No man is an island translation
¡Hola! Traté de traducir el poema "No man is an island" (por John Donne) (se encuentra aquí).
Primero, lo traducí al inglés moderno:
No man is an island,
Entire all by itself,
Every man is a piece of a continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod (stupid person) were washed away by the sea
It would be Europe's loss
Just as much as if a promontory (part of an island) were
Or if your friend's house were.
Or if your home were.
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore, never ask who the bell tolls for;
It tolls for you.
En este poema, las últimas dos frases son las más famosas. Aquí es mi intento:
Ningún hombre es una isla,
Entero solo,
Cada hombre es un pedazo de un continente,
Una parte de lo completo.
Si el mar arrastrara a un tonto,
Europea sería menos
Exactamente como si arrastrara un promontorio
o arrastrara la casa de tu amigo
o tu propia casa.
La muerte de cualquier hombre me disminuye,
por que me involucro en la humanidad.
Por eso, no preguntes por quien tocan las campanas;
Las tocan por ti.
¿Lo corrijan por favor?
3 Answers
Some suggestions/comments
Entire of itself or Entire all by itself. Meaning self-contained. Entero solo, You could say "completo en si mismo". In this context "si mismo" is "by itself or by himself"
Every man is a piece of the continent Cada hombre es un pedazo de un continente To me, "una pieza" is a piece, and "un pedazo" is a small piece, which might fit better, although the author just said piece, not small piece. Listening to Spanish speakers, (not dictionaries), I hear pieza=piece, pedazo = small piece, miga = crumb
A part of the main Una parte de lo completo -Una parte del completo, o, Una parte de todo
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Si el mar arrastrara a un tonto This is to say a "dirt clod" - pedazo de tierra
As well as if a promontory were. Exactamente como si arrastrara un promontorio Igual si fuera un promontorio - a suggestion because "washed away" was not repeated in the poem.
o arrastrara la casa de tu amigo o tu propia casa. The Usted form "su" might be better in this context which is fairly formal.
Las tocan por ti. The more formal "usted" might fit better once again.
These are just suggestions and your version might be just as good or better : ) The old style English is a challenge. Only thing I'm certain of is the dirt clod thing : )
Just one more thing:
In the poem, "porque" should be written all together, instead of "por que".
When you ask, you say "¿Por qué?"
When you answer or explain, you say "Porque...".
Below is the only corrections I saw that were needed.
"Este es mi intento". O también, "Aquí está mi intento"
¿ Lo corrigen por favor?
