Khlebnikov - Odinokii litsedei

[Robert Chandler]

Dear all,

Towards the end of this poem, which alludes both to Pushkin's "Prorok" and to the Minotaur myth, there is an unusual (I think!) use of "pylat'" + dative:

И бычью голову я снял с могучих мяс и кости
И у стены поставил.
Как воин истины я ею потрясал над миром:
Смотрите, вот она!
Вот то курчавое чело, которому пылали раньше толпы!

And I removed the bull’s head from the mighty meat and bones
            and placed it against the wall.
Like a warrior of truth, I shook it above the world:
            Look, here it is!
Here is the curly brow to which crowds once blazed!

What does this "kotoromu pylali" really mean?  Paul Schmidt translates it as "that curly head the crowd once blazed for".  Gary Kern has "that curly brow which once inflamed the crowds? (!)

All the best,

Robert

Robert Chandler, 42 Milson Road, London, W14 OLD

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