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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dans cette traduction libre du poème de Christina Rossetti “Goblin Market” (1862), l’autrice, traductrice et poétesse Clémentine Beauvais joue avec les mots et avec toutes les possibilités du français pour nous donner sa version de cette histoire mystérieuse et bourrée de symboles.
Ce livre est d’abord un superbe objet, avec ses dorures, sa couverture toilée et ses illustrations de Diglee. Son trait souple en deux tons de noir et d’ocre fait vivre les héroïnes pré-raphaélites dans des illustrations absolument superbes. On sent à la fois les influences de l’artiste et sa sensibilité moderne, pour un mélange qui fonctionne à merveille et accompagne si bien le texte de Clémentine Beauvais. Diglee rédige également une introduction consacrée à Christina Rossetti qui la replace dans le riche contexte culturel de son époque.
L’introduction de Clémentine Beauvais, quant à elle, tord le cou aux critiques que l’autrice s’attend à recevoir pour son travail tout en liberté. Après tout, qu’est-ce qu’une traduction “fidèle” ? Est-ce celle qui utilise un français de 1862 pour traduire les vers furieusement intemporels de la poétesse ? Celle qui retranscrit les conventions de l’époque, au risque d’enfermer le texte dans la naphtaline ? Clémentine Beauvais fait le pari d’une traduction dite “libre”, qui restitue tous les mouvements du texte, sa vivacité comme sa noirceur.
Pour moi, c’est un pari gagné.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“There is no friend like a sister
In calm or stormy weather;
To cheer one on the tedious way
To fetch one if one goes astray”
Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘Goblin Market’ tells of the virginal sisters Laura and Lizzie’s interaction with haggard goblin fruit sellers. It parallels the temptation of Eve and the book of Genesis in much of its symbolism and images of succulent fruits, yet always feels slightly off. I have encountered many works with strong imagery around rotting fruit and this was similar in a way, but the rotting never outward, instead a danger of being tempted by what looks too perfect.
I read this poem in looking at presentation of goblins in mainstream literary culture before Tolkien took up writing them, and alike to Fairy Tales these goblins are temptresses with dark intentions for the sole reason that they wish to be cruel as that’s what goblins do. It was interesting however that there was no specific defining trait that makes them goblins, only being haggard and slightly other than human. It perhaps opens a dialogue of those maimed or disabled falling into the haggard depiction and classification of a goblin as at no point did Rossetti truly depict the goblins as something inhuman.
A star knocked off for that afterword.. How oblivious does Joyce Carol Oates have to be to think the "sister" is literal but Laura kissing fruit juices off of Lizzie's skin is not? "Sisterhood" is definitely hungrily licking and kissing a woman's skin and sleeping with her "breast to breast" and asking her to caress and kiss you like the goblins did. This poem is clearly contrasting the hostile and aggressive sexuality of the goblin (read: men) with the loving eroticism of the love between women.
A good book on the strength of sisters and gobblin magic! (Giblin are very fae-like)
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
i don’t know if it’s because i was reading this while listening to a christmas classical music playlist and the music just lined up so perfectly with everything i was reading which in turn enhanced my experience but i absolutely loved this. there was whimsy, there was despair, there was rawness and so many indescribable feelings embedded within these poems i couldn’t help but be enthralled and before i realized, i was highlighting so much and then i had finished. i love when poetry speaks to my soul and this was a perfect example of that. definitely one of my favorite little black classics so far.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes