Angel/Baudelaire

[erastes]

I've been watching Angel from the beginning on the UK's version of netflix, and am seeing episodes I missed the first time around. 

In season one - in "Her"  I've just noticed that Angel refers to Baudelaire. I didn't know Baudelaire's "The Vampire" poem, but now I read it, most translations seem to have the last stanza as a woman - but isn't "son empire" translated as "his empire"? not her?  I'm not hot on French as you can imagine - but it makes me smile that Joss slid a sneaky reference to Angel and Baudelaire having a relationship in there. Sorry that I'm 8 years late on this, but they stopped showing Angel on terrestrial tv here about six years ago!

Comments

[adventurat.livejournal.com]

"son empire" could mean either "his" or "her" empire; the gender of the possessive is determined by the gender of the noun, not the sex of the possessor.

I missed that reference to Baudelaire, too. That Joss, he has some eclectic and obscure knowledges.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

hee! It was brilliant. He walked into an art galley, tailing someone and had to hide, so he pretended to be an art guide explaining Manet's "music in the Tuileries" - obviously making it clear that he knew Manet and Baudelaire. Then he mentioned Le Vampire, and ended with "oh and by the way, Baudelaire was a bit taller, and a lot drunker than he appears here."

*snorts*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

and that grammar is SILLY!

[adventurat.livejournal.com]

Hello, it's FRENCH. "Silly grammar" is a bit redundant. n'est-ce pas? :)

[lunalelle.livejournal.com]

Is it funny that I immediately thought of you when I first watched "Her"?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*LAUGHS*

That's very sweet. Erastes of the Slash Goggles.

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

Another reason it can mean "his" or "her" is that you cannot have the letters a and e together so you will only have son empire - sa empire just wouldn't work!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

well that's silly too!

so it COULD BE written to a man?

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

It's grammatically a woman or female object it's written for. Not a poem I've met and I really like it.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

me either, and me too.

I found the wide differences in translations fascinating. Would be interested if you came up with anything different!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

and bugger.

There goes my Angel/Baudelaire theory.

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

You read my mind!! I'm going to have a go at it. Haven't read any of the other translations so it will be interesting.

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

This was really interesting to do. I did my outline translation before I read any of the others and it's amazing how varied they all are. One or two have things totally wrong too!

So, my version for what it's worth!! A couple of bits were hard to work out the meaning of but I think I've got it mostly right:

The Vampire – Charles Baudelaire

You who has entered my sorrowful heart
with the speed of a dagger's thrust;
Strong as a herd of demons
arrive, a mad creature, prepared for me

Make within my humiliated spirit
Your bed and your dwelling;
loathesome one to whom I am bound
as is a slave to his chains

As is the game to the gambler
The bottle to the drunkard
the maggots to the decaying corpse
accursed you are, accursed!

I have begged the swift thrust of the blade
to gain me my freedom,
and asked the traitorous poison
to relieve my cowardice.

But no! The poison and the sword
have scorned me, told me:
“you are not worthy for us
to remove your cursed slave from you.

Fool! If our efforts should save you
from your condition
Your kisses would only resuscitate
the corpse of your vampire”

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Oh wonderful! He really had it bad didn't he?

Well done, and thank you!

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

as a "translator's note" - still not sure about one line. The bit But no! etc. should probably read:

It is not worth our efforts to remove your.....

I think that's a more likely meaning!

[cerisaye.livejournal.com]

Well my recollection is now a wee bit hazy but I always assumed the writers were suggesting Angel had got it on with Baudelaire. Then I have slash goggles firmly in place, always. I loved that ep, and AtS in general.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

It's always a nice surprise to find slash in things that I saw before I discovered slash!

:)

[cadillacaro.livejournal.com]

The reason it is translated as "her empire" is because in the first stanza, he says
"Toi qui, forte comme un troupeau"
This is a feminine adjective, which is not translatable in English.
Same with the third stanza:
"Maudite, maudite"
Again, he is referring to a female. English doesn't show the differences at those points, instead, translating the "son" as hers. Which is correct.
Man, I feel like a translating nazi now.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thanks - and how annoying he's referring to a woman.

Grrr.

I'd be interested in seeing a translation, asphodeline has done a version in the comments too.