Gasparov on Mandel'shtam's translation of Petrarch's sonnet 301

[Tom Dolack]

Vsem privet:
	Yes, thank you, Kelly. Since there does appear to be (some)
general interest, let me just give you my run down:
	My interest in this is purely exegetic and not linguistic. While
there are 3 possible readings for "posle myta" there is only one
*literal* reading of "kak sokol posle myta": Like a falcon after
mo(u)lting. To read this as "like a falcon after contracting an
infection disease peculiar to horses" does not do much for my reading of
the poem - hence my initial confusion and why I asked the list. But we
should all file it away for future use.  
This is particularly interesting since in Petrarch Laura has died and
ascends to heaven - there is no death in this image, just a recuperation
or almost a resurrection. This happens to be exactly what he does in his
translation of #311 (sort of) and if I don't miss my guess in the other
two as well. 
	In addition I don't wish to rule out overtones of "mytar'" and
"mytarstva" because of M.'s comments on the word. Briefly, the word is
like a stone which preserves geography and meteorology within it - that
is the etymology and the history of its usage (I'm simplifying, I know).
The biblical/religious connotations of these words *could* be in play
given Petrarch's original poem. More thought is necessary.
	I also wonder if there is an allusion to Dante in the image as
well (see the Geryon episode) but, again, need some time to digest. 
Should anyone care to take up the poem in general, or the other
translations, I'd be happy to discuss. I don't plan to get everything
trapped in my office with my Italian dictionary - or ever for that
matter. 
	Again, I'd like to thank everyone for their help - it's
wonderful that we have a community so willing to lend a hand. Makes you
proud to be a Slavist. 
Vsego dobrogo,
Tom
__________
Tom Dolack
Comparative Literature
University of Oregon
tdolack at uoregon.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list
[mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU] On Behalf Of Kelly Miller
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 5:12 AM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Gasparov on Mandel'shtam's translation of
Petrarch's sonnet 301

Dear Colleagues,

On this question, I referred to the following edition:

Osip Mandel'shtam, Stikhotvorenie, Proza/Sost., vstup. st. i komment. M.
L. 
Gasparova. M:  OOO "Izd. ACT, Khar'kov:  Folio, 2001.  (Biblioteka
poeta)

Gasparov writes in the notes to Mandel'shtam's "Rechka, raspukhshaia ot
slez 
solenykh," a translation of Petrarch's sonnet No. 301, that one may read

"posle myta" as "posle lin'ki." [ÁÑÝ: Ëèíüêà, ïåðèîäè÷åñêàÿ ñìåíà
íàðóæíûõ 
ïîêðîâîâ ó æèâîòíûõ...].  See the top of pg. 658.

Hopefully, Gasparov's reading of this word as "molting" will resolve any

lingering doubts.

Kelly

Kelly Miller, Ph.D.
Visiting Scholar
Slavic Languages and Literatures
University of Virginia
Cell phone:  (434) 227-0584
E-mail:  kellyemiller at hotmail.com




----Original Message Follows----
From: Sasha Valkina <svalkina at HOTMAIL.COM>
Reply-To: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list


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