The Spaewife’s Prophecy: A Verse Translation of the Norse Poem Vǫluspá, with an Introduction and Notes

Judith Woolf
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Abstract

ABSTRACT: The epic poem Vǫluspá, in which an ancient seeress foretells to Odin the tragic fate awaiting his son Baldr and the eventual destruction of the gods at Ragnarǫk, is an acknowledged masterpiece of medieval literature. However, outside the world of Norse studies it remains surprisingly little known. Vǫluspá was composed in pre-literate Iceland and transmitted through performance for several centuries before being committed to vellum, but none of the available English translations (including W. H. Auden’s less than faithful version) were written to be read aloud, making the poem much less likely to be included in university courses on European or world literature. My verse translation, The Spaewife’s Prophecy, attempts to convey the enigmatic power of the original text, while the notes are intended both to make the poem accessible to readers unfamiliar with Norse mythology and also to situate it in the material and cultural world of the Icelanders.
女海员的预言:挪威诗歌的诗体翻译Vǫluspá,附引言和注释
摘要:史诗《Vǫluspá》是中世纪文学公认的杰作,其中一位古代女预言家预言了奥丁的儿子巴尔德尔的悲惨命运以及Ragnarǫk众神的最终毁灭。然而,在挪威研究的世界之外,它仍然令人惊讶地鲜为人知。《Vǫluspá》是在没有文字的冰岛创作的,在被写进牛皮纸之前,它通过表演传播了几个世纪,但没有一个可用的英语译本(包括w·h·奥登的不太忠实的版本)是为了大声朗读而写的,这使得这首诗不太可能被包括在欧洲或世界文学的大学课程中。我的诗文译本《西班牙妻子的预言》试图传达原文的神秘力量,而注释的目的是使不熟悉挪威神话的读者能够理解这首诗,同时也将其置于冰岛人的物质和文化世界中。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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