (NJ), P ince on Uni e si y P ess.
QUILIS, An onio: Mé ica española, Mad id, Ediciones Álcala, 1978.
RAFFEL, B.: The A o T ansla ing Poe y, Uni e si y Pa k, Pennsyl ania S a e Uni e si y,
1988.
SCANELL, Ve non: Collec ed Poems. 1950-1993, London, Robson Books, 1993.
SHUTTLEWORTH, Ma k: Dic iona y o T ansla ion S udies, Manches e , S . Je ome, 1997.
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