Ceding the Initiative to Words Translations of Mallarmé’s “Sonnet en yx”

Project goal To sensitize students to the formal elements of the source poem (assonance, alliteration, anagram, rhythm, frequency of vowels and consonants etc.) To help students understand the extent to which translation is a decision-making process

Stéphane Mallarmé (1842 – 1898) -French symbolist poet -Translator of Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Tennyson and the American artist Whistler -Well-known for the musicality of his verse

Mallarmé’s poetry Multi-faceted puns Polysemantic play Toying with the signifier Ambiguous syntax Verse as incantation and magic Obscurity and opacity

“The first impulse, the easiest approach, is to look on Mallarmé’s poems as a series of riddles.” Roger Fry’s Translations Mallarmé, Stéphane, Roger Fry, and Charles Mauron. Poems. London: Vision Press, Print.

“There is no possible (and readable) way of conveying each of the multiple meanings of the intricately styled verse…” Mary Ann Caws’ collection of 12 different translators of Mallarmé Mallarmé, Stéphane, and Mary A. Caws. Selected Poetry and Prose. New York: New Directions Books, Print.

“My primary struggle in this translation has been to render the “music,” or “musical essence,” or “spiritual essence,” of the poetry.” Henry Weinfield’s translations Mallarmé, Stéphane, and Henry Weinfield. Collected Poems. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.

Bowie, Malcolm. Mallarmé and the Art of Being Difficult. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Print.

Phonic continuums On dit – approfondit De visions – devisions Se para – sépara Désir - idées – des iridées De voir – devoir Science – patience Spirituels – rituels

Ses purs ongles très haut dédiant leur onyx, L’Angoisse, ce minuit, soutient, lampadophore, Maint rêve vespéral brûlé par le Phénix Que ne recueille pas de cinéraire amphore. Sur les crédences, au salon vide : nul ptyx, Aboli bibelot d’inanité sonore, (Car le Maître est allé puiser des pleurs au Styx Avec ce seul objet dont le Néant s’honore). Mais proche la croisée au nord vacante, un or Agonise selon peut-être le décor Des licornes ruant du feu contre une nixe, Elle, défunte nue en le miroir, encor Que, dans l’oubli fermé par le cadre, se fixe De scintillations sitôt le septuor